--> Abstract: Basement Control on Gondwana Continental Break-Up in the South Atlantic, by D. A. Paton; #90925 (1999)

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PATON, DOUGLAS A., The University of Edinburgh, Department, of Geology and Geophysics, Edinburgh, Scotland

Abstract: Basement Control on Gondwana Continental Break-Up in the South Atlantic

The development and evolution of structural styles and sedimentary patterns during the break-up and subsequent history of the South Atlantic hydrocarbon frontier remain poorly understood. The aim of my PhD is to use subsurface data from both the South African continental margin (provided by Soekor), and the Falklands Plateau (that originally lay adjacent to the Cape Fold Belt of South Africa), to determine the role that basement structures have had on the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the break-up and drift of Gondwana. Although the intention is to unravel the structural controls on sedimentation during the early, extensional history, a prerequisite of this is to restore the basin for each subsequent phase of deformation. Results of my current syn-rift mapping show one of the basins has been affected by an important, but hitherto unrecognised phase of Cretaceous contraction (structural inversion).

The Grant in Aid will be used to undertake fieldwork complimentary to the seismic interpretation, thus taking the understanding of the structural styles to sub-seismic resolution. By developing a knowledge of the structures in the basins a better understanding of the syn-rift sedimentation can be obtained. The fieldwork will also allow a detailed assessment of any structural styles resultant from the structural inversion.

An understanding of the early structural styles (both onshore and offshore) associated with Gondwana break-up, and the related original syn-rift sedimentary transport pathways will aid reservoir understanding if replicated in the subsurface and offshore. 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90925©1999 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid