An integrated geophysical study of the Estancia Basin, central New Mexico

Barrow, Ronald; Keller, G. Randy

doi:10.1130/spe291-p171

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The extensive reflection data in the Albuquerque basin reported by Russell and Snelson (1994) showed that this basin is divided into two sub-basins with opposite fault polarities. East of the Albuquerque basin, the Estancia basin is covered by a grid of seismic lines, summarized in Barrow and Keller (1994). These data show that there are many reflectors within the basement and that this basin is a pull-apart structure related to the Ancestral Rocky Mountains (Pennsylvanian).…”

Section: Reflection Profilesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geophysical studies of crustal structure in the Rocky Mountain region: A review

Keller

Snelson

Sheehan

et al. 1998

Rocky Mountain Geology

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The Rocky Mountains have fascinated the geological community for over 100 years, but crustal-scale geophysical studies are relatively rare in this region. However, a knowledge of crustal structure is essential if we are to fully understand the region's tectonic history. Thus, we have compiled and synthesized existing information on crustal structure in order to provide as complete a picture as possible at this time. We have focused on Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico where there are enough data to make useful correlations with geologic features. The Rocky Mountain region includes the crest of a broad uplift on which the Southern Rocky Mountains are located. In turn, the Southern Rocky Mountains are bisected by the Rio Grande rift. In the Rio Grande rift, distinct crustal thinning (at least 5 km relative to adjacent areas) can be documented from Albuquerque, New Mexico southward. The area of thinned crust widens southward, as does the physiographic expression of the rift. The thinnest crust documented to date (about 28 km) is found west of El Paso, Texas. In contrast with East Africa, the crustal thinning is gradual from the rift valley to the shoulders, perhaps reflecting the back-arc thermal regime that existed prior to rifting. The thickest crust in the region (about 53 km) appears to be associated with both the Southern Rockies in Colorado and the topographically lower Great Plains in Colorado and New Mexico. This lack of correlation between topography and crustal thickness implies that the mantle is playing a major role in the attainment of isostatic balance in this area. Magmatic modification of the crust during rifting appears to have been minor. However, the modification due to the voluminous mid-Tertiary magmatism in the Datil-Mogollon volcanic field (southwestern New Mexico) and San Juan volcanic field (southwestern Colorado) is substantial. In the Datil-Mogollon field, a batholith that accounts for about one fifth of the crustal thickness has been detected in the upper crust, and a feature of similar dimensions is indicated in the San Juan region. There is evidence of the crust thinning northward from Colorado into Wyoming, which could be a relic of Archean rifting of the southern margin of the Wyoming craton.

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Section: Reflection Profilesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Geophysical studies of crustal structure in the Rocky Mountain region: A review

Keller

Snelson

Sheehan

et al. 1998

Rocky Mountain Geology

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“…The Estanica Basin lies between the middle Rio Grande and Pecos valleys and is a large structural basin which is part of the Rio Grande Rift system (Barrow and Keller 1994). The basin likely closed and began filling with sediment in the late Tertiary or early Pleistocene (Allen and Anderson 2000).…”

Section: Changing Environments and Fluctuating Lake Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Folsom on the Edge of the Plains: Occupation of the Estancia Basin, Central New Mexico

Reitze

2016

PaleoAmerica

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“…1) is an asymmetric structural depression that has existed as a depositional basin from Morrowan (Early Pennsylvanian) through Recent time. The basin has undergone three major stages of tectonic deformation (Chapin, 1971;Chapin and Cather, 1981;Chapin, 1991, 1994;Barrow and Keller, 1994;Broadhead, 1994): 1) late Paleozoic (Pennsylvanian-Early Permian) deformation associated with formation of the ancestral Rocky Mountains; 2) Laramide deformation from the Late Cretaceous through the Eocene; and 3) multiphase extensional deformation, beginning in the Oligocene, associated with formation of the Rio Grande rift.…”

Section: Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seismic reflection profiles were indispensable to the construction of the subsurface structure-contour maps. Barrow and Keller (1994) provided an integrated picture of gravity, magnetic, and reflection seismic data within the basin. Of particular importance were the seismic reflection profiles provided to Barrow and Keller by Mobil Exploration and Production.…”

Section: Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Subsurface geology and oil and gas potential of Estancia Basin, New Mexico

Broadhead¹

1997

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The Estancia Basin of central New Mexico is an asymmetric, north-south-trending structural depression that originated during the Pennsylvanian. The present-day basin covers 1,500 mi 2 and is defined approximately by the Estancia Valley. It is bounded on the east by the late Paleozoic Pedernal uplift, on the west by the Tertiary-age Sandia, Manzano, and Los Pinos Mountains, on the north by the Española Basin, and on the south by Chupadera Mesa. Depth to Precambrian basement ranges from more than 8,500 ft in a narrow graben (Perro sub-basin) in the eastern part of the basin to less than 1,000 ft on a shelf to the west.Basin fill consists primarily of Pennsylvanian and Wolfcampian sandstones and shales in the Perro sub-basin and sandstones, shales, and marine limestones on the shelf. In the Perro sub-basin, reservoirs are fine-to coarse-grained sandstones with relatively low permeabilities and porosities. On the shelf, reservoirs are mostly fine-to coarse-grained sandstones with porosities that range from 0 to 16% and average approximately 10%. Most limestones on the shelf have less than 5% porosity and are poor reservoirs; however, algal grainstones and recrystallized lime mudstones appear locally to form good reservoirs with porosities that can exceed 20%.Mature to marginally mature dark-gray to black Pennsylvanian shales are probable source rocks. Thermal Alteration Index ranges from 2.0 to 3.2. Shales become thermally mature with depth in the Perro sub-basin. On the western shelf, shales become mature to the west as a result of increased heating from the Rio Grande rift. Total organic carbon exceeds 0.5% in many shales, sufficient for hydrocarbon generation. Kerogen types are mixed algal, herbaceous, and woody, indicating that gas, or possibly gas mixed with oil, was generated. Kerogens in the shales of the Perro sub-basin are entirely woody, gas-prone types. In limestones and shales of the western shelf, kerogens have mixed marine and continental provenance, indicating that both oil and gas may have been generated on thermally mature parts of the shelf.Forty-three exploratory wells have been drilled in the basin. Only 17 of those wells have been drilled to Precambrian. Density of wells that penetrate the lowermost Pennsylvanian is less than one well for every three townships. Most of the wells were drilled before 1950 and lacked modern logs and testing apparatus with which to evaluate fully the drilled section. In spite of this, numerous shows of oil and gas have been reported; many of these shows are well documented by modern logs and tests, especially from wells drilled since 1970. During the 1930s and 1940s, carbon dioxide gas was produced commercially from two small fields on the western flank of the basin.

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An integrated geophysical study of the Estancia Basin, central New Mexico

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

Geophysical studies of crustal structure in the Rocky Mountain region: A review

Geophysical studies of crustal structure in the Rocky Mountain region: A review

Folsom on the Edge of the Plains: Occupation of the Estancia Basin, Central New Mexico

Subsurface geology and oil and gas potential of Estancia Basin, New Mexico

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