SECTION 2 THE MECHANICS OF SEDIMENTARY BASIN FORMATION

Chapter 3 Basin due to lithospheric stretching

Skogseid (2001), Marine Petroleum Geology, 18.

Reading: Ruppel, C. (1995) Extensional processes in continental lithosphere. JGR, v.100(B12), 24,187-24215.
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 SECTION 2 THE MECHANICS OF SEDIMENTARY BASIN FORMATION

Chapter 3 Basin due to lithospheric stretching

3.1 Introduction to rifts, failed rifts, and passive continental margins

3.2 Geological and geophysical observations in regions of continental
extension
3.2.1 Rifts
3.2.2 Passive continental margins
3.3 Introduction to models of continental extension
3.3.1 Active and passive rifting idealizations
3.3.2 Postrift subsidence at passive continental margins
3.3.3 Dynamical models involving lithospheric strength and
rheology
3.4 Uniform stretching of the continental lithosphere
3.4.1 McKenzie's (1978a) uniform stretching model
3.4.2 Uniform stretching at passive continental margins

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 SECTION 2 THE MECHANICS OF SEDIMENTARY BASIN FORMATION

Chapter 3 Basin due to lithospheric stretching

3.5 Modifications to the uniform stretching model

3.5.1 Nonuniform (depth-dependent) stretching
3.5.2 Pure versus simple shear
3.5.3 Protracted rifting and lateral heat conduction
3.5.4 Elevated asthenospheric temperatures
3.5.5 Magmatic activity at passive margins
3.5.6 Induced mantle convection
3.5.7 Radiogenic heat production
3.5.8 Flexural compensation
3.5.9 The depth of necking
3.6 A dynamic approach to lithospheric extension
3.6.1 Generalities
3.6.2 Modes of continental extension: narrow and wide rifts
3.6.3 Forces on the continental lithosphere
3.6.4 Rheology of the continental lithosphere
3.6.5 Numerical experiments on strain rate during continental
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 SECTION 2 THE MECHANICS OF SEDIMENTARY BASIN FORMATION

Chapter 3 Basin due to lithospheric stretching

3.7 Mantle plumes and igneous activity associated with continental

extension
3.7.1 Plumes
3.7.2 Melt generation during continental extension
3.7.3 The northern North Atlantic and the Iceland Plume
3.7.4 Low-volume melts in the Mesozoic North Sea Rift
3.8 Estimation of the stretch factor and strain rate history
3.8.1 Estimation of the stretch factor from thermal subsidence
history
3.8.2 Estimation of the stretch factor from crustal thickness
changes
3.8.3 Estimation of the stretch factor from forward
tectonostratigraphic modeling
3.8.4 Inversion of strain rate history from subsidence data

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 3.1 Introduction to rifts, failed rifts, and passive continental margin

All rifts, failed rifts, and

passive continental margins
experience: (1) brittle
extension of the crust, causing
extensional fault arrays and
fault-controlled subsidence,
and (2) thermal relaxation
following ductile extension of
the lithosphere, leading to
regional postrift subsidence.

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 3.2 Geological and geophysical observations in regions of continental extension
3.2.1 Rifts
Heat flow: Rift zones, in
general, have heat flows
of 90-110 mWm-2. This is
a factor of 2 higher than in
surrounding unstretched
terranes.

Fig. 3.2 Heat flows in some continental rifts and surrounding regions, compared to the global heat flow6
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average. Dark boxes are rift zones; light boxes are rift flanks or adjacent unstretched regions.
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 Seismicity: Rift zones are characterized by high levels of earthquake activity.
Earthquakes typically have moment magnitudes of up to 5.0 (Rhine Graben) or
6.0 (East African Rift), with shallow focal depths of < 30 km, indicating that the
earthquakes are located in the brittle mid-upper crust.

Crustal thickness: Moho is elevated beneath rift zones. Some regions of

extensive, diffusive extension such as the Basin and Range, SW USA, are
located on previously thickened crust. Another example is the Tibetan Plateau,
which is undergoing active extension and overlies crust as much as 70 km thick.

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 Fig. 3.3 (a) Location of main elements of the late
Eocene-Recent Western European Rift System,
with sites of Tertiary volcanicity; (b) Depth to the
Moho below sea-level (in km), showing a mantle
bulge in the southern Rhine Graben centred on
the Kaiserstuhl volcano (Illies 1977). The largest
amounts of denudation are found on the rift flanks
above the shallow mantle.

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 Reflective lower crust

Fig. 3.4 Crustal thickness changes in the North Sea area as a result of Mesozoic rifting (after
Klemperer 1988). (a) Unmigrated line drawing in two-way travel time of NSDP line 1 from the Shetland
Spur to the Norwegian coast (location in (c)); (b) Depth-migrated version showing the depth of the
reflection Moho; (c) Contour map of the interpreted thickness of the prerifting basement (pre-Triassic)
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 Classical example:
Viking Graben
in the North Sea

• Triassic and Jurassic sedimentary strata

have been rotated between subparallel high-
angle listric faults.

• The faults can be traced deep into the crust

and are not bounded by a detachment
surface.

• At the time when these faults formed they

reached a depth at which the crust was hot
enough to deform by ductile flow, causing
sub-horizontal reflections in the lower crust.

Moho
Klemperer & Peddy (1992) in Understanding the Earth: A New Synthesis.
Brown, Hawkesworth & Wilson (eds), p.265

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 Gravity: Rift zones typically have a long wavelength Bouguer gravity low
with sometimes a secondary high located in the center of the rift zone. The
conventional explanation is that rift zones have anomalously hot material in the
mantle beneath the rift, producing a mass deficit and therefore a negative
gravity anomaly. The subsidiary gravity high is thought to be due to the intrusion
of dense magma bodies within the continental crust.

Faults: normal dip-slip faults predominates with a variable number of strike-

slip faults depending on the orientation of the rift axis in relation to the bulk
extension direction. Most major border faults dip steeply inwards towards the
basin center and are planar as far as they ca be imaged. However, some rift
bounding faults are low-angle and listric, taking up very large amounts of
horizontal extension, such as in the supradetachment basins of SW USA.
Metamorphic rocks may be unroofed from < 25 km depth in these “core
complexes”.

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 Fig. 3.5 Gravity profiles across rift zones. (a) Gravity profiles and density model across the Gregory Rift,
Kenya. The secondary gravity high is modeled as due to the intrusion of dense magma bodies beneath the
rift valley (after Baker and Wohlenberg 1971); (b) Gravity profile and density model for a profile across
Mesquite Flat, northern Death Valley, California (after Blakeley et al. 1999); (c) Gravity profile (c.33°N) and
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thought to be due to the presence of dense igneous bodies beneath the rift. Densities shown in kgm-3 .
 Topography: Active rift zones typically have elevated rift flank topography
bordering a depositional basin.
Two scales of uplift:
(a) Long length scale (several 100s km: Like the > 3 km-high topographic swells
of the Ethiopia and East Africa.
(b) Smaller length scale (< 100 km): linear rift flank uplifts associated with border
fault arrays. Like the < 1 km-high highlands bordering the Gulf of Suez; southern
Rhine Graben, where tectonically driven exhumation of the rift flank has resulted
in 2-3 km of erosion. Regions of extensive, diffusive extension are associated
with plateau-type topography, such as the Basin and Range, USA (rifting due to
shallow subduction of hot oceanic lithosphere) and especially Tibet (rifting due
to thickening of continental lithosphere).

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 Fig. 3.6 (a) The major domal uplifts of Africa (Afar and East African domes) are due to uplift over hotspots
in the mantle. Also shown are the smaller topographic uplifts of central Africa, and the main rift system:
AG, Abu Gabra Rift; MR, Malawi Rift; ER and WR, Eastern and Western Rifts; NR, Ngaoundere Rift.
Topographic and Bouguer gravity profiles across the Afar (A─B) and East Africa (C─D) swells are
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shown 14
in (b) and (c). (d) Topographic profile along E─F showing rift flank uplift along the Red Sea and
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Gulf of Suez. After Edinger et al.(1989).
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 Time scale and amount of extension

Two families of basins, with different strain rate, total extensional strain (or
stretch factor β), and the dip of master faults:
1. Narrow rifts: Discrete continental rifts located on normal thickness crust
(such as the Rhine Graben, Baikal Rift, Rio Grande Rift) extend slowly (<1
mm yr-1) over long periods of time (10 to > 30 Myr), with low total extensional
strain (generally < 10 km). Master fault angles are steep (45-70°). Seismicity
suggests that crustal extension takes place down to mid-crustal levels. At
higher strain rates, narrow rifts may evolve through increased stretching into
passive margins.
2. Wide rifts: Supradetachment basins occur within wide extended domains
with thickened crust. They typically extend quickly (<20 mm yr-1) over short
periods of time (5-12 Myr) with a high amount of total extensional strain (10-
80 km). Master faults (detachments) are shallow in dip (10-30°), but may have
originated at higher angles. Local anomalies in the ductile lower crust are
amplified to produced core complexes.

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 Fig. 3.7 Rift, supradetachment basins, and proto-oceanic troughs in terms of their rate, total extensional
Prepared by Dr. Andrew T. Lin 16
strain, and dip of master faults, based on Friedmann and Burbank (1995).
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 3.2.2 Passive continental margins

Skogseid (2001), Marine Petroleum Geology, 18.

Passive margin: A continental margin which is not also a plate margin. Such margins
are also known as “aseismic margins” or “Atlantic-type margins” and are contrasted
with active margins.
Table. 3.1 Conjugate margins of the Atlantic

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 Two end-members of passive margins based
on sediment thickness:
‹ Starved margins (2-4 km thick): North
Atlantic European margin.
‹ Nourished margins (generally 5-12 km):
North Atlantic US margin.

Fig. 3.8 Volcanic, sediment-nourished, and sediment-starved margins (after White and McKenzie 1989). (a)
Location of margins in the central-north Atlantic region on a Middle Jurassic reconstruction (170Ma), shortly
after the onset of seafloor spreading; (b) Biscay margin, which is sediment starved; (c) Baltimore Canyon
Trough margin, which is thickly sedimented; (d) Hatton Bank margin, which is characterized by important
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magmatic 18
activity. Shaded area shows extent of extrusive basalts. Moho is overdeepened due to presence
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 Passive continental margin
of the eastern USA

A’
Flex-down &
Flex-up
Thermal subsidence
A A’

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 A cross-section of the NE Atlantic margin of the USA

Magnetic anomaly

Pre-rift Post-rift

Syn-rift

Magmatic activities

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 Conjugate margins: Original matching margins on
either side of the ocean (Nova Scotia vs. Morocco)

Source: Molnar et al. (2002) Correlation of syn-rift structural elements across

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the central Atlantic between Morocco and Nova Scotia, AAPG Lecture Series.
21
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 Fig. 3.9 Conjugate margins based
on deep seismic information (after
Lister et al.1986; Louden and Chian
1999). (a) Symmetric margin (pure
shear), and (b) asymmetric (simple
shear) with a lithospheric
detachment fault. COB is ocean-
continent boundary.

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 Regional seismic transects
Molnar et al. (2002)

Morocco

Nova Scotia

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 Molnar et al. (2002)

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 HRAZ: High Relief
Accommodation Zone

Molnar et al. (2002)

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 Crustal transect across the northern Namibian margin

Skogseid (2001), Marine Petroleum Geology, 18.

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 Passive margin stratigraphy

Passive margins are

characterized by rifted and
rotated blocks of usually
thick sedimentary
sequences.
The stratigraphy of a passive margin consists of pre-rift,
syn-rift, and post-rift successions. The pre-rift and syn-rift
strata are separated by the syn-rift unconformity whereas
the syn- and post-rift strata are divided by the post-rift (or
break-up) unconformity.
From: Bosence (1998) in: Sedimentation and Tectonics in Rift Basins.
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Rurser & Bosence (eds), p. 11. 27
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 Pre-rift sections

• The pre-rift section is totally unrelated to the subsequent

rift phase and can be of any lithology.
The pre-rift section is faulted during rifting and theoretically
has a better chance of preservation when the rift basin was
initiated as a sag rather than as an arch.
• The top of the pre-rift section is usually marked by an
angular unconformity (syn-rift unconformity) that marks the
onset of rifting and is visible on seismic sections.

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 Syn-rift sections

• The most common sediments that accumulate during

rifting are proximal coarse clastics, including
conglomerates and red beds shed from rising fault blocks,
and distal finer grained clastics, including lacustrine
lithologies, all in a continental setting.

• Several rifted basins have source and reservoir rocks

entirely of continental origin with no marine rocks present.
Examples include rifted basins in China, Brazil and Sudan.
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 “Frozen” Triassic-Jurassic rift basins around eastern USA

Bond et al. (1995) in: Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins, Busby & Ingersoll (eds.), p.169.

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 Post-rift sections

The lower part of the post rift section is characterized by gently dipping
reflections that represent the final establishment of a marine transgression.
The later post rift sequence is often marked by cycles of sigmoidal shape,
which progradation of sediments in a seaward direction.
A thick accumulation of salt, continuous evaporation of normal sea water,
which was periodically replenished, is a normal consequence of continental
breakup and seafloor spreading at low latitudes.
Postrift phase (or drift phase) is typically dominated by gravity-controlled
deformation (salt tectonics, mud diapirism, slumps, slides, listric growth faults).
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 Melting is common during rifting

Leeder (1995) in: Tectonics of Sedimentary Basins, Busby & Ingersoll (eds.), p.123.

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 Volcanic vs.
non-volcanic
margins

Mutter et al. (1988) JGR,93

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 An idealized volcanic margin

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 Magnetic
anomaly, main
magmatic
features in the
northeast
Atlantic

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 East Greenland margin (EG63)

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 How SDR being formed?

Larsen & Saunders (1998)

Figure 6. The principle of seaward-dipping reflector sequence (SDRS) formation. The

interpretation builds on the model for crustal accretion in Iceland (Pálmason, 1986). A.
Initiation of SDRS formation during breakup and formation of the featheredge of the
SDRS onlapping onto continental crust. In the case of the southeast Greenland COT,
the Continental Succession is to be considered part of the continental crust. When
spreading continues, a wide zone of SDRS crust forms. The model implies a down-dip,
narrow and fairly linear, subaerially exposed volcanic source that stayed above sea
level during the entire SDRS formation (Larsen and Jakobsdóttir, 1988). B. Kinematic
model of formation of SDRS-type crust. Loading stress highest in center. Flow lines in
Prepared by Dr. Andrew T. Lin 38
dashed line and resultant stratigraphic structure in solid lines with age progression
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shown in m.y. Sheeted dike complex at the bottom of the lava pile. Modified from
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Pálmason (1986).
 Divergent Margins and Petroleum
Potential

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