The Dynamics of Sedimentary Basins (1997) / Chapter Skim
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EMERGING MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
EMERGING MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Pages 11-32
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From page 11... ...
Because of the broad scope of basin science, there are tremendous opportunities and potential rewards from multidisciplinary basin research. This section provides a brief overview of those opportunities.
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From page 12... ...
With few exceptions, the exact pathways of basin subsidence cannot be predicted from a general knowledge of the distribution of forces, energy, and material properties. Understanding the subsidence of specific basins requires a comprehensive approach involving both theoretical and experimental work complemented by diverse geologic observations.
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From page 13... ...
be feasible (e.g., Lawrence et al., 1990; Fouquet et al., 1990~. The architecture of sedimentary basins is controlled by the rates and nature of sediment inflow and erosional and tectonic processes.
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< ~ =~1 __ __~_1__. If_ _ 1 1 -- -- 1-1__ FIGURE 1 Suggested subsidence mechanisms for 26 types of sedimentary basins.
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Studies of ancient deformed basin fill offer a means to test whether basin-forming processes have changed in a timedependent way over the course of Earth history. Integrating geologic observations into a global perspective has important implications for studies of mantle convection and plate tectonics.
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Terrestrial Rift Valleys Peripheral Foreland Impactogens Trench Slope Piggyback Trenches Transpressional Transtensional Transrotational Low Medium High Post-Sedimentation Preservation Potential FIGURE 2 Typical lifespan for sedimentary basins in different tectonic environments compared to the preservation potential for the sedimentary fill. "Preservation potential" refers to the average survivor time before uplift, erosion, or tectonic destruction.
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From page 17... ...
The goal of this effort will be to describe mantle and lithosphere processes, and their stratigraphic response, in a self-consistent manner so that the theory of mantle convection is fused with kinematic models of plate tectonics, basin formation, and basin filling. Successful backward modeling of wellknown basins can be used as a springboard for forward modeling of unstudied basins.
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18 The Dynamics of Sedimentary Basins Calculated Uplift and Subsidence -1700 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2700 1 1 FIGURE 3 Map showing mode! calculations of the global distribution of uplift and subsidence over the past 64 million years (indicated in meters)
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From page 19... ...
On the one hand, knowledge of tectonic settings and global geodynamics improves interpretations of the origin and history of basin felt and the resources it contains. On the other hand, the detailed record of lithospheric subsidence and deformation represented by the stratigraphic sequences of sedimentary basins provides an incomparable template to constrain geodynamic theory.
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Climatic changes in past geologic epochs, as inferred from the sedimentary record, provide important insight and understanding for developing, calibrating, and testing numerical climate models that strive to predict future climate change. Because climate changes result from dynamic interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere, collaborations between sedimentologists, geochemists, marine geologists, paleontologists, planetary scientists, and physical oceanographers will be necessary to develop, test, and calibrate reliable models using the sedimentary record (e.g., Kutzbach, 19871.
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The goal for future work is to refine the tests for correlations between cyclicity in the geologic record ant! climatic variations and to utilize this information to further the understanding of climate change and sedimentation through geologic time (e.g., Fischer, 1986~.
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The old rubric that the present is the key to the past is no stronger than the parallel rubric that the past is the key to the future. FLUID MIGRATION AND CHEMICAL MASS TRANSFER IN SEDIMENTARY BASINS Fluid flow that is ubiquitous within the crust and sedimentary basins has left fingerprints as chemical patterns of diagenesis, ore formation, and petroleum migration.
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. Economically important fluid flow in sedimentary basins includes ground-water flow, hydrocarbon generation and migration, mass transfer between crustal reservoirs, development of geothermal reservoirs, and formation of hycirothermal ore deposits.
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(C) Tectonically driven flow in a fold and thrust belt.
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In a few well-known basins it has already been possible to integrate the entire range of elemental and isotopic data on diagenetic minerals, waters, gases, and petroleum adequate to underpin hydrogeochemical models of mass transfer at different spatial scales in the subsurface environment. At present, there is great reliance on subsurface measurements because porosities and permeabilities of heterogeneous basin fell cannot be preclictect by theories or indirect observations.
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From page 26... ...
Transient fluid flow and heat transport in basins can be modeled with a continuum approach, though there are limitations in the representation of fractured rock, the scale effects of heterogeneities, and the availability of reliable data on permeability and other rock characteristics. Multiphase fluid flow and heat transport are described by the conservation equations for fluid mass and thermal energy.
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migration together with tectonic and chemical processes over geologic time scales. Further development of such models is critical for understanding basin evolution, cliagenesis, deep crustal fluid circulation, fault zone permeability, petroleum and ore formation, and options for waste disposal.
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From page 28... ...
in organic geochemistry, compound specific isotope analyses ant! new biomarker methods are valuable for interpreting depositional environments, tracing fluid flow patterns, and understanding oceanic processes (Cubitt and England, 1995; Waples and Machihara, 1991; Schoell et al., 1994~.
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From page 29... ...
Within the NSF, the Earth Sciences Division supports research on the continental and coastal record of sedimentary basins, while the Ocean Sciences Division supports ocean basin and deep ocean water -, geochemical, and tectonic processes that shape modern and ancient sedimentary basins fall within the domain of the Earth Sciences Division. In the past several years, new initiatives with a strong multidisciplinary approach to scientific research.
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From page 30... ...
For example, the Geologic Record of Global Change Program was initiated to place proxy sedimentary records into a climatic and oceanographic framework that transcends Directorate boundaries. The Environmental Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry Program stresses integration of hydrologic, biologic, and geochemical processes.
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The USGS conducts basin analysis in support of national and global energy resource assessments and environmental investigations. Much of this work is performed by the Energy Resource Surveys Program to assess the energy resources of the United States and the world; to predict the occurrence, distribution, and quality of energy resources; and to provide scientific knowledge for minimizing the environmental impacts of energy extraction.
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