Paleo Continental Margins Basic Familiarization

I expect that the lecture will be helpful for students to start thinking about the global source-reservoir architecture and paleo-environments.

By,

Farrukh Qayyum

Geoscientist

A 3D Perspective View

A Continental Margin

COAST

OFFSHORE

BASIN/DEEP OCEAN

A Continental Margin

SEA WATERContinental Shelf

Continental Slope

Continental Rise

Abyssal Plain

Trench

Volcanic Ridge

Submarine Ridges

(Seamounts)

Typical Elements of a Continental Margin

200-400m

2-3Km4-6Km

10.0Km

GREEN LAND

Abyssal Plain

Ocea

nic R

idge

sAb

yssa

l Pla

in

Sea Mounts

Oceanic Giants

Sea Mounts

Oceanic Giants

Submerged Volcanic Eruption

Under deep ocean

Mostly they don’t form island because they never appear close to the sunlight or water surface.

Ocean floor

Water

Mantle

volcano

OCEANIC TRENCH

Google Earth Image

Marianas Trench

11.0Km deep in ocean

INDIAN OCEAN

Island Arcs and Volcanic Ridges

Through out the history of Earth, the continental margins are being modified because of COLLISION which means that I am talking about the motion of objects i.e. continents are moving…

The land masses that we see today, they were not the same in the ancient times (in million years).

Often new continents are evolved and often old continents are either completely or partially vanished from the earth’s upper surface.

….

Continents were moving?

South America

Africa

Continents were moving?

Paleo Depositional Environments

On a continental scale

Cold

Temperate

Hot - Arid

Temperate

Cold

Hot & Cold Environments on the blue Planet Earth

46 0C-80 0C 00C

Warm - deserts

Tropical

Cold

Hot & Cold Environments on the blue Planet Earth

Pakistan Offshore

PAKISTAN

Continental Environment

Marine Environment

Fluvial Environment

(Stream-River dominated)

Aeolian Environment

(Wind dominated)

Deltaic Environment

(River Dominated)

Earth – The Ice House

Glaciated Regions – Glacial Environments

Today200Ma600Ma 400Ma

Let’s take a look into the PAST

Special focus INDIAN PLATE (Geology of India-Pakistan)

Ma – Million Years

Today200Ma600Ma 400Ma

Let’s take a look into the PAST

This tells me that India should have Temperate – Moderate Warm Climate at that time. But it is 650Ma ago. The Pre- Cambrian Temperature history wasn’t that I see today.