Sedimentary basin

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Please improve it by defining technical terminology, and by adding examples. (January 2013)

Cenozoic sedimentary basins in the U.S. (from USGS)

Sedimentary basins are regions of the earth of long-term subsidence creating accommodation space for
infilling by sediments.[1] The subsidence results from the thinning of underlying crust, sedimentary, volcanic,
and tectonic loading, and changes in the thickness or density of adjacent lithosphere. [2] Sedimentary basins
occur in diverse geological settings usually associated with plate tectonic activity. Basins are classified
structurally in various ways, with a primary classifications distinguishing among basins formed in various
plate tectonic regime (divergent, convergent, transform, intraplate), the proximity of the basin to the active
plate margins, and whether oceanic, continental or transitional crust underlies the basin.[1][2][3] Basins formed
in different plate tectonic regimes vary in their preservation potential. On oceanic crust, basins are likely to
be subducted, while marginal continental basins may be partially preserved, and intracratonic basins have a
high probability of preservation.[2] As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and
begin the process of lithification. A number of basins formed in extensional settings can
undergo inversionwhich has accounted for a number of the economically viable oil reserves on earth which
were formerly basins.
Contents
[hide]

1 Methods of formation
o

1.1 Lithospheric stretching

1.2 Lithospheric compression/shortening and flexure

1.3 Strike-slip deformation

2 Ongoing development

3 Study of sedimentary basins

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Methods of formation[edit]
Sedimentary basins form primarily in convergent, divergent and transform settings. Convergent boundaries
create foreland basins through tectonic compression of oceanic and continental crust during lithospheric
flexure. Tectonic extension at divergent boundaries where continental rifting is occurring can create a
nascent ocean basin leading to either an ocean or the failure of the rift zone. In tectonic strike-slip settings,
accommodation spaces occur as transpressional, transtensional or transrotational basins according to the
motion of the plates along the fault zone and the local topography pull-apart basins.[2]

Lithospheric stretching[edit]
If the lithosphere is caused to stretch horizontally, by mechanisms such as ridge-push or trench-pull, the
effect is believed to be twofold. The lower, hotter part of the lithosphere will "flow" slowly away from the main
area being stretched, whilst the upper, cooler and more brittle crust will tend to fault (crack) and fracture. The
combined effect of these two mechanisms is for the Earth's surface in the area of extension to subside,
creating a geographical depression which is then often infilled with water and/or sediments. (An analogy
might be a piece of rubber, which thins in the middle when stretched.)
An example of a basin caused by lithospheric stretching is the North Sea - also an important location for
significant hydrocarbon reserves. Another such feature is the Basin and Range province which covers most
of the USA state of Nevada, forming a series of horst and graben structures.
Another expression of lithospheric stretching results in the formation of ocean basins with central ridges;
The Red Sea is in fact an incipient ocean, in a plate tectonic context. The mouth of the Red Sea is also a
tectonic triple junction where the Indian Ocean Ridge, Red Sea Rift and East African Rift meet. This is the
only place on the planet where such a triple junction in oceanic crust is exposed subaerially. The reason for
this is twofold, due to a high thermal buoyancy of the junction, and a local crumpled zone of seafloor crust
acting as a dam against the Red Sea.

Lithospheric compression/shortening and flexure[edit]

If a load is placed on the lithosphere, it will tend to flex in the manner of an elastic plate. The magnitude of
the lithospheric flexure is a function of the imposed load and theflexural rigidity of the lithosphere, and the
wavelength of flexure is a function of flexural rigidity alone. Flexural rigidity is in itself, a function of the
lithospheric mineral composition, thermal regime, and effective elastic thickness. The nature of the load is
varied. For instance, the Hawaiian Islands chain of volcanic edifices has sufficient mass to cause deflection
in the lithosphere.
The obduction of one tectonic plate onto another also causes a load and often results in the creation of a
foreland basin, such as the Po basin next to the Alps in Italy, the Molasse Basin next to the Alps in Germany,
or the Ebro basin next to the Pyrenees in Spain.

Strike-slip deformation[edit]
Deformation of the lithosphere in the plane of the earth (i.e. such that faults are vertical) occurs as a result of
near horizontal maximum and minimum principal stresses. The resulting zones of subsidence are known as
strike-slip or pull apart basins. Basins formed through strike-slip action occur where a vertical fault plane
curves. When the curve in the fault plane moves apart, a region of transtension results, creating a basin.
Another term for a transtensional basin is a rhombochasm. A classic rhombochasm is illustrated by the Dead
Sea rift, where northward movement of the Arabian Plate relative to the Anatolian Plate has caused a
rhombochasm.
The opposite effect is that of transpression, where converging movement of a curved fault plane causes
collision of the opposing sides of the fault. An example is the San Bernardino Mountains north of Los
Angeles, which result from convergence along a curve in the San Andreas fault system. The Northridge
earthquake was caused by vertical movement along local thrust and reverse faults bunching up against the
bend in the otherwise strike-slip fault environment. In Nigeria, the dominant type of basement rock
intersected by wells drilled for hydrocarbons, limestone, or water is granite. The three sedimentary basins in
Nigeria are underlain by continental crust except in the Niger delta, where the basement rock is interpreted
to be oceanic crust. Most of the wells that penetrated the basement are in the Eastern Dahomey embayment
of western Nigeria. A maximum thickness of about 12,000 m of sedimentary rocks is attained in the offshore
western Niger delta, but maximum thicknesses of sedimentary rocks are about 2,000 m in the Chad
basin and only 500 m in the Sokoto embayment.

Ongoing development[edit]
As more and more sediment is deposited into the basin, the weight of all the newer sediment may cause the
basin to subside further because of isostasy. A basin can continue having sediment deposited into it, and
continue to subside, for long periods of geological time; this can result in basins many kilometres in
thickness. Geologic faults can often occur around the edge of, and within, the basin, as a result of the
ongoing slippage and subsidence.

Study of sedimentary basins[edit]

The study of sedimentary basins as a specific entity in themselves is often referred to as basin
modelling or sedimentary basin analysis. The need to understand the processes of basin formation and
evolution are not restricted to the purely academic. Indeed, sedimentary basins are the location for almost all
of the world's hydrocarbon reserves and as such are the focus of intense commercial interest.

Syncline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure.
A synclinorium (pluralsynclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds.
[1]
Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline (i.e. a trough); but synclines that
point upwards, or perched, can be found when strata have been overturned and folded (an antiformal
syncline).
Contents
[hide]

1 Characteristics

2 Notable examples

3 Gallery

4 See also

5 References

Characteristics[edit]
On a geologic map, synclines are recognized by a sequence of rock layers that grow progressively younger,
followed by the youngest layer at the fold's center or hinge, and by a reverse sequence of the same rock
layers on the opposite side of the hinge. If the fold pattern is circular or elongate circular the structure is
a basin. Folds typically form during crustal deformation as the result of compression that
accompanies orogenic mountain building.

Notable examples[edit]

Powder River Basin, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Sideling Hill roadcut along Interstate 68 in western Maryland, USA, where the Rockwell
Formation and overlying Purslane Sandstone are exposed.

Western Lake Superior, which occupies a basin created by the Midcontinent Rift System

Saou, a commune in the Drme department in southeastern France

The Catlins, an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand

Gallery[edit]

Syncline exposed inSideling Hill roadcut

Snow-dusted syncline inProvo Canyon, Utah.

Road cut near Fort Davis, Texas showing a syncline.

Rainbow Basin Syncline in the Barstow Formationnear Barstow, California.

Syncline in the lower parking lot of Calico Ghost Town; note ductile folding at base, brittle above.

Synclinal fold in SilurianWills Creek Formation orBloomsburg Formation atRoundtop Hill (Maryland)

East wall of Bear Valley Strip Mine, nearShamokin, Pennsylvania

Syncline in Navajo Sandstone, Upheaval Dome, Canyonlands National Park, Utah.

Anticline
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diagram of an anticline.

Anticline with syncline visible at far right- USGS. Note the man standing before the formation, for scale.

Anticline near Ehden, Lebanon.

In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is
not to be confused withantiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if
age relationships between various strata are unknown, the term antiform should be used.
On a geologic map, anticlines are usually recognized by a sequence of rock layers that are progressively
older toward the center of the fold because the uplifted core of the fold is preferentially eroded to a
deeper stratigraphic level relative to the topographically lower flanks. The strata dip away from the center,
or crest, of the fold.
If an anticline plunges (i.e., is inclined to the Earth's surface), the surface strata will form Vs that point in the
direction of plunge. Anticlines are often flanked by synclines although faulting can complicate and obscure
the relationship between the two. Folds often form duringcrustal deformation as the result of shortening that
accompanies orogenic mountain building. In many cases anticlines are formed by movement on non-planar
faults during both shortening and extension, such as ramp anticlines and rollover anticlines.
Contents
[hide]

1 Anticline terminology

2 Economic significance

3 Gallery of anticlines

4 See also

5 References

6 Bibliography

Anticline terminology[edit]
Any fold whose form is convex upward is an antiform. Antiforms containing progressively younger rocks
from their core outwards are anticlines.
An anticline or antiform has a crest, which is the highest point on a given stratum along the top of the fold.
A hinge in an anticline is the locus of maximum curvature or bending in a given stratum in the fold. An axis is
an imaginary line connecting the hinges in the different strata in a two-dimensional cross-section through the
anticline. Connecting the hinges or points of maximum curvature in the different layers in three dimensions

produces an axial plane or axial surface. In a symmetrical anticline, a surface trace of the axial plane
coincides with the crest. With an asymmetrical anticline, the surface trace of the axial plane or axis will be
offset from the crest toward the steeper flank of the fold. An overturned anticline is an asymmetrical anticline
with a flank or limb that has been tilted beyond perpendicular so that the beds in that limb are upside-down.
A structure that plunges in all directions to form a circular or elongate structure is a dome. Domes are
generally formed from one main deformation event, or via diapirism from underlying magmatic intrusions or
movement of upwardly mobile, mechanically ductile material such as rock salt (salt dome) and shale (shale
diapir). The Richat Structure of the Sahara is considered a dome that has been laid bare by erosion.
An anticline which plunges at both ends is termed a doubly plunging anticline, and may be formed from
multiple deformations, or superposition of two sets of folds, or be related to the geometry of the underlying
detachment fault and the varying amount of displacement along the surface of that detachment fault. The
highest point on a doubly plunging anticline (or any geologic structure for that matter) is called the
"culmination."
An elongate dome which developed as the sediments were being deposited is referred to as a pericline.
An anticlinorium is a series of anticlinal folds on a regional-scale anticline. Examples include the
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Purcell Anticlinorium in British Columbia[1] and the Blue Ridge
anticlinorium of northern Virginia and Maryland in the Appalachians,[2] or the Nittany Valley in
central Pennsylvania.

Economic significance[edit]

Structural trap: anticlinal fold

Doubly plunging or faulted anticlines, culminations, and structural domes are favored locations
for oil and natural gas drilling; the low density of petroleum causes it to buoyantly migrate upward to the
highest parts of the fold, until stopped by a low-permeability barrier such as an impermeable stratum or fault
zone. Examples of low-permeability seals that contain the hydrocarbons, oil and gas, in the ground include
shale, limestone, sandstone, and even salt domes. The actual type of stratum does not matter as long as it
has low permeability.
Periclines are important focal points for pooling of hot, metal-laden formational brines, which can form manto
ore deposits, Irish-type lead-zinc deposits and uranium deposits, amongst others.
Culminations in folded strata which are cut by shears and faults are favoured loci for deposition of saddlereef style lode gold deposits.

Gallery of anticlines[edit]

Tight folds in limestoneand chert, Crete, Greece

Tight anticline in theWills Creek Formation, Pennsylvania

Weathered marble anticline at General Carrera Lake, Chile

Nittany Valley in centralPennsylvania is an anticlinorium

Elk Basin is a breached anticline

The Tuscarora Formationforms a clear anticline inWills Mountain atCumberland Narrows, Maryland

Anticline in Wills Creekor Bloomsburg Formation at Roundtop Hill, Maryland

Anticline with well-developed axial planarcleavage. Carboniferoussand-shale sequence above Tudes, SE of

Potes, Cantabria, Spain

Anticline and quartz "saddle reef" vein in theHalifax Formation(Cambrian), The Ovens,Nova Scotia

Anticline in DevonianCatskill Formation, I-70,Fulton County, Pennsylvania

Anticline in the CambrianConococheague Formation, in the wall of Holcim Quarry, Hagerstown, Maryland

The Cave Mountain Anticline, exposed on Cave Mountain, West Virginia (see Smoke Hole Canyon).