A three‐dimensional stratigraphic model for the Messinian crisis in the Pannonian Basin, eastern Hungary

Abstract

A three‐dimensional quantitative stratigraphic forward model is employed to investigate the controls leading to the Messinian events in the lacustrine Pannonian Basin of Central Paratethys, and the link between the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean and the late Miocene‐Pliocene stratigraphy of the Pannonian Basin. Subsurface geological data show that a prominent unconformity surface formed during Messinian time in the Pannonian Basin associated with a sudden forced regression, abrupt basinward shift of facies and a subsequent, prolonged lowstand normal regression. The lowstand prograding series filled up the shallow basin fast, while, at the same time, the marginal areas of the basin were subject to tectonic inversion. The Dionisos program used in this research is built on a nonlinear water‐driven sediment diffusion process, and it employs multiple sediment classes, basin flexure and compaction. Four different scenarios were built in the experiments to test possible basin histories with different rates and timing of tectonic inversion. Each scenario was modelled in two versions: including and not including a lake‐level fall in the Messinian. The results confirm that the Pannonian Basin in the study area has undergone a tectonic inversion since the Messinian, although the exact rates of uplift at different locations remain uncertain. The unconformity and the observed stratigraphic architecture and facies pattern could be modelled adequately only in the versions that applied a Messinian lake‐level fall. Our research concludes that the Messinian unconformity in the Pannonian Basin was caused by an absolute lake‐level drop, likely linked to the desiccation of the Mediterranean, followed by subsidence and normal regression in the basin centre and concomitant tectonic inversion and uplift along the basin margins.

Onshore to offshore correlation of regional unconformities in the Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary successions of the Calabrian Arc (central Mediterranean)

“…The study of the stratigraphic architecture of basin fills to understand their evolution and the parameters controlling sedimentation is crucial for precise reconstructions of accommodation development and consumption through time, as largely demonstrated by studies in a variety of tectonic contexts (e.g., Miall, 1997;Catuneanu et al, 2000;Hampson et al, 2001;Zecchin et al, 2004a;Jackson et al, 2005;Zecchin et al, 2012;Csato et al, 2013;Massari and Prosser, 2013;Zecchin et al, 2013a,b). A further step of this approach consists in studying the geodynamic evolution of the lithospheric blocks that host sedimentary basins, the fills of which typically record the signature of large-scale tectonic drivers (Cloetingh, 1988;Einsele, 2000;Leeder, 2011).…”

Automatic calibration of stratigraphic forward models for predicting reservoir presence in exploration

“…Most previous publications have addressed the calibration of basin-scale SFMs through trial and error (examples in Griffiths et al, 2001;Euzen et al, 2004;Wijns, et al, 2004;Teles et al, 2008;Warrlich et al, 2008;Gratacos et al, 2009a, b;Csato et al, 2013), and with a qualitative assessment of the resulting match. In most cases, the long computing times incurred for each simulated model limited the number of scenarios that could be attempted (typically tens of models, at most), and prevented a good assessment of uncertainty by inadequately sampling the solution space.…”

“…In Dionisos, sediment-mass conservation and sediment-transport processes are integrated by the combination of several mechanisms (Granjeon and Joseph, 1999;Eymard et al, 2004;Alzaga-Ruiz et al, 2009;Csato et al, 2013;Gvirtzman et al, 2014; Figure 3):…”

“…This software, developed by Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), allows for the 3D simulation of a variety of geological processes controlling stratigraphy and depositional environments in most sedimentary settings, such as continental, deltaic, deep-water and carbonates. (Figure 3; Euzen et al, 2004;Rabineau et al, 2005;Burgess et al, 2006;Alzaga-Ruiz et al, 2009;Cacas et al, 2008;Teles et al, 2008;Somme et al, 2009;Williams et al, 2011;Csato et al, 2013;Gvirtzman et al, 2014). Dionisos requires an initial paleobathymetry to start the simulation.…”

“…Nonlinear water-driven diffusion: Sediment is transported as a function of both the fluid flow and the local topographic slope (Csato et al, 2013;Gvirtzman et al, 2014). The momentum equation for the fluid is reduced to a depthaveraged balance between friction and gravity.…”