cloetingh et al. 1993 the origin of sed basins

8/13/2019 Cloetingh Et Al. 1993 the Origin of Sed Basins

1/4

Te~tonophysics, 225 (1993) vii-xElsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

vii

The origin of sedimentary basins:state of the art and first results of the task forceS. Cloetingh, W. Sassi and F. Horvith

ntroduction and backgroundThe origin of sedimentary basins is a key ele-

ment of the geological evolution of the continen-tal lithosphere. During the last decade substantialprogress has been made in understanding thethermo-mechanical aspects of sedimentary basinformation and the isostatic response of the litho-sphere to surface loads such as basins. Most ofthis progress has been made not so much in termsof the development of new modelling methodolo-gies and insights into the rheological makeup ofthe lithosphere but rather in the processing ofsubstantial, new, high-quality data sets from pre-viously unexplored areas of the globe.

Virtually all modelling carried out so far hasbeen in terms of lithospheric displacements, thusrefraining from a full examination of dynamiccontrols exerted by lithospheric stresses. This isbecause stresses are very sensitive to adoptedlithospheric rheologies and these rheologies havebeen, by convention, unrealistically simple. Thisis true of models for both extensional and com-pressional sedimentary basins. For example, mostmodels for extensional basin formation (Robertset al., 1991) are keyed to lithospheric strain dueto an unknown and unspecified stress field ratherthan to the strain response of the lithosphere to aknown and/or realistic stress state. Moreover,changes in plate tectonic regimes and associatedstress fields have been shown to be quite impor-tant in controlling the subsidence record andstratigraphic architecture of extensional basins.Similarly, models of basins developed in compres-sional environments (e.g., McClay, 1991) havebeen conventionally related to flexure profiles

(displacement patterns), again not invoking thedynamic control of the compressional stressesintrinsic to this particular tectonic setting.

Another reason that the relationship betweenlithospheric stresses and displacements in tec-tonic modelling has not received full attention isbecause little has been known about the actualstress state in the lithosphere. This situation hasrecently changed drastically as the result of thesuccessful World Stress Map Project carried outin the framework of the International Litho-sphere Program @back, 1992). Further, the ap-plication of structural techniques to establish thetemporal evolution of paleo-stress fields has be-gun in a number of sedimentary basins (Letouzey,1990).

Not only has the dynamic element of litho-spheric deformation been inadequately addressedbut present quantitative models of the origin ofbasins are incapable of solving problems relatedto subsequent structural developments that maybe intrinsically coupled with the basin formation.For example, late-stage compression during thepost-rift evolution of extensional basins canlargely explain current discrepancies between es-timates of crustal thinning derived from struc-tural analyses and subsidence data of rifted basins(Kooi and Cloetingh, 1989). Further progress inunderstanding the role of extensional faults inoffshore areas like the North Sea requires de-tailed structural studies and modelling of exposedsuccessions such as those found in intramontanetranspressional basins. Post-rift compression ofextensional or transtensional sedimentary basinsleads to complex near-surface deformation pat-terns. In such cases of structural inversion, inher-

0040-1951/93/ 06.00 0 1993 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved


2/4

.V

ited faults from the previous extensional phase(basement normai faults, frontal and lateralramps, growth faults) become reactivated and canstrongly influence the deformation of the basinsediments. These mechanisms can explain, forexample, various structures in foreland fold-and-thrust belts or telescoped wrench furrows.

In order to successfully develop dynamic mod-eIs in which realistic constitutive relationships inthe lithosphere are incorporated, it is obviousthat more complicated rheologies, including theinclusion of structural and transient materialnon-Cnearities, are necessary. We now are in theposition of having sufficient distributed comput-ing power for these purposes.Themes for frontier research

Sedimentary basin evolution and the geometryof structures that are formed during the deforma-tion of basins depend on many factors. In thepresent project we propose to carry out interac-tive tectonic modelling with firm constraints fromgeological and geophysical data sets. The re-search program of the Task Force Origin ofSedimentary Basins aims at three closely interre-lated major themes that are fundamental for ourunderstanding of the dynamics of basins.1) Appraisal of li thospheric deformati on in basin

formati on and basin evol uti on in the context ofthe temporal and spati al evolut ion o t resses inthe lithosphere.

2) eon-l inear rheo~o~ and basin fo~at ion3) ~e~t i onship betw een deeper li t hosphe~~ pro-

cesses and near- surf ace t ectoni cs,A detailed outline of the objectives of the TaskForce will be published elsewhere (Cloetingh,Sassi and others, 1993). This special volume pre-sents the first results of the Task Force activities.The contents of this special volume reflect theresearch interests of the Task Force in iitho-spheric stress, rheology and the connection be-tween deeper lithospheric processes and near-surface tectonics. The papers are grouped in threesections, each preceded by a position paper onthe research themes defined above, followed by asection on the Pannonian basin area which wasselected as one of the key natural laboratories. Anumber of these papers have been presented atthe second Task Force fieldworkshop inMatrahaza, Hungary. The papers are character-

ized by an emphasis both on the development ofnew modeiling technology as well as a data-ori-ented approach. We are convinced that such adirect confrontation of data and models is essen-tial for the development of a new generation ofbasin models with enhanced predictive capabili-ties on sub-basin scales.

cknowledgementsWe thank the International Lithosphere Pro-

gramme for partial funding. IFP and the Hungar-ian Academy of Sciences are thanked for hostingthe first and second task force meetings. Strongparticipation of research students in the TaskForce activities forms an essential component ofour research strategy. The reafization of this ob-jective was supported by a TEMPUS grant fromthe European Community to the Eijtvos Univer-sity of Budapest and the Vrije Universiteit ofAmsterdam for advanced teaching and researchin basin analysis.

We are also aware of the old European wis-dom that there is no future without a past. Wewould like to thank two personalities whose for-mer activity strongly predestinated the future ofour Task Force. They are Peter Ziegler and LevZonenshain. Peter has been one of the Europeanpioneers who broke through the traditionalboundary between geology and geophysics and,hence, can be considered the father of inte-grated basin research. Lev was a sohtary fighterin the former Soviet Union who made a major~ntribution to plate tectonics and, thus, pavedthe way for the young generation in that part ofthe world to pursue basin studies in a moderninterdisciplinary approach.ReferencesCloetingh, S. Sassi, W. and Task Force Team, 1993. The

origin of sedimentary basins: A status report from theTask Force of the International Lithosphere Programme.Marine and Petroleum Geology, in press.

Kooi, H. and Cioetingh, S. 1989. Some consequences of latestage compression on extensional models for basin forma-tion. Geot. Rundsch., 78: 183-195.

Letouzey, J. (Editor), 1990. Petroleum and Tectonics in Mo-bile Belts. Edition Technip, Paris, 209 pp.

McClay, K. (Editor), 1991. Thrust Tectonics. Chapman, Len-don.Roberts, A.M., Yielding, G. and Freeman, B. (Editors), 1991.The geometry of normal faults. Geol. Sot. London, Spec.Publ., 56.


3/4

ix

Group picture ILP Task Force Origins of Sedimentary Basins meeting in M&ah&a (Pannonian Basin,Septen tber-2 October 1991.REVIEWERS

Hungary), 26

J.R.L. Allen (Oxford)J.F. Angelier (Paris)C. Beaumont (Halifax)D. Bernoulli (Zurich)G. Bertotti (~sterdam)C. Biermann (AmsterdamfR.G. Bohannon (Palo Alto)C. Bois (Rueil-Malmaison)J. Bull (Southampton)S. Cloetingh (Amsterdam)C. Dogiioni (Ferrara)P. Faugl (Wien)L. Fodor (Budapest)A. Fortuin (Amsterdam)R.H. Gabrielsen (Bergen)B. Gauthier (Rijssvijk)T. Gee1 (~sterdam)A. Gibbs (Glasgow)R. Guiraud (Montpellier)P. Heller (Laramie)F. Horvlth (Budapest)J. Klerckx (Tervuren)J.M. Lardeaux (Lyon)J.M. Larroque (The Hague)H. Laubscher (Base0Y. Leroy (The Hague)Ph. Lovelock (The Hague)

F. Lucazeau (Montpellier)P.G. Mandle (Feldkirch)R. Meissner (Kiel)J. Melosh (Tucson)J.L. Mugnier (Grenoble)W. Nijman (Utrecht)T. Peper (Amsterdam)C. Puigdefabregas (Barcelona)G. Ranalli (Ottawa)L. Ratschbacher (Tubingen)B. Ricketts (Vancouver)M. Sanduiescu (Bucharest)W. Sassi (Rue&Malmaison)F. Schneider (Rueil-Malmaison)A. Slaczka (Krakow)R. Steel (Bergen)R.A. Stephenson (~sterd~)H. Stel (Amsterdam)R.L.M. Vissers (Utrecht)J.D. van Wees (Amsterdam)N. White (Cambridge)F. Winkler (Zurich)M. Wilson (Leeds)D.V. Wiltschko (College Station)P.A. Ziegler (Base11M.D. Zoback (Stanford)


4/4

60 BOON

18oW 120-w 60 w 0 60E 120E 1Areas

cloetingh et al. 1993 the origin of sed basins

Documents