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A Finite Element Model of the Subsidence and Thermal Evolution of Extensional Basins: Application to the Labrador Continental Margin

  • Conference paper
Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins

Abstract

A one-dimensional finite element model has been developed to study postrift thermal and subsidence histories of basins formed by lithospheric stretching. The model includes depth-dependent extension, radiogenic heat production, and variations in the sediment thermal properties. Inputs to the model are a rifting age, a sediment budget, and the stretching parameters β and δ, for the crust and subcrustal lithosphere, derived from back-stripping analysis.

Thermal histories of sediments are computed assuming conductive heat transport and model-derived temperatures are used to make predictions of organic maturity using chemical reaction kinetic theory. In addition to vitrinite reflectance, a promising technique of measuring organic maturity involves aromatization-isomerization (A-I) reactions associated with biological marker compounds common to most organic-rich sediments. These are unimolecular, first-order reactions that precede the main phase of oil generation and therefore can be used to locate the top of the petroleum generation zone. Model results can be compared with organic maturity measurements (A-I products, vitrinite reflectance), crustal thickness estimates from seismic refraction experiments, corrected bottom-hole temperatures and heat-flow measurements, and paleobathymetry or stratigraphy at the modeled location.

Preliminary results from a study of seven wells from the Cretaceous age Labrador continental margin, northeastern Canada, illustrate use of the model. The results show good agreement between theory and observations when measured thermal properties of the crust and sediments are incorporated into the model. The combined effects of increased sediment accumulation and decreased heat flow with time means that organic maturation is most sensitive to present thermal conditions where sediments are at their maximum temperature. Synrift and early postrift sediments are too thin to record the effects of the early temperature history when predicted heat flow was much higher. Therefore, although the margin has experienced a complex rifting history, a simple model in which the extension was effectively instantaneous can account for subsidence, present-day temperatures, and organic maturity at the modeled well locations. Although the resolution of the observations is poor and interpretations conflicting, the model generally predicts paleobathymetries greater than those inferred from biostratigraphic data, suggesting that refinements to the model are necessary to improve on subsidence predictions.

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Authors
  1. Dale R. Issler
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  2. Christopher Beaumont
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Denver Federal Center, United States Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado, 80225, USA

    Nancy D. Naeser

  2. Mobil Exploration and Producing Services, Inc., Dallas, Texas, 75265-0232, USA

    Thane H. McCulloh

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Issler, D.R., Beaumont, C. (1989). A Finite Element Model of the Subsidence and Thermal Evolution of Extensional Basins: Application to the Labrador Continental Margin. In: Naeser, N.D., McCulloh, T.H. (eds) Thermal History of Sedimentary Basins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3492-0_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-3492-0_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8124-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-3492-0

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