parry_2016_eage_wilson_cycles_and_the_opening_of_the_north atlantic

Wilson Cycles and the Opening of the North

Atlantic & Norwegian – Greenland Sea

Chris Parry DEA Norge AS

EAGE, Vienna, June 1st, 2016

DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG PAGE 2

- The Wilson Cycle: Continental Rifting, Ocean Spreading, Continental Collision.

- North Atlantic – Eastern Seaboard USA: Tectonic Inheritance, Onshore/Offshore Fracture Zone

Linkage.

- Norwegian-Greenland Sea Asymmetric Conjugate Margins: Upper/Lower Plate Polarity, Fracture

Zones.

- Onshore/Offshore Fracture Zone Linkage

- Interplay between Structure and Sedimentation

Conclusions

Key Message

Fracture Zones control:

Coarse clastic sediment entry points (source to sink),

Provide hydrocarbon migration routes,

Create structural trapping geometries and

Allow for the development of new models for exploration

June 1st, 2016, Chris Parry, Wilson Cycles and the Opening of the North Atlantic & Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Presentation Outline


Pre-Rift Configuration of the Atlantic Ocean

African

Plate

North

American

Plate

Eurasian

Plate

The Wilson Cycle: the cyclical opening and closing of ocean basins caused by movement

of the Earth's plates, named after the Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson (1908-1993)

1

2

3

Simplified and modified after Torsvik et al., 2010, Plate tectonics and net lithosphere rotation over the past 150 My. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 106 – 112.


Did the Atlantic Close and then Re-Open? Nature, 211, 676-681, 13 August 1966

4


Continental Crust AccretionMesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic (~2890 - <1970 Ma)

Amalgamation of many smaller Archean terranes to form the earliest supercontinent

Bergh et al., 2012. Was the Precambrian Basement of Western Troms and Lofoten-Vesterålen in Northern Norway Linked to the Lewisian of Scotland?

A Comparison of Crustal Components, Tectonic Evolution and Amalgamation History. Intech. Tectonics – Recent Advances, Chapter 11, 283 – 330.

Lower Plate

Upper Plate



Wilson Cycle: Continental Rifting

Hot Spot related

Triple Junction

Terrane boundary: zone

of intense deformation

• Continental crust starts to rupture along rifts that meet at triple junctions located over hot spots, which are characterized by alkaline volcanism.

• Archean basement terrane boundaries are zones of intense deformation which are subsequently reactivated during the crustal rupture.

• Failed rift arms form major continental drainage systems and control the location of delta development.

Modified after Dewey & Burke,1974, Hot Spots and Continental Break-up: Implications for Collisional Orogeny. Geology, 57 – 60.



Wilson Cycle: Ocean Spreading

Rivers flow down

failed rift arm

Mid Ocean Ridge

Ridge Transform Zone

Fracture Zone




Wilson Cycle: Continental Collision

Orogenic Belt




Collision – Grenville OrogenyMesoproterozoic (~1250 – 980 Ma)

Assembly of RodinaSimplified and modified from Thomas, 2006, GSA Today, 4 – 11.

1



Rifting – Iapetus OceanNeoproterozoic to Cambrian (~760 - ~530 Ma)

1

Break up of Rodina


Simplified and modified from Thomas, 2006, GSA Today, 4 – 11.


Collision – Appalachian-Ouachita Orogeny Ordovician to Permian (~450 - ~270 Ma)

Assembly of Pangea

1




Rifting – Opening of Atlantic OceanTriassic to Recent (251 – 0 Ma) Final breakup ~180 Ma

Modern Fracture Zones

inherit Iapetus Fracture

Zones

1889 Charleston Earthquake (magnitude 6.6 - 7.3)

located on Pangea break up fault. Similar faults

found along entire East Coast, which are active

due to present day plate movements.

1929 Grand Banks

Earthquake (magnitude 7.2)

2011 Virginia Earthquake (magnitude 5.8).

Reverse fault formed during Taconic and

Alleghenian Orogenies, reactivated during

Pangea breakup in Mesozoic and further

reactivated during Cenozoic

1

Break up of Pangea




Continental Crust AccretionMesoarchean to Paleoproterozoic (~2890 - <1970 Ma)

Amalgamation of many smaller Archean terranes to form the earliest supercontinent



2

Lower Plate

Upper Plate



Continental collision leads to upper plate over-riding lower plate forming the suture zone

Collision – SvecoNorwegian OrogenyMesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic (~1250 - ~960 Ma)

2

Lower Plate

Upper Plate





Suture zone (zone of weakness) reversed to become detachment fault

Rifting – Iapetus OceanNeoproterozoic to Ordovician (~600 - ~460 Ma)

2

Lister et al.,1986. Detachment Faulting and the Evolution of Passive Continental Margins. Geology, 246 – 250.

Lower Plate

Upper Plate



Detachment fault reversed to become Caledonian suture zone

Collision – Caledonian Orogeny Ordovician to Lower Devonian (~600 - ~460 Ma)

2

Henriksen & Higgins, 2008, Geological research and mapping in the Caledonian orogen of East Greenland, 700N - 820N.

In: Higgins et al., (eds), The Greenland Caledonides: Evolution of the Northeast Margin of Laurentia. Geol. Soc. Am., Mem. 202, 1 – 27.

Lower Plate

Upper Plate



Rifting – Opening of Norwegian-Greenland SeaTriassic to Recent (251 – 0Ma) Final breakup 56 Ma

2

Caledonian suture zone reversed to become detachment fault

Dinkelman et al., 2010, The NE Greenland Continental Margin. Geo Expro, December, 36 – 40.

Faleide et al., 2008, Structure and evolution of the continental margin off Norway and the Barents Sea. Episodes, 31, 82 – 91.

Lower Plate

Upper Plate



Convergent Strike Slip or Transform Motion Upthrust Zone

3

Modified after Lowell,1972 Spitzbergen Tertiary Orogenic Belt and Fracture Zone. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 3091 – 3102.

Eurasian

Plate

North American

Plate

• Two plates moving at low convergent angle causes space problem.

• Easiest direction for relief is upwards.

• Upthrusts are not necessarily symmetrical.

• Faults coalesce and anastomose with depth.



Detachment-Fault Model of Passive Continental Margins Upper Plate or Lower Plate Characteristics

2 Complex Structure,

Bowed up Detachment Faults,

Wide Continental Shelf.

Lower Plate

Upper Plate

Relatively Unstructured,

Underplating Uplift,

Narrow Continental Shelf.

Lister et al.,1986. Detachment Faulting and the Evolution of Passive Continental Margins. Geology, 246 – 250.



North Atlantic Asymmetric Conjugate Margins (1991)

Torske & Prestvik, 1991. Mesozoic detachment faulting between Greenland and Norway:

Inferences from Jan Mayen Fracture Zone system and associated alkalic volcanic rocks. Geology, 481 – 484.

Lower

PlateLower

Plate

Lower Plate:

Complex Structure,

Bowed up Detachment Faults,

Wide Continental Shelf.

Upper

Plate

Upper

Plate

Upper Plate

Upper Plate:

Relatively Unstructured,

Uplifted Margin,

Narrow Continental Shelf.



Basement Terranes and Tectonic Lineaments

of Norway

Lower

Plate

Upper

Plate

Upper

Plate

NW-SE to WNW-ESE lineament populations:

- clearly different from other populations, since almost evenly distributed throughout study area.

- represent inherited structural grain, arising from a megafracture pattern imposed on the western Fennoscandian Shield during Proterozoic time.

- evidence from northern Scandinavia and Russia shows, in fact, that several of these NW-SE to ENE-WSW lineaments originated during the Archean.

Gabrielsen et al., 2002. Tectonic lineaments of Norway, Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift, v. 82, 153 – 174.



Lewisian Gneiss Complex (UK) -

Offshore/Onshore Linkage

• Accreted as series of terranes in the

Precambrian

• Accretion occurred before most brittle

deformation

Pless et al., 2010. Characterising fault networks in the Lewisian Gneiss Complex,

NW Scotland: Implications for petroleum potential in the Clair Field basement, Faroe-Shetland Basin. AAPG, New Orleans – oral & poster presentation

• Prominent NE-SW & NW-SE fault trends

• NW-SE faults produce the longest lineaments

• Originate in Archean (2490-2400 Ma): Steep

NW-SE shear zones formed due to dextral

transpression

• Reactivated during all subsequent tectonic

episodes



North Atlantic & Norwegian - Greenland Sea Deformation History

1

2

3

4

5

7

12

3

456

7 8 9

6

Iapetus Ocean Spreading

Variscan Orogeny

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 NE Greenland AFTA Cooling Events

Break-up & early opening of Central Atlantic

Regional extension in North Atlantic region

Limited seafloor spreading southern North Atlantic

Focus of rifting in North Atlantic region

Opening of southern North Atlantic

I - Main rift axis northern North Atlantic

Main rift axis moved to Labrador Sea

Seafloor spreading Labrador Sea

Rifting in Norwegian-Greenland Sea area

Break-up Norwegian-Greenland Sea area - Magmatism

Seafloor spreading Ægir RidgeI - Plate reorganization

Change in spreading direction Norwegian-Greenland Sea area

Uplift of areas surrounding Norwegian-Greenland Sea area

Glaciations – continued uplift & erosion

Seafloor spreading Kolbeinsey Ridge

Seafloor spreading Mohns Ridge

Seafloor spreading Lena Trough - Knipov Ridge (Fram Strait)

Break-up & early opening of Southern Atlantic

Caledonidian Orogeny

Gravitational Collapse

8

9

Principal stress/strain axes at low angle to foliation

Reactivation of pre-existing”weak” foliation planes

U Cretaceous Inversion

Early Cimmerian

Mid Cimmerian

Late Cimmerian

Laramide Orogeny

Extension/Seafloor Spreading

Inversion/Compression

Legend


First Wilson Cycle

Second

Wilson

Cycle

Parry, 2011. Opening of the North Atlantic & Norwegian – Greenland Sea Basin: Lessons from the South Atlantic. 3P Arctic Polar Petroleum Potential Conference, Halifax


Senja Shear Belt:Onshore linkage to offshore Senja Fracture Zone

Simplified and modified after Bergh et al., 2012. Was the Precambrian Basement of Western Troms and Lofoten-Vesterålen in Northern Norway Linked to the Lewisian

of Scotland? A Comparison of Crustal Components, Tectonic Evolution and Amalgamation History. Intech. Tectonics – Recent Advances, Chapter 11, 283 – 330.



Deep intense, sub-tropical weathering of basement

fracture zones during the Triassic - Jurassic

Used with permission: Olesen et al., 2013. Deep weathering, neotectonics and strandflat formation in Nordland, northern Norway.

Norwegian Journal of Geology, Vol 93, 189 – 213. Trondheim 2013, ISSN 029-196X.



Basement fractures – sites of preferential weathering

re-used by Plio-Pleistocene to Recent glaciers

4



Conclusions› Wilson Cycles and Tectonic Inheritance:

› Continental collision suture zone becomes detachment zone during subsequent rifting,

› Basement fractures have controlled the assembly and breakup of continents through out geologic time,

› Reactivated most recently during post-glacial isostatic readjustment.

› Fracture Zones have been the sites of intensely weathered since their formation:

› Especially during the Triassic-Jurassic sub-tropical climates,

› Most recently used by Plio-Pleistocene - Recent glaciers,

› Cleaned out during the last ice age.

› Fracture Zones control:

› Sediment distribution,

› Coarse clastic entry points (source to sink),

› Provide hydrocarbon migration routes,

› Create trapping geometries (strike-slip faulting geometries) &

› Allow development of new models for exploration.

Acknowledgements:

DEA management for support for the publication of this article,

Roy Gabrielsen (UiO) and John Dehls (NGU) for use of the digital lineament dataset,

Odleiv Olesen (NGU) for permission to use Jurassic weathering diagram.


parry_2016_eage_wilson_cycles_and_the_opening_of_the_north atlantic

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