Geometry and growth of sill complexes: insights using 3D seismic from the North Rockall Trough

Thomson, Katie; Hutton, D.M.

doi:10.1007/s00445-003-0320-z

Cited by 219 publications

(225 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

203

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, they are explored for hydrocarbons all over the world (e.g., Senger et al, forthcoming), onshore and offshore, e.g., the Rockall Basin (e.g., Magee et al, 2014), the Faroe-Shetland Basin (e.g., Smallwood and Maresh, 2002), the Møre and Vøring Basins (e.g., Planke et al, 2005;Cartwright and Hansen, 2006), and the Neuquén Basin (e.g., Kay et al, 2006). The magma plumbing systems in these basins are primarily dominated by interconnected networks of sill intrusions, the emplacement of which can significantly deform the host rock and influence petroleum system development (Kontorovich et al, 1997;Thomson and Hutton, 2004;Cartwright and Hansen, 2006;de Saint-Blanquat et al, 2006;Morgan et al, 2008;Galerne et al, 2011;Schofield et al, 2015;Magee et al, 2016;Wilson et al, 2016). For example, numerous studies have demonstrated that sill intrusions may (1) locally heat and mature organic matter within the host rock, generating oil and/or gas (e.g., Rodriguez Monreal et al, 2009), (2) be associated with 1 overlying dome structures that can be described as four-way dip closures Jackson et al, 2013;Magee et al, 2014Magee et al, , 2015, and (3) promote the development of local intense fracture networks that locally increase host rock permeability (Witte et al, 2012;Agirrezabala, 2015;Senger et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of overburden deformation associated with the emplacement of the Tulipan sill, mid-Norwegian margin

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The emplacement of igneous intrusions into sedimentary basins mechanically deforms the host rocks and causes hydrocarbon maturation. Existing models of host-rock deformation are investigated using high-quality 3D seismic and industry well data in the western Møre Basin offshore mid-Norway. The models include synemplacement (e.g., elastic bending-related active uplift and volume reduction of metamorphic aureoles) and postemplacement (e.g., differential compaction) mechanisms. We use the seismic interpretations of five horizons in the Cretaceous-Paleogene sequence (Springar, Tang, and Tare Formations) to analyze the host rock deformation induced by the emplacement of the underlying saucer-shaped Tulipan sill. The results show that the sill, emplaced between 55.8 and 54.9 Ma, is responsible for the overlying dome structure observed in the seismic data. Isochron maps of the deformed sediments, as well as deformation of the younger postemplacement sediments, document a good match between the spatial distribution of the dome and the periphery of the sill. The thickness t of the Tulipan is less than 100 m, whereas the amplitude f of the overlying dome ranges between 30 and 70 m. Spectral decomposition maps highlight the distribution of fractures in the upper part of the dome. These fractures are observed in between hydrothermal vent complexes in the outer parts of the dome structure. The 3D seismic horizon interpretation and volume rendering visualization of the Tulipan sill reveal fingers and an overall saucer-shaped geometry. We conclude that a combination of different mechanisms of overburden deformation, including (1) elastic bending, (2) shear failure, and (3) differential compaction, is responsible for the synemplacement formation and the postemplacement modification of the observed dome structure in the Tulipan area.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of overburden deformation associated with the emplacement of the Tulipan sill, mid-Norwegian margin

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These include the sills of Great Whin and the Midland Valley (Francis, 1982;Goulty, 2005), a sill in Lajitas, Texas (Barker, 2000), sills in the Jameson Land Basin, East Greenland (Hald and Tegner, 2000), and in the North Rockall Trough (Thomson and Hutton, 2004) and the Møre Basin (Hansen and Cartwright, 2006), North Atlantic. Even though the feeder dykes of most sills are not exposed or directly linked to the sill in outcrops, feeding relationships and the geometry of the feeder can sometimes be inferred from magmatic foliations or the preferred orientation of the magnetic susceptibility (e.g.…”

Section: Dykes As Feeders For Sillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radially symmetrical sills are thought to be fed from the centre (e.g. Thomson and Hutton, 2004;Hansen and Cartwright, 2006), whereas bilaterally symmetrical sills are fed from one side of the sill. While radially symmetrical sills do occur, some of which develop into laccoliths , many and perhaps most sills are actually bilaterally symmetrical.…”

Section: Dykes As Feeders For Sillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other examples include sills in the Henry Mountains, Utah Pollard and Johnson, 1973;Horsman et al, 2005;de Saint-Blanquat et al, 2006), the Pallisades Sill, New Jersey (Shirley, 1987), and sills in Lajitas, Texas (Barker, 3 2000) as well as in Karoo, South Africa (Chevalier and Woodford, 1999). Geophysical methods have also been used to study sills in the Northern Rockall Trough (Thomson and Hutton, 2004) and the Møre Basin, North Atlantic (Hansen and Cartwright, 2006) and, as fluid magma chambers below active volcanoes (Auger et al, 2001) and mid-ocean ridges (Sinton and Detrick, 1992;Mutter et al, 1995;Singh et al, 2006). In addition to geological and geophysical field studies, there have been many theoretical studies on the mechanisms of sill emplacement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

New insights into the mechanics of sill emplacement provided by field observations of the Njardvik Sill, Northeast Iceland

Burchardt

2008

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sills are concordant sheet-like bodies of magma. Their mechanics of emplacement is an important but still not fully understood topic. The well-exposed basaltic Njardvik Sill in the extinct Tertiary Dyrfjöll Volcano in Northeast Iceland offers exceptionally clear insights into the mechanism of sill emplacement. The sill is multiple and consists of at least 7 units (sills) all of which were emplaced along a sharp contact between a rhyolitic intrusion and adjacent basaltic lava flows. Each sill unit was supplied with magma from an inclined sheet. The contacts between the sheets and the sill units are very clear and show that the sill units are much thicker than their feeder sheets. Since the Njardvik Sill consists of separate units, it obviously did not evolve into a homogeneous magma body. Nevertheless, the abrupt change in dip and thickness from inclined sheets to horizontal sills at this particular locality indicates that the earlier sills were influencing the stress field in their vicinity during the subsequent sheet injections. The local stresses around the newly formed sill units forced each of the subsequently injected sheets to change into sills. The Njardvik Sill can be followed laterally in a coastal section for 140 m until it ends abruptly at a fault that cuts the sill. Using these field observations as a basis, a numerical model shows how an inclined sheet opens up the contact between the felsic intrusion and the basaltic lava pile, along which the sill emplacement takes place. The results suggest that sill emplacement is primarily the result of stress rotation at contacts between layers of contrasting mechanical properties. There, the orientation of the maximum principal compressive stress σ1 is horizontal. Hence, such contacts can represent interfaces along which sill emplacement is encouraged.Once a sill has been emplaced, it extends the stress field with a horizontal orientation of σ1. Consequently, inclined sheets and dykes injected near the sill will be deflected into sills. The injection frequency of further sill units controls if the sill can grow into a larger magma body by mixing of the newly supplied with the initially injected magma. In case of the Njardvik Sill, the injection frequency was low, so subsequently emplaced sill units can be distinguished. The contacts between the sheets and the sill units are very clear and show that the sill units are much thicker than their feeder sheets. Since the Njardvik Sill consists of separate units, it obviously did not evolve into a homogeneous magma body. Nevertheless, the abrupt change in dip and thickness from inclined sheets to horizontal sills at this particular locality indicates that the earlier sills were influencing the stress field in their vicinity during the subsequent sheet injections. The local stresses around the newly formed sill units forced each of the subsequently injected sheets to change into sills. The Njardvik Sill can be followed laterally in a coastal section for 140 m until it ends abruptly at a fault that cuts the ...

show abstract

“…Later, 2D seismic reflection profiles, largely acquired in the course of hydrocarbon exploration, were used to map buried volcanoes and sills west of Shetland (Gatliff et al 1984;Evans et al 1989; Abraham and Ritchie 1991;Ritchie et al 2010). More recently, 3D seismic reflection 2 data from the Faroe-Shetland and Rockall basins have been used to study the detailed morphology of transgressive basic intrusions at depth (Davies et al 2002;Thomson and Hutton 2004). This paper uses a new type of marine geophysical data to interpret the tectonics of Cenozoic volcanism in the Inner Hebrides Basin, NW Scotland. The data consist of the processed results of a swath bathymetry survey carried out immediately north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, the site of the only mainland Cenozoic volcanic centre in the UK (Richey and Thomas 1930;Emeleus and Bell 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Fascadale Fault: A tectonic link between the Cenozoic volcanic centres of Rum and Ardnamurchan, Scotland, revealed by multibeam survey

Smith

2012

SJG

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Synopsis Current geological maps of the Ardnamurchan Central Complex show the FascadaleFault as a short (1.2 km) NW-trending tectonic junction between a sliver of the superstructure of the former Cenozoic volcano and the western margin of its outermost quartz-gabbroic intrusion. To the south, the mapped fault appears to die out in an area of coalescing basic igneous intrusions, whereas to the north, it is buried by alluvium before passing offshore into Fascadale Bay. Detailed bathymetric data obtained from a marine multibeam echo-sounder survey north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula reveal that the onshore fault is in structural continuity with a similarly-trending linear bathymetric feature, which extends almost to the island of Rum. Sea-bed geological structures offset by this major lineament suggest that the segment of the Fascadale Fault mapped onshore marks the southern end of a Cenozoic dextral strike-slip fault (>22 km long), which extends between Ardnamurchan and Rum. Based on these observations, a tectonic model is outlined that suggests that the sites of volcanic centres in the British part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province are controlled by the interaction of NW-trending structures, like the Fascadale Fault, with NNE-trending (Caledonoid) structures in a Cenozoic strike-slip regime.

show abstract

Geometry and growth of sill complexes: insights using 3D seismic from the North Rockall Trough

Abstract: Doleritic sill complexes, which are an important component of volcanic continental margins, can be imaged using 3D seismic reflection data.

Cited by 219 publications

References 21 publications

Mechanisms of overburden deformation associated with the emplacement of the Tulipan sill, mid-Norwegian margin

Mechanisms of overburden deformation associated with the emplacement of the Tulipan sill, mid-Norwegian margin

New insights into the mechanics of sill emplacement provided by field observations of the Njardvik Sill, Northeast Iceland

The Fascadale Fault: A tectonic link between the Cenozoic volcanic centres of Rum and Ardnamurchan, Scotland, revealed by multibeam survey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About