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The role of mass transport deposits contributing to fluid escape: Neogene outcrop and seismic examples from north Taranaki, New Zealand

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Abstract

Many sedimentary structures are the manifestation of fluid escape in sedimentary basins. This paper examines outcrop and seismic examples in upper Miocene deep-water sandstones and siltstones of north Taranaki, New Zealand. In outcrop examples of fluid escape features comprise discordant bodies within otherwise uniformly bedded surrounding stratigraphy, features characterized by steep sided, over-hanging, vertical or near-vertical margins, infilled with an assortment of poorly sorted or chaotically arranged sandstone and siltstone. Typically, these features are several metres wide and up to 20 m high in outcrop and always occur stratigraphically below a mass transport deposit (MTD). Examples of similar features from nearby 2D and 3D seismic reflection data consist of localized vertical to sub-vertical zones of disrupted reflectivity and are as much as 300 m in height and 10’s–100’s of metres in width. The structures occur in close association with the basal slide planes of seismic-scale MTDs. The close association of fluid escape structures with MTDs suggests that these features formed by the sudden loading of the sedimentary succession by the emplacement of several metre-thick overlying MTDs. We suggest recurring phases whereby the emplacement of MTDs triggered fluid escape within underlying strata and, in turn, the fluid escape contributed to further instability with potential for mobilization and transport of subsequent MTDs in a dynamic deep-water setting.

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Acknowledgements

Biostratigraphic dating used in this study has come from decades of work by palaeontologists from GNS Science and the New Zealand Geological Survey, most notably in recent years by George Scott, Martin Crundwell and Hugh Morgans. Several collaborators and colleagues have contributed to discussions and data collection over several years including Laurisa Masalimova, Jon Rotzien, Martin Crundwell, Brad Ilg, Hannu Seebeck, Matt Sagar, Kyle Bland, Hannu Seebeck and Andy Nicol. We thank Russell and Parani Gibbs of Tongaporutu for access to their land. Technical reviews by Jess Hillman and Karsten Kroeger (GNS Science) and by Joe Cartwright (Oxford University) and Glenn Sharman (University of Arkansas) greatly improved the manuscript.

Funding

Financial support for this work has come from the New Zealand government through Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment SSIF funding to GNS Science as part of the Sedimentary Basin Research Programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GNS Science, 1 Fairway Drive, Lower Hutt, 5018, New Zealand

    G. H. Browne, S. Bull, M. J. Arnot, A. F. Boyes & P. R. King

  2. Aker BP ASA, PO Box 65, NO-1324, Lysaker, Norway

    K. Helle

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  1. G. H. Browne
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  2. S. Bull
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  3. M. J. Arnot
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  4. A. F. Boyes
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  5. P. R. King
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  6. K. Helle
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Correspondence to G. H. Browne or S. Bull.

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Browne, G.H., Bull, S., Arnot, M.J. et al. The role of mass transport deposits contributing to fluid escape: Neogene outcrop and seismic examples from north Taranaki, New Zealand. Geo-Mar Lett 40, 789–807 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-020-00641-z

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