Structural and Stratigraphic Evolution of the
Western Malvinas Basin, Argentina1
José Sebastián Galeazzi2
ABSTRACT
The Malvinas Basin is one of the few basins on
the Argentine continental shelf that contains a
proven petroleum system; however, uneconomical
oil discoveries keep the basin at a frontier explo-
ration status.
The Malvinas Basin evolved through three main
tectonic phases: rift, sag, and foredeep. The sedi-
mentary fill of the basin is closely related to its
tectonic history. Middle Jurassic rifting resulted in
north-northwest–oriented grabens that filled with
volcanic and p yroclastic continental rocks.
Diminished faulting and generalized subsidence
during the Late Jurassic–Neocomian early sag
phase were accompanied by deposition of a
basal transgressive marine wedge. The Aptian–
Maastrichtian inter val was characterized by
tectonic quiescence and deposition of offshore
mud-prone sediments. Southerly localized early
Paleogene transtensional tectonism accompanied
the early development of a foredeep trough. Outer
shelf glauconite-rich sandstones, basinal claystones,
and localized carbonate buildups partially filled the
basin. By the middle Eocene–Oligocene, a strong
deepening event marked the initiation of the fore-
deep sensu stricto phase. This phase resulted in the
©Copyright 1998. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All
rights reserved.
1 Manuscript received March 26, 1996; revised manuscript received
March 6, 1997; final acceptance October 22, 1997.
2Astra Capsa, Tucumán 744, Capital Federal, (1049) Argentina. Present
address: Total S.A., 24 Cours Michelet, 92069 Paris, La Defense Cedex
France; e mail: sebastian.galeazzi@total.com
The core of this paper was prepared and presented as my Master’s
thesis at Rice University. This work would not have been possible without
help from my advisors at Rice University: P. R. Vail, A. W. Bally, R. M.
Mitchum (Mitchum Exploration, Inc.), and D. Sawyer. The manuscript also
benefited from constructive discussions with G. Vackarcs, M. Uliana, L.
Legarreta, R. Porta, and S. White. Previous versions of this paper were
improved by the comments of reviewers M. Uliana, I. Dalziel, A. Kovas, and
former AAPG Elected Editor K. Biddle. The data sets for this study were
kindly provided by Astra Capsa, by Exxon for the Malvinas Basin, and by
Total for the Magallanes Basin. Paleontologic reports from seven wells within
the Malvinas Basin were provided by Exxon, and were mainly produced by D.
K. Goodman, J. C. Hanna, and R. C. Wright, and also by G. Blechschmidt, J.
L. Lamb, L. A. Smith, and F. M. Weaver. I thank the management of Astra
Capsa for permission to publish this paper. Astra Capsa and Rice University
provided financial support for this work.
596
full development of the Malvinas foredeep and the
formation of compressional structures in the fore-
land. The foredeep basin was replenished by a
westerly derived offlapping siliciclastic wedge of
Oligocene–Miocene age.
Noncommercial hydrocarbon discoveries in 5 of
the 17 wells drilled in the basin suggest the pres-
ence of an undercharged Lower Inoceramus–
Springhill petroleum system.
INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE
The Malvinas Basin is a perisutural tectonic
depression that developed on continental crust
within the southern tracts of the South American
plate. The basin lies offshore, east of Tierra del
Fuego, between the Dungeness arch and the
Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, and is attached to the
North Scotia transform boundary (Figure 1). The
Malvinas Basin is mapped as a triangular depocen-
ter that extends for some 300 km north-south and
350 km east-west at its southern boundary. The
sedimentar y fill of the basin is a wedge-shape
Jurassic–Holocene succession of mostly mud-prone
marine siliciclastic strata up to 7000 m thick
(Yrigoyen, 1989) (Figure 1).
The Malvinas Basin shares a similar, but highly
diachronic, geologic evolution with the productive
Magallanes Basin of Argentina and Chile (Figure 1),
and contains a comparable petroleum system.
Although oil discoveries certify that the Malvinas
Basin is petroliferous, the relatively small hydrocar-
bon accumulations discovered to date have main-
tained the basin at a frontier exploration status.
The area of this study covers some 40,000 km2 in
the southwestern portion of the Malvinas Basin and
the southeastern tracts of the Magallanes Basin
(Figure 1). Reflection seismic data and well infor-
mation have been used to divide the basin into
unconformity-bounded sequences and megase-
quences. These units provide the chronostrati-
graphic framework that documents the deposition-
al and tectonic evolution of the basin, and supply
the basis for characterizing the Malvinas Basin’s
AAPG Bulletin, V. 82, No. 4 (April 1998), P. 596–636.
 75°∞W Lago Argentino
70°W 65°W 60°W 50° S
20
0
South American Plate
Falkland
(Malvinas)
Islands 100

Chil
e Tr
MALVINAS

enc
MAGALLANES

h
BASIN BASIN
Strait of Magellan 1 Cape Meredith
Study Area
2
3
4
5
6 Malvinas Chasm
Tierra del 7
Fuego 1000
Patagonian Limit of
Orocline 100 Folded Belt
North Scotia Ridge
Burdwood Bank
Cordillera Isla de los
Darwin Estados ?
North Scotia Transform
Fault
1000 2000 55° S
200 2000
3000
4000
0

Fueguian
400

Terrace & Shelf

4000
Scotia Plate
200 km
Antarctic
1 2/3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Plate
Figure 1—Geologic map of southern Patagonia and the Malvinas Islands showing the location of the study area. The curved belt of outcrops at the
western edge of the South American continent constitutes the Patagonian Orocline. Rock units are (1) Paleozoic metamorphic rocks; (2) early
Paleozoic–Devonian Gran Malvina Group, Falkland (Malvinas) Islands; (3) Precambrian Cape Meredith complex; (4) Late Carboniferous–Upper Per-
mian Lafonia Group, Malvinas Islands; (5) Mesozoic–Cenozoic Patagonian Batholith; (6) Middle–Late Jurassic volcanic rocks (Tobífera Formation and
equivalent units); (7) Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous ophiolites; (8) Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous volcaniclastic rocks; (9) Late Jurassic–Early Creta-
Galeazzi

ceous argillaceous rocks; (10) Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks; (11) Cenozoic sedimentary rocks. Bold contours within the Malvinas Basin indicate
sedimentary cover thickness in kilometers (after Yrigoyen, 1989). Base map is taken from Rabinowitz et al. (1978); the geology is from Wilson (1991)
and Mitchell et al. (1986).
597
598 Malvinas Basin Evolution
petroleum system. In this paper, I describe the geo-
logic evolution of the southwestern portion of the
Malvinas Basin and summarize the main character-
istics of its petroleum system.
PREVIOUS WORK
The Malvinas Basin was discovered and named
by Ludwig et al. (1968) using seismic refraction
profiles. The fir st paper s that provided an
over view of the geolog y of the basin were
by Turic et al. (1980) and Bianchi (1986). Those
papers were based on seismic data and infor-
mation from well Ciclón x-1, dr illed by YPF
(Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, by then the
Argentine state oil company). Also, Urien and
Zambrano (1973) and Urien et al. (1981) included
a brief description of the Malvinas Basin in the
context of an overall account of various Argentine
basins. From 1980 to 1982, an oil and gas explo-
ration consortium led by Exxon acquired new
seismic and drilled 13 exploration wells. Based on
these data, Yrigoyen (1989) published a summary
of the western portion of the basin and included
schematic cross sections and maps. Recently,
Marinelli et al. (1992) published a review of the
source rock of Malvinas Basin. During 1990–1992,
Occidental Argentina acquired additional seismic
data and drilled three exploration wells in the
northwestern flank of the basin, just north of the
study area (Figure 1). Compiling Occidental’s and
previous data, Kokogián and Barzola (1996)
described the stratigraphy of the Spr inghill
Formation, which constitutes the main reservoir
of the basin. The geology of the eastern flank of
the basin, next to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands,
has been summarized by Platt and Phillip (1995)
on the basis of newly acquired seismic data.
The southeastern portion of the Magallanes
Basin, which is included in this study, is document-
ed in the literature in a number of papers. A thor-
ough review of the evolution of the Magallanes
Basin that includes this southeastern area was pub-
lished by Biddle et al. (1986). More specifically,
Robbiano (1989), and Robbiano et al. (1996)
described the geology of the offshore Argentina
portion of the Magallanes Basin (also referred to as
the Austral basin) supported by extensive seismic
and well data obtained by Total. Other accounts on
the regional geology of the Magallanes Basin were
published by Natland et al. (1974), Riccardi and
Rolleri (1980), Russo et al. (1980), Winslow (1980),
Riccardi (1988), and Arbe (1989); moreover, impor-
tant papers concerning the North Scotia Ridge
were published by Davey (1972), Forsyth (1975),
Ludwig and Rabinowitz (1982), and Pelayo and
Wiens (1987).
REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING AND PRESENT
PLATE TECTONICS OF THE MALVINAS BASIN
Figure 1 shows the trend of the continuous
mobile belt defined by the Patagonian orocline and
the North Scotia Ridge, and the location of the
Malvinas and Magallanes basins. The area of this
study encompasses the northern tip of the outer-
most portion of the Patagonian orocline, where
Upper Cretaceous rocks crop out on the sea floor.
The rest of the study area is located within the less
deformed foreland domain.
The Magallanes and Malvinas basins developed
adjacent to the southern margin of the South
American plate (Figure 2). The basins are situated
next to a diffuse triple junction where the subduc-
tion beneath the South American plate is trans-
formed into the strike-slip and transpressional sys-
tems of the Shackelton fault zone and the North
Scotia Ridge (Figures 1, 2) (Forsyth, 1975; Herron
et al., 1977; Winslow, 1982; British Antarctic
Survey, 1985).
The plate-tectonic setting of the Scotia arc zone
results from the interplay of the South American,
Scotia, and Antarctic plates (Barker et al., 1991). A
number of minor plates (Sandwich, Drake, and
Shetland) are also involved in local tectonics (Barker,
1982) (Figure 2). Current tectonism in southern
South America is concentrated, but barely active,
along the transform Patagonian orocline–North
Scotia Ridge margin and the Andean convergent
margin (Figures 1, 2) (Forsyth, 1975; Winslow,
1982). Relative movement between South
America and Antarctica determines the overall tec-
tonics of the area (Forsyth, 1975; Pelayo and Wiens,
1987; Cunningham et al., 1995). Barker et al.
(1991) and Cunningham et al. (1995) described an
oblique-divergent relative displacement between
both plates in existence since the Late Cretaceous
that resulted in the creation of the Scotia Sea. Pelayo
and Wiens (1987) deducted an overall transpression-
al regime along the North Scotia Ridge and transten-
sion in the South Scotia Ridge from Euler poles for
Antarctic and South America plates with respect to
the Scotia plate (Figure 2).
Due to its location adjacent to the southern mar-
gin of the South American plate, the evolution of
the Malvinas Basin was controlled by plate interac-
tion processes and events. The Malvinas Basin ini-
tially formed as an extensional trough during Late
Triassic–Jurassic continental rifting of Patagonia.
This event resulted in the opening of the South
Atlantic Ocean during the breakup of Gondwana
(Uliana and Biddle, 1987, 1988). Following
breakup, the Malvinas Basin evolved into a tectoni-
cally quiet Cretaceous sag basin associated to the
south, across a passive or transform margin, with
the oceanic Weddell Basin. During the Tertiary, the
 Galeazzi 599

NAZCA 40° S
AFRICA
Magallanes
SOUTH AMERICA
Basin
Bouvet Triple
Malvinas Basin Malvinas Chasm Junction

North Scotia Ridge

SANDWICH
Shackelton
Fracture Zone SCOTIA
DRAKE 60° S

Shetland South Scotia Ridge 0°

Plate
A- Subduction
ANTARCTICA ANTARCTICA B- Subduction
80° W 40° W Cont. Crust

Figure 2—Present-day plate tectonic setting of the Scotia arc region (modified from Forsyth, 1975; Herron et al.,
1977; British Antarctic Survey, 1985). Arrows indicate the relative plate movement with respect to South America
(from Forsyth, 1975). Note that the North Scotia Ridge is a transpressional boundary with an accretionary complex
attached at its northern boundary (Ludwig and Rabinowitz, 1982). The ridge forms a continuous, although highly
diachronous, mobile belt as it connects to the west with the Andes–Patagonian orocline fold belt. The adjacent Mag-
allanes and Malvinas foredeep troughs and the Malvinas chasm formed east and north of this mobile belt. The
Mesozoic Malvinas Basin was connected to the south with the Weddell Sea, which covered the area of the present
Scotia Sea. The Malvinas Basin occupied an inland location approximately 300 km from the volcanic arc of a contin-
uous southern Andes–Antarctic Peninsula connection (du Toit, 1937; Dalziel and Elliot, 1973; Barker and Burrel,
1977; Barker et al., 1991).

southern part of the Malvinas Basin was affected by
intense tectonism that resulted in the formation of
the Malvinas foredeep. Easterly progressive transpres-
sional deformation along the Patagonian orocline–
North Scotia Ridge mobile belt induced the develop-
ment of a continuous perisutural foredeep trend
along the southern margin of the southward down-
flexed South American slab (Figure 2). This foredeep
trend includes the Magallanes and Malvinas foredeep
troughs to the west and the Falkland (Malvinas)
chasm to the east (Figure 1). The evolution of the
Patagonian orocline–North Scotia mobile belt (Figure
1) appears related to the destruction of the southern
Andes–Antarctic Peninsula connection, the forma-
tion of the Scotia Sea, and the subsequent eastward
retreat of the Scotia subduction zone, all of which are
related to a protracted Late Cretaceous–Holocene
process of separation of the South American and
Antarctic plates (Dalziel and Elliot, 1973; Dalziel et
al., 1974; Barker and Londsdale, 1991; Barker et al.,
1991; Cunningham et al., 1995).
DATABASE
The database used for this work is shown in
Figure 3 and consists of data from 22 hydrocarbon
exploratory wells and 13,000 km of conventional
seismic. Seismic information consists of seismic
lines shot from 1978 to 1992. Well data include
electric and mud logs, sidewall and conventional
core descriptions, completion and paleontologic
reports, and vertical seismic profiles and check-
shot surveys. Synthetic seismograms and time-
converted logs were produced for all wells in the
area to tie seismic and well data.
STRATIGRAPHY
Stratigraphic Approach
The seismic and well data were interpreted follow-
ing sequence stratigraphic concepts (mainly
described by Vail et al., 1977, 1991; Vail, 1987;
Posamentier and Vail, 1988; van Wagoner et al., 1990;
Mitchum and van Wagoner, 1991). Unconformities
and maximum flooding surfaces (Vail et al., 1977;
Posamentier and Vail, 1988) were identified using
e-log stratigraphic cross sections and then correlated
throughout the seismic grid. Some unconformities
are interpreted to represent major hiatuses, and sub-
divide the stratigraphic column into megasequences
(sensu Mitchum and van Wagoner, 1991) (Figure 5).
The major stratigraphic surfaces in the Cretaceous–
early Paleogene succession were dated to stage levels
600 Malvinas Basin Evolution

68.0° W 66° 30’ South Atlantic Ocean 64° 30’ W

Fig. 13 C W 13 81 35

ERIZO X-1
CARINA X-2 CALAMAR X-1
B Fig. 20 C
A’
CARINA X-1 KRILL X-1 CALAMAR X-2
LAPA X-1
53° 14
A CAMARON X-1 6 5 3 °S
g Fig. 13 A
Fi
B MERLUZA X-1
FENIX X-1 14
g. LOBO MARINO X-1
FENIX E-2 Fi 14
PLEYADE E-2 TIBURON X-1 Fig. 20 A SALMON X-2
PLEYADE X-1 SALMON X-1

Fig. 19
Fig. 18
PALOMA X-1
6
Fig.

CRUZ X-1 28
6 28
PULPO X-1
ORCA X-1
Rio Grande A
14

CICLON X-1
Tierra del 5 4 °S
Fuego B’
13

100 km Fig. 7
81 35

Figure 3—Data set used in this study. Total seismic line coverage is of some 13,000 km. A shaded outline at well-
location circles indicates wells with paleontologic report. Oil fields are indicated by black irregular areas. AA′ =
well-log cross section of Figure 11; BB′ = well-log cross section of Figure 12. Dashed lines indicate location of
chronostratigraphic charts of Figures 6 and 7. Striped lines indicate location of seismic lines of Figures 13, 14, 18,
19, and 21. Numbered seismic lines are shown in Figures 4, 9, and 10.

based on paleontologic reports by Exxon, and then
correlated with the Mesozoic–Cenozoic cycle chart
by Haq et al. (1988). The main stratigraphic surfaces
were labeled in accordance with the sea level
changes as dated by Haq et al. (1988) following a
conventional and interpretational dating procedure.
The upper Paleogene–Neogene sequences could not
be dated directly due to scarce paleontologic data.
Consequently, unconformities were numbered begin-
ning with the youngest sequence.
Stratigraphic Column
The sedimentary column in the Malvinas Basin
includes Jurassic–Holocene rocks (Figures 4, 5).
The pre-Jurassic basement of the basin is a Late
Paleozoic low-grade metamorphic unit intruded by
Triassic–Jurassic(?) granites. Deposition began in
the Early–Middle Jurassic, with continental vol-
caniclastic deposits of the Tobífera Formation
lying unconformably on the basement (Figures
5–7). The Tobífera rocks are followed by an Upper
Jurassic–Neocomian transgressive siliciclastic
wedge associated with the marine flooding of the
basin that is represented by Springhill and Pampa
Rincón formations. The rest of the Cretaceous is
an aggradational set of widespread strata deposit-
ed offshore in an open-neritic regime. These
deposits consist of claystone, shale, marl, and silt-
stone of the Lower Inoceramus, Margas Verdes,
and Middle and Upper Inoceramus formations
(Figure 5). The uppermost Cretaceous–Eocene is
represented by a sediment-starved interval that
includes glauconitic sandstones and claystones
(mostly Arenas Glauconíticas Formation; Yrigoyen,
 Galeazzi 601

Figure 4—North-south– and east-west–oriented line drawings across the western part of the Malvinas Basin and
eastern Magallanes Basin (location shown in Figure 3). The north-south section is 210 km long and shows the
northern tip of the southern Andes fold belt, the Malvinas foredeep trough at its southern end, and the Malvinas
foredeep platform to the north. The east-west section is 230 km long and shows the easternmost portion of the Mag-
allanes Basin, the Dungeness arch, and the western flank of the Malvinas Basin. Note also the wedge-shape fill of
Jurassic half grabens by the Tobífera Formation, the aggradational-parallel stacking pattern of the Cretaceous
megasequences, the wedge-shape Paleocene–Eocene megasequence, and the highly progradational upper
Eocene–Miocene megasequence. TWT = two-way traveltime.

1989), as well as small carbonate mounds. Lower
Paleogene rocks are capped by a thin, starved inter-
val of late Eocene–early Oligocene age, which, in
turn, is overlain by an Oligocene–Pliocene offlapping
siliciclastic wedge (Figures 5–7). Sediment supply
was mostly derived from the north during the
Jurassic and Cretaceous, and from the west during
the Tertiary (Figure 8). The Pliocene–Pleistocene to
Holocene section is a thin transgressive marine
wedge that covers the Miocene regressive section.
The Mesozoic Malvinas depocenter was located
east of the north-south–trending basement high of
the Dungeness arch (Figure 8). Localized depres-
sions that were associated with normal faulting
formed during the Jurassic. During the Tertiary, the
development of the Patagonian orocline induced
rapid subsidence in the southern portion of the
Malvinas Basin, resulting in the formation of the fore-
deep trough and platform provinces, profoundly
changing the physiography of the basin (Figure 8).
The initiation of the successive tectonic phases of
the Malvinas Basin induced the development of
major unconformities. Those unconformities subdi-
vide the stratigraphic succession of the basin into five
megasequences (sensu Mitchum and van Wagoner,
1991; Vail et al., 1991) dated at 150.5, 112, 68, 42.5,
and 5.5 Ma (Figures 4, 5). Two regional chronostrati-
graphic charts (Figures 6, 7) show the temporal sig-
nificance of these major unconformities and include
other regionally significant stratigraphic surfaces,
602 Malvinas Basin Evolution

Figure 5—Generalized ROCK GENERALIZED

stratigraphy of the PALEO-
Malvinas Basin based on
AGE TYPE E-LOG MALVINAS BASIN MS UNIT
BATHYMETRY
(Formation) A
well Merluza x-1 (location N B
in Figure 3). Rock units Gamma Ray Resistivity
are after Yrigoyen (1989).
The generalized
paleobathymetry is based
on interpretation of
benthic foraminifera MARKERS AND MAJOR
assemblages by Exxon,

LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY
UNCONFORMITIES
and averages information 500 # 3 SB
from seven wells. See the
TERTIARY

Foredeep Phase
bottom of the figure for

NO
abbreviations and key.

MS5
# 4 SB

# 5 SB
#6-7 SB

G P3 MU Late

Transition
1000

Foredeep
(42.5) M. Eocene
MS4 ZONA
G GLAUCONITICA
6 8 MU
Maastrichtian
G
7 5 MU
Campanian
UPPER
INOCERAMUS

Sag Phase
CRETACEOUS

8 5 MR
Santonian MS3
MIDDLE
INOCERAMUS
91.5 PT
Turonian

1500 9 4 MR MARGAS
Cenomanian VERDES

104 PT
Albian
112 MR LOWER
Aptian INOCERAMUS

116.5 PT Lower MS2

Barremian PAMPA RINCON
G SPRINGHILL
150.5 MU
JURASSIC

(Ma) Oxfordian
Rift Phase

MS1 TOBIFERA

DEPTH IN METERS

N: Neritic (0-180 m); B: Bathyal (180-1830m); A: Abyssal (>1830); SB: Sequence Boundary; MS:
Megasequence; G: Glauconite; MU: Major Unconformity; MR: Maximum Regression; PT: Peak Transgression
Tuff Sandstone Siltstone Marl Shale Limestone Claystone High TOC
 W Paloma x-1 Tiburón x-1 Merluza x-1 Camarón x-1 Lapa x-1
E
PLIOCENE Not studied
#3 #2 #1 (5.5 Ma)
#5 (10.5 Ma)
#6
MIOCENE #8 #7
#9
#11 (21 Ma)

OLIGOCENE # 12 (30 Ma)

EOCENE P3 (42.5 Ma)

TERTIARY
"Arenas Glauconíticas" Fm P2

PALEOCENE

68
MAASTRICH.
75
CAMPANIAN
"Upper Inoceramus" Fm
SANTONIAN 85
TURONIAN "Middle Inoceramus "Fm
91.5
CENOMANIAN 94 "Margas Verdes" Fm
ALBIAN 104
"Lower Inoceramus" Fm
APTIAN
BARREMIAN
112

CRETACEOUS
HAUTERIVIAN 116.5
Springhill Fm
VALANGINIAN
BERRIASIAN
Springhill Fm Pampa Rincón Fm
TITHONIAN
OXFORDIAN

CALLOVIAN
150.5
"Upper Tobífera"

DOGGER "Lower Tobífera"

Age poorly

JURASSIC
constrained
Axis of the Dungeness Arch
LIAS *168±3 Ma
30 km
Metamorphic Basement (Paleozoic)

Mesozoic- Paleogene facies Neogene facies Hiatuses and stratal terminations

Palaeo * Radiometric
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Onlap Downlap Control date

Figure 6—East-west–oriented chronostratigraphic chart of the eastern Magallanes and western Malvinas basins (location shown in Figure 3). Numbers #1,
Galeazzi

#2, etc. are Neogene sequence boundary numbers. Numbers 68, 75, through 150.5 are age dates in Ma. Mesozoic facies: (1) pre-Jurassic basement, (2)
granitic basement, (3) volcanic rocks of Tobífera Formation, (4) pyroclastic rocks of Tobífera Formation, (5) fluvial and coastal-plain deposits of Springhill
Formation, (6) coastal marine facies of Springhill Formation, (7) transitional (distal bars and lower shoreface) facies, (8) offshore shales and claystones, (9)
carbonates. Neogene facies: (10) shelfal deposits, (11) slope deposits, (12) basinal fine grained--deposits, (13) sandy turbidites. Hiatuses: (14) subaerial ero-
sion and nondeposition, (15) deep-marine nondeposition and minor erosion, (16) shallow marine(?) erosion and nondeposition. Broken lines in late
603

Eocene–early Oligocene interval indicate speculative interpretation due to lack of paleontologic control.
 604 Malvinas Basin Evolution

Merluza x-1 Orca x-1 Ciclón x-1

N Krill x-1
S
PLIOCENE
#1 (5.5 Ma)
#5 (10.5 Ma)
MIOCENE #8 (16.5 Ma)

#11 (21 Ma)

MS 5
TERTIARY

30 Ma
OLIGOCENE

EOCENE P3 (42.5 Ma)

P2
P1 MS 4
PALEOCENE "Arenas
GlauconÌticas" Fm

MAASTRICH. 68
75
CAMPANIAN "Upper Inoceramus" Fm
CRETACEOUS

SANTONIAN 85
"Middle Inoceramus" Fm MS 3
TURONIAN 91.5
CENOMANIAN 94
"Margas Verdes" Fm
ALBIAN 104

APTIAN 112
BARREMIAN
"Lower Inoceramus" Fm
HAUTERIVIAN 116.5
Springhill Fm
VALANGINIAN
BERRIASIAN MS 2
Springhill Fm
TITHONIAN
OXFORDIAN

CALLOVIAN
150.5
´
"Upper Tobifera"
JURASSIC

DOGGER
´
"Lower Tobifera"

Age poorly
constrained MS 1

LIAS.

30 km
Metamorphic Basement (Paleozoic)
BAS

Figure 7—North-south–oriented chronostratigraphic chart of western Malvinas Basin. Key as in Figure 6, location
shown in Figure 3.

such as sequence boundaries, maximum flooding
surfaces, and facies and lithostratigraphic units.
The regional significance of each megasequence is
illustrated by regional seismic-based line drawings
(Figures 9, 10) and well-log cross sections (Figures
11, 12), where structural elements, stratal patterns,
thickness trends, and lithology are depicted.
Pre-Jurassic Basement: Late Paleozoic
Low-Grade Metamorphic and Sedimentary
Rocks and Granites
The pre-Jurassic basement consists of low-grade
metamorphic rocks and granites (Figures 6, 7). The
metamorphic rocks consist of late Paleozoic
(Forsythe, 1982) green schists encountered in
the study area by the well Cruz x-1 (Figure 3).
Additionally, five Exxon wells drilled into a granitic
basement. These intrusive rocks were described as
quartzitic, two-mica granites with kaolinite and chlo-
rite regolithic tops. A K-Ar date from well Camarón x-1
yielded an age of 168 ±3 Ma (Yrigoyen, 1989).
The top of the basement is imaged by seismic in
most areas as a strong reflection overlying a zone
of chaotic reflections (Figure 13). The top of base-
ment eventually appears as a major angular uncon-
formity over an internally layered section charac-
terized by discontinuous parallel seismic events.
In some areas, top of basement is indefinable
because it is covered by a volcanic layer or a thick
succession of the Tobífera Formation. Dalziel
(1983) described the top of the Paleozoic as the
most significant unconformity in the Scotia arc
region. The seismic line of Figure 13C confirms
this view.

68•W 67•W 66•W
Cretaceous main
sediment supply
Magallanes
Basin Dungeness
Arch
Foredeep Platform
Tertiary
? sediment
supply
Hinge Zone
Foredeep s.s.
Folded Belt
The metamorphic basement represents the
Paleozoic accretionary complex of the Panthalassan
margin of Gondwana (du Toit, 1937; Forsythe, 1982;
Veevers et al., 1994). The metamorphic basement
crops out at locations along the southern Andes
(Kranck, 1932; Ling et al., 1985; Davidson et al., 1987;
Wilson et al., 1991) and is intruded by the middle
Mesozoic–Cenozoic Patagonian batholith (Hervé et
al., 1981, 1984; Bruce et al., 1991) (Figure 1). The lay-
ered basement may well represent middle to late
Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Gran Malvina and
Lafonia groups that crop out in the Malvinas
(Falkland) Islands (Turner, 1980; Marshall, 1994)
(Figure 1). The granitic basement, dated 168 ±3 Ma, is
coeval with the Tobífera volcaniclastic complex (Gust
et al., 1985) and the Darwin granite suite of Tierra del
Fuego (Nelson et al., 1980; Nelson, 1982), and is inter-
preted to represent epizonal granitic stocks genetical-
ly associated with Tobífera volcanism.
Dogger-Malm Megasequence 1: Onlapping,
Aggradational Nonmarine and Volcanic Fill of
Half-Graben Troughs
Megasequence 1 is composed of a volcaniclastic
suite of tuffs, tuffaceous sandstones, and rhyolites
of the Tobífera Formation, with a minor presence of
black lacustrine shales (Figure 5). Megasequence 1
shows an overall wedge shape, pinching out on the
flanks of the Dungeness arch (Figures 9, 10). The
Tobífera Formation is part of the extensive Middle
Jurassic volcanic province of Patagonia (Bruhn et al.,
Galeazzi 605
65•W 64•W Figure 8—Main tectonic features
of the southwest Malvinas and
southeast Magallanes basins. The
north-south–trending Dungeness
Malvinas arch is a long-lived basement high
Basin that separates the Malvinas and
53•S
Magallanes basins. The fold belt,
the foredeep trough, and the
foredeep platform tectonic
provinces are Tertiary features.
North-northwest–oriented normal
faults in the upper one-half of the
map are Middle Jurassic rift-phase
faults. Faulting south of 43°45′S
has not been mapped in detail due
to scarce seismic coverage.
54•S
50 km
1978; Gust et al., 1985), which is known as the
Tobífera or the Lemaire Formation in the Magallanes
Basin (Thomas, 1949a), and as the Chon Aike
Group, Bahía Laura Group, Complejo El Quemado,
or Lonco Trapial Group elsewhere in Patagonia
(Feruglio, 1949; Thomas, 1949a; de Giusto et al.,
1980; Lesta et al., 1980; among others).
The base of megasequence 1 is the major uncon-
formity on top of the Paleozoic succession, which
determines the top basement in the Malvinas Basin.
The top of megasequence 1 is marked by a regional
unconformity (sensu Vail et al., 1977) dated at
150.5 Ma by Biddle et al. (1986) in the Magallanes
Basin (Figure 5), based on outcrop dates from
Patagonia. The same age is used in this work.
The Tobífera interval contains at least one major
unconformity that defines two sequences, the lower
and upper Tobífera, as also described by Biddle et al.
(1986) for the Magallanes Basin (Figures 6, 7). The
lower sequence is present over the entire study area,
but is mainly restricted to grabens and half grabens or
other paleotopographic lows (Figures 6, 7). This
sequence shows a strong onlap against top base-
ment, and is made up of continental volcanic and
pyroclastic rocks that locally include black lacustrine
shales (R. Porta, 1995, personal communication).
The lower sequence reaches a maximum thickness
of some 1500 m within the deepest half grabens, and
is absent over basement highs. Typical seismic pat-
terns include high-amplitude, moderately continuous
reflections (volcanics) interbedded with low-ampli-
tude, discontinuous horizontal reflections (continen-
tal pyroclastics) (Figure 14). Some elevated features
yyy
,,,
,,
yy ,
y
y,y,y,
606 Malvinas Basin Evolution

TWT (s)
SW
SEA BED

LINE 6
TWT (s)

3
WSW
SEA BED

150.5

LINE 14
68

150.5
BAS
P3

PULPO X-1

68
P3
PALOMA X-1

#6

LATE EOCENE-MIOCENE
MEGASEQUENCE

PALAEOCENE-EOCENE
MEGASEQUENCE
DUNGENESS ARCH

w
#5

#6
#5 #4
#5

CRETACEOUS
MEGASEQUENCES
TWT (s)

150.5
DOGGER- MALM BAS
MEGASEQUENCE

PROVED GRANITIC
BASEMENT

PALAEOZOIC
BASEMENT LINE 28
Figure 9—East-west–oriented line drawings of selected composite seismic lines (location in Figure 3). Black trian-
gles on top of sections indicate crossing with north-south lines. Vertical exaggeration is on the order of 10:1. TWT =
two-way traveltime.
yy
,,
,,
yy
,,
yy
Galeazzi 607

ERIZO X-1 CALAMAR X-1 LAPA X-1

13 81 35

,,,
E
0
#1

P3
68

2
150.5

BAS
10 km

TIBURON X-1 MERLUZA X-1 LOBO MARINO X-1

13 81 35
E
0
#3 #2 #1
#4

#1

P3
68

2
150.5

10 km

13 81 35
E
#1 SEA BED 0
#3 #2

P3
71
#1

P3 2
68

150.5 116.5
BAS

8 10 km

Figure 9—Continued.
yy
,,
,,
yy
,,
yy
608

NNW
TWT (S)

SEA BED

LINE 81
Malvinas Basin Evolution

6
TWT (S)
ERIZO X-1 CALAMAR X-1CALAMAR X-2
N

LINE 35
CAMARON X-1

TWT (S) #1

#6
#7

LINE 13
#8
150.5

P3 68
LAPA X-1

6
6

BAS
#1

#6
P368

14

68
150.5

KRILL X-1

#5
BAS
L. MARINO X-1
14

P3

14

Figure 10—North-south–oriented line drawings of selected composite seismic lines (location in Figure 3). Black tri-
angles on top of the sections indicate crossing with east-west lines. Vertical exaggeration is on the order of 10:1.
TWT = two-way traveltime. See legend on Figure 9.
yy
,,
,,
yy
,,
yy
SALMON X-1
SALMON X-2

10 km

10 km

10 km
#3

#4
#5 #6-8

P3
68
#1
#3

#2
#6-7

150.5
P3

BAS
68
28

28

28
150.5
BAS

150.5
68

#2
P3
#6

B AS
#1

#3
#4
#5

#6-8

P3
68

150.5

BAS
CICLON X-1
S
0

4
Galeazzi

?
S

S
0

4
609

Figure 10—Continued.
 610
Malvinas Basin Evolution

Figure 11—East-west well-log cross section (location shown in Figure 3). Numbers in key correspond to the following marker foraminiferids and
dinoflagellates: (1) Ctenidodinium sp. and C. panneum, (2) Phoberocysta neocomica, (3) Batioladinium micropodum, (4) Lenticulina nodosa, (5) Din-
odinium cerviculum, (6) Canninginopsis denticulata, (7) Spiroplectella annectens, (8) Pseudopiroplectina ona, (9) Marginotruncana marginata, (10)
Heterosphaeridium conjunctum, (11) Isabeladinium cretaceum, (12) Cibroperidinium salmonense, (13) Deflaendra antarctica.

identified in the seismic lines trend parallel to the
fault grain and may represent eruption centers. The
age of the deepest half-graben fill is unknown. Biddle
et al. (1986) speculated that this fill may be as old as
Triassic in the Magallanes Basin, correlating with out-
crop dates from Patagonia (Di Persia, 1965; Uliana
and Biddle, 1987, 1988; Franchi et al., 1989; Uliana et
al., 1989).
The upper Tobífera sequence is a moderately
continuous, faulted wedge that pinches out on
the Dungeness arch, and thickens to the east and
southeast into the Malvinas Basin (Figures 6, 7).
The upper Tobífera sequence ranges in thickness
from 0 to 500 m, and is composed mainly of pyro-
clastic rocks of continental origin. The upper
Tobífera sequence includes marine facies in the
easternmost portion of the study area, as is evi-
denced by the presence of dinoflagellates in the
Salmon x-1 well (Figure 3). This section is repre-
sented seismically by low-continuity, low- to
variable-amplitude hummocky to subparallel
reflections showing an aggradational stacking pat-
tern and generating a strong onlap on the base-
ment and on the top of the lower Tobífera
sequence (Figure 14).
Late Jurassic–Aptian Megasequence 2:
Onlapping, Backstepping to Aggradational,
Shallow to Deep Shelfal Marine Fill of a
Sag Basin
Megasequence 2 is composed of a single second-
order transgressive-regressive facies cycle wedge
(sensu White, 1980; Vail et al., 1991). Megase-
quence 2 consists of a Malm–Barremian backstep-
ping wedge, representing the transgressive phase,
covered by a Barremian–Aptian aggradational sec-
tion, which represents the regressive phase.
Megasequence 2 shows an overall wedge shape
with a maximum thickness of some 550 m in the
southern Malvinas Basin and a minimum thick-
ness of less than 100 m on the Dungeness arch.
Stratigraphic subdivision and dating of megase-
quence 2 are shown in Figure 15.
Malm–Early Barremian Springhill
Backstepping Wedge: Deposition of the
Main Reservoirs of the Malvinas Basin
The transgressive phase of megasequence 2 is a
backstepping wedge that contains a shallow-
marine to continental suite (Springhill Formation;
Thomas, 1949a, b), and coeval offshore shales
(Pampa Rincón For mation; Yr igoyen, 1989)
(Figure 5). The transgressive phase of megase-
quence 2 will be referred to here as the Springhill
backstepping wedge.
Galeazzi 611
The Springhill backstepping wedge is a 0–400-m-
thick wedge-shape interval that progressively
onlaps the Dungeness arch from the west, south,
and east (Figures 6, 7, 11, 12). The Springhill was
deposited during the transgression of the north-
west coastline of the Weddell Sea across the south-
ern South American continent. The base of this
interval is the 150.5-Ma unconformity, and its top is
a peak transgression surface (sensu Vail et al., 1991)
developed within a continuous shale section of
early Barremian age and dated at 116.5 Ma (Figures
5–7). The whole interval defines a second-order
(Vail et al., 1991) transgressive event that had a
duration of 34 m.y. (Figures 6, 7). The 150.5-Ma
unconformity is a distinct surface characterized by
a subtle onlap pattern of overlying strata and a
change in lithology from Middle Jurassic continen-
tal pyroclastic rocks below to Late Jurassic–
Neocomian shallow-marine and coastal siliciclastic
rocks above (Figure 17). The chronostratigraphic
significance of the unconformity is shown in
Figures 6 and 7.
The Springhill backstepping wedge is character-
ized by a backstepping to aggradational stratal
stacking pattern. Sequences were deposited within
a ramp-style shelf. Successive younger sequences
are displaced landward and progressively onlap
onto the Dungeness arch and local highs (Figure
17). The structural control on regional and local
thickness patterns is shown by the isopach map of
Figure 16. Local thickness anomalies appear related
to normal faulting, with thicker sections preserved
within downthrown fault blocks.
Springhill-bearing sequences originate continu-
ous, medium- to high-amplitude parallel reflections
(coastal and shoreline deposits) that change basin-
ward to low-amplitude, discontinuous parallel
reflections (offshore facies). Basal sequences show
a subtle onlap onto the 150.5-Ma unconformity or
the basement (Figure 18).
A detailed correlation of the Late Jurassic–
Neocomian section is shown in Figure 17. Based
on stratal termination patterns and the migration
of coastal facies, this unit can be subdivided into
a minimum of seven sequences (SP1 to SP7;
Figure 17). These sequences can be grouped into
three distinct depositional wedges that progres-
sively onlap the Dungeness arch (Figures 6, 7,
17): (1) a Jurassic (Oxfordian–Kimmeridgian)
wedge, topped by the sequence boundary SP2,
that onlaps close to the well Camarón x-1; (2) a
Valanginian wedge, topped by sequence bound-
ary SP3, that onlaps just west of the well Merluza
x-1; and (3) a Hauterivian wedge, topped by
sequence boundary SP7, that onlaps north of the
well Tiburón x-1. The maximum flooding surface
of sequence I1, which overlies Sequence SP7,
 612
Malvinas Basin Evolution

Figure 12—North-south well log cross section (location

shown in Figure 3). Key as in Figure 11.
 Galeazzi 613

represents the peak transgression of the Springhill

backstepping wedge, and has been dated at 116.5
Ma (Figure 17). All three wedges show a north-
northeast to north-south depositional strike in the
eastern part of the study area; this strike turns
east-west in the south, fringing a southerly tilted
Dungeness arch, and follows a north-northwest
direction in the Magallanes Basin (Marinelli, 1982;
Robbiano, 1989). Useful biomarkers are the last
appearances of the dinoflagellates Gonyaulacysta
jurassica (top of Jurassic), Ctenidodinium pan-
neum (top of Valanginian), and Batioladinium
micropodum (116.5 Ma peak transgression)
(Figures 11, 12, 17).
Electric-log patterns and core descriptions indi-
cate that the Springhill backstepping wedge was
deposited in a coastal mar ine system, which
includes minor fluvial and coastal-plain deposits
(Figure 17). A similar depositional setting was
described in equivalent units in the Magallanes
Basin by Riggi (1977), Marinelli (1982), and
Hinterwimer et al. (1984), among others. During
the Hauterivian, shoreline deposits were associated
with coal-prone coastal marshes and some local
carbonate coastal facies, as have been observed in
wells Merluza x-1 and Tiburón x-1 (Figure 11).
Similar occurrences also have been documented in
the Hauterivian of the Magallanes Basin (Riggi,
1977; Biddle et al., 1986). The shoreline and fluvial
sandstones of the Springhill Formation are the main
hydrocarbon reser voirs in the Malvinas and
Magallanes basins.

Middle Barremian–Aptian Regressive Wedge

(Lower Inoceramus Formation): Deposition
of Main Source Rock of the Malvinas Basin
The middle Barremian–Aptian regressive wedge
is limited at its base by the peak transgression of
the Springhill backstepping wedge (Figure 17)
and at its top by a middle Aptian unconformity
and maximum regression dated at 112 Ma (Figure
15), which also represents the top of megase-
quence 2 (Figure 5). This unconformity is defined
by a subtle onlap termination pattern of overlying
strata and by an increase of grain size, as recorded
in the gamma-ray logs (Figures 11, 12, 17, 19). The
112-Ma unconformity is an important stratigraphic
marker in the Magallanes Basin (Biddle et al.,
1986), where it tops the Rio Mayer transgressive-
regressive cycle of Arbe (1989).
The Barremian–Aptian package is made up of
one coastal aggradational siliciclastic sequence,
I1, at its base, overlain by an undifferentiated
clay- and silt-prone interval (Lower Inoceramus
Formation, Figure 17). Sequence I1 contains the
Figure 13—(A) Uninterpreted and (B) interpreted seis-
mic line showing the granitic-type pre-Jurassic base-
ment (location shown in Figure 3). The K-Ar dating of
168 ±3 Ma mentioned in the text is from well Camarón
x-1. (C) Interpreted seismic line showing the unconfor-
mity on top of the Paleozoic basement. TWT = two-way
traveltime.
youngest Springhill Formation in the study area,
dated as late Barremian.
The upper Neocomian interval is 50–150 m
thick, usually represented in the seismic lines by
only one or two wavelets. These wavelets are mid-
amplitude, moderate-continuity reflections that
define a drape-style section that thins on the arch
and basinward (Figure 19). The Neocomian interval
614 Malvinas Basin Evolution
Figure 14—(A) Interpreted seismic line showing a half
graben and its sedimentary fill near the Tobífera Forma-
tion (location shown in Figure 3). The unconformity
within the half-graben succession divides the lower (LT)
and upper (UT) Tobífera sequences. No synrift deposits
are present on the uplifted footwall. K = Cretaceous, T =
Tertiary. (B) Interpreted seismic line showing the seis-
mic signature of Tobífera rocks. The lower Tobífera
sequence is distinctive for its high-amplitude reflections
representing volcanic rocks. The upper Tobífera
sequence onlaps on top of the lower Tobífera and fills
the predepositional topography. The upper Tobífera is
composed of low-continuity, low-amplitude reflections
interpreted as continental pyroclastic rocks. TWT = two-
way traveltime.
is interpreted to have been deposited by aggrada-
tion in an open, offshore, ramp depositional setting
submerged at neritic water depths. The wells
drilled by Occidental just north of the study area
encountered thick Barremian and Aptian Springhill
sandstones (Kokogián and Barzola, 1996), which
represent coeval coastal facies deposited updip
from the study area.
During the Barremian, and probably throughout
the Aptian, deposition took place under anoxic
conditions (Pittion and Gouadain, 1991), forming
the richest hydrocarbon source rock of the
Magallanes and the Malvinas basins. The shaly inter-
val that contains the 116.5-Ma peak transgression
and the lower part of the Aptian interval (Figure
17) make up the most important source rock in the
area. Particularly, the lowest portion of sequence
I1, which includes the 116.5-Ma surface, shows a
characteristic high gamma-ray, high resistivity
source rock electric-log pattern. The cross section
and the thickness map of Figures 16 and 17, respec-
tively, show that this source rock log pattern disap-
pears to the north and west, and that the section
pinches out against the Dungeness arch in the
central-northern sector of the mapped area. The
same anoxic event has been recorded in the
Falkland Plateau (Ludwig et al., 1983) and through-
out the southern South Atlantic region (Jacquin,
1987; O’Connell, 1988).
Aptian–Maastrichtian Megasequence 3:
Aggradational to Starved, Distal Shelfal Drape
Megasequence 3 is limited at its base by the 112-
Ma unconformity and at its top by the 68-Ma
unconformity. Megasequence 3 is mainly com-
posed of widely distributed fine-grained rocks
deposited within an open circulation epeiric sea at
middle to outer neritic water depths (Figure 5).
This megasequence shows an overall wedge shape
with a thickness of some 350 m on the Dungeness
arch and some 750 m in the southern tracts of the
basin. A series of coarsening- and thinning-upward
lithologic trends observed in the wells suggests
that megasequence 3 can be divided into three
transgressive-regressive facies-cycle wedges (sensu
White, 1980) with maximum regressions at 94, 85,
and 75 Ma and peak transgressions at 104 and 91.5
Ma (Figure 15). An additional Maastr ichtian
sequence makes up the top-most unit of this
megasequence and is capped by the major 68-Ma
unconformity. Maximum regression surfaces are
marked by intervals with the highest marl or silt-
stone content, the coarsest lithology of the unit,
and a subtle onlap pattern of overlying strata
(Figure 19). These surfaces are interpreted to repre-
sent the conformable portion of unconformities
that must develop farther updip in the basin. Peak
transgressions are marked by the shaliest intervals
within the section (Figure 15), occasionally show-
ing a subtle downlap termination pattern.
The Aptian–Cenomanian (112–94 Ma) transgressive-
regressive facies cycle is composed of shales, clay-
stones, marly claystones, and marls of the Lower
Inoceramus and Margas Verdes for mations
(Figures 15, 17). This unit is slightly sigmoidal in
shape, with thickness ranging from 80 to 150 m.
The Aptian–Cenomanian unit is represented in seis-
mic lines by highly continuous, high-amplitude par-
allel reflections (Figure 19). Its top is a remarkably
correlative surface marked by a peak in the marl
 Galeazzi

Figure 15—Facies-cycle wedges and second-order cycles of the Cretaceous of the Malvinas Basin, showing also an example of a seismic/well tie. Note
that maximum regressions and peak transgression surfaces are evidenced by the gamma-ray pattern. Note also that a great part of the
Oxfordian–Valanginian section is absent at this point within the western flank of the Malvinas Basin.
615
 68° W 67° W 66° W 65° W
616

.05
.05 0 .20

.1 5

.10
.0 5 .10
00
0
.05
.05
53° S
0

0
0

.10
.05 00
.25

.1 5
Malvinas Basin Evolution

.05 .20
.10 0 .2
.05 .05 .15 0
.1 0 .15
0

.05
.10 .05

.15

.15
TYPE E-LOG ROCK .15
AGE
53∞30’S UNIT

.10
Gamma ray Resistivity
.10
.10
.1 0
.12

.05
.15

.05
500 #3
.15
.15
Without
lithostratigraphy

.15
.15
#4

#5
#6-7
G
1000 42.5
54∞00’S Zona
Late Neocomian land
G 54° S
68 GlauconÌtica
G 0-0.05
75
Upper 0.05-0.10
Inoceramus

85
0.10-0.15
Middle
Inoceramus 0.15-0.20
91.5

1500 94 Margas Verdes Tierra 0.20-0.25

1 04
1 12 Lower Contour interval: 0.05 (s)
Inoceramus del Fuego
116.5 Contour units: (s) (TWT)
MAPPED Pampa RincÛn
INTERVAL
150.5 Springhill
(Ma)
50 km
68∞00’W TobÌfera
54∞30’S(Depth in meters)

Figure 16—Two-way traveltime (TWT) isopach map of the Springhill backstepping wedge. The mapped interval includes the section encased between
the top of the Tobífera unconformity (150.5 Ma) and the maximum flooding surface dated at 116.5 Ma. See discussion in text.
 Galeazzi 617

Figure 17—Stratigraphic correlation of the Springhill backstepping wedge (location shown in Figure 3). Note the
progressive onlap of Late Jurassic and Neocomian sequences onto the top of the Tobífera Formation. The top of this
unit is the continuous shale of Barremian age that contains the maximum flooding surface dated at 116.5 Ma. Shore-
line and fluvial sandstones make up the characteristic facies of the Springhill Formation and are the most impor-
tant reservoirs in the Malvinas Basin. The Barremian–Aptian sequences are the main source rock in the region. Note
the characteristic high-gamma, high-resistivity electric-log response yielded by the Barremian shale interval in
wells Merluza x-1, Camarón x-1, and Lapa x-1. Micropaleontologic datums are 1 = Muderongia staurata, 2 = Lentic-
ulina nodosa and L. Praegaultina, 3 = Batioladinium micropodum, 4 = Achomosphaera neptuni, 5 = Ctenidodinium
panneum, 6 = Gonyaulacysta sp. Cf. G. jurassica, 7 = Gonyaulacysta jurassica.

content within the Cenomanian section (Figures

11, 12, 17). Marls change into siltstone-rich facies
northward within the study area (well Krill x-1,
Figure 12). One of the wells drilled by Occidental
in the northern tracts of the Malvinas Basin (Figure
1) found well-rounded, fine-grained Cenomanian
sandstones (R. Porta, 1995, personal communica-
tion) that could represent the coastal facies of
these sequences. The peak transgression was cho-
sen at a continuous thin shale of Albian age, dated
at 104 Ma (Figures 11, 12, 17), which probably rep-
resents a condensed section of 107–101 Ma (Figure
15). This date agrees with the age of peak trans-
gression of the San Martín cycle interpreted by
Arbe (1989) in the Magallanes Basin. The maximum
regression at 94 Ma was coeval with a more con-
spicuous coastline regression in the northwestern
Magallanes Basin depicted by Riccardi (1988) and Figure 18—Seismic line of the Springhill Formation
Arbe (1989). Paleontologic reports by Exxon indi- showing the effect of structural highs on the geometry
cated that the Albian stage is poorly represented by of the Springhill backstepping wedge (location shown
foraminifera in the Malvinas Basin. Besides strati- in Figure 3). The Jurassic (Oxfordian–Kimmeridgian)
graphic condensation, this poor showing of forami- sequences thin dramatically at the apex of the struc-
nifera might be related to changes in the South ture. T = Tobífera Formation, J = Jurassic, N = Neoco-
Atlantic marine ecosystem driven by the full con- mian, K = Cretaceous, P-E = Paleocene–Eocene, M =
nection between the South Atlantic and Weddell Miocene; TWT = two-way traveltime.
seas (Ludwig, 1983; Lorenzo and Mutter, 1988) as
the Falkland and Agulhas plateaus uncoupled
618 Malvinas Basin Evolution

Figure 19—(A) Interpreted north-south regional seismic line that shows the geometry and seismic response of the
Mesozoic–Cenozoic section (location shown in Figure 3). (B) Generalized facies and stratal patterns of the Meso-
zoic–Cenozoic succession in the western portion of the Malvinas Basin. TWT = two-way traveltime.

(Barker, 1979; Lawver et al., 1985, 1991). Poor fau-
nal representation also may have resulted from a
short-lived Albian anoxic event interpreted by
Pittion and Gouadain (1991) from a high-TOC (total
organic carbon) interval within the Margas Verdes
Formation in the Magallanes Basin (Figure 5).
The presence of Albian–Cenomanian carbonate-
rich facies can be related to the effect of the glob-
al warming, proposed by Frakes et al. (1992), that
began in the Albian and lasted until the Eocene.
Additionally, the oceanic circulation of the South
Atlantic had developed a counterclockwise cell
that transported warm waters from the Brazilian
shelf into the southern South Atlantic (Roth,
1986). Although slightly younger, Albian carbon-
ate for mations in Brazil, such as the Macaé
Formation in the Campos Basin (Spadini et al,
1988; Viviers and Latgé, 1988; Csoukas, 1989)
and the Guarujá Formation in the Santos Basin
(Williams and Hubbard, 1984), probably are
the result of the same climatic event that drove
marl deposition in the Malvinas Basin, as well as
carbonate-rich facies in the Falkland Plateau
(Biddle et al., 1996).
The Cenomanian–Santonian (94–85 Ma)
transgressive-regressive facies cycle is composed
of marls and claystones of the Margas Verdes
Formation, and shales, claystones, silty claystones,
and siltstones of the Middle Inoceramus and lower
Upper Inoceramus formations (Figure 15). The
base and top of this cycle are determined by the 94
and 85 Ma maximum regressions, respectively. The
peak transgression is chosen at a continuous
Turonian shale and assigned an age of 91.5 Ma. The
85-Ma maximum regression is chosen at a peak in
siltstone content observed within the Santonian
section (Figures 5, 15), which defines a surface
with a subtle onlap termination pattern in seismic
lines (Figures 11, 12, 19). This unit shows a drape
shape with minimum thickness of 150 m on the
Dungeness Arch and up to 300 m basinward
(Figures 11, 12). This unit also thickens locally on
minor depressions for med by compactional
sediment-loading reactivation of old normal faults.

The transgressive phase shows high-amplitude, con-
tinuous parallel reflections arranged in an aggrada-
tional pattern. The unit’s top is a subtle downlap sur-
face that represents the peak transgression. The
regressive phase is characterized by discontinuous to
locally chaotic reflections, with a slightly prograda-
tional sigmoidal stacking pattern. The stratal suc-
cession is locally affected by small detached faults
and slumps sliding on top of the peak transgression
surface (Figure 19; line 81 on Figure 10). The
Turonian flooding introduced benthic foraminifera
of the Pseudospiroplectina ona zone, which is a dis-
tinct biozone in the Malvinas Basin. On the Andean
side of the Magallanes Basin, a continuous prograda-
tion follows the Turonian peak transgression
(Natland et al., 1974; Riccardi, 1988). During the
remainder of the Late Cretaceous, this along-the-axis
progradation progressively filled, from north to
south, the Magallanes foredeep (Dott et al., 1982).
The Campanian (85–75 Ma) interval is com-
posed of siltstones and claystones of the Upper
Inoceramus Formation (Figure 15). The Campanian
shows an overall fining-upward trend above the 85-
Ma unconformity, topped by a sudden break in the
lithologic trend at the 75-Ma unconformity (Figures
5, 15). The conspicuous fining-upward pattern
results from deposition at progressively deeper water
depths, apparently related to a regional coastline
transgression during the Late Cretaceous (Macellari,
1987, 1988; Uliana and Biddle, 1988). The Campan-
ian package shows a sigmoidal shape, with thickness
ranging from 100 to 200 m (Figures 11, 12). The
Campanian is represented in seismic lines by middle-
to low-amplitude, moderate-continuity reflections
arranged in a slightly sigmoidal progradational pat-
tern (Figure 19). The 75-Ma unconformity that marks
the top of this package is evidenced by truncation of
underlying strata and a sudden lithologic change
(Figure 19).
The 75–68-Ma package is a single sequence
bounded at its top and base by major unconformi-
ties (Figure 15). This package is composed of
glauconite-rich sandstones and claystones of the
Arenas Glauconíticas Formation and isolated car-
bonate mounds and banks. This section is drape
shaped with thickness ranging from 20 to 100 m.
The 75–68-Ma package is partially truncated to the
north below the 68-Ma unconformity (Figure 12).
The 75–68-Ma interval is represented in seismic
lines by two highly continuous, parallel, high-
amplitude reflections. The paleontologic control
on the Salmón x-1, Erizo x-1, Krill x-1, Calamar x-2,
and Merluza x-1 wells suggests outer neritic water
depths for the benthic foraminifera assemblages
contained in claystones interbedded with the glau-
conitic sandstones; therefore, this interval main-
tains apparently the same depositional setting as
the section above it. The 75–68-Ma package likely
Galeazzi 619
was deposited under highly starved conditions,
under the effect of strong sea-bottom currents, that
promoted the deposition of glauconitic sandstones
and claystones, as was suggested by Biddle et al.
(1986) for the eastern tracts of the Magallanes
Basin, and by Lorenzo and Mutter (1988) for the
Falkland Plateau. Additionally, the combination of
neritic water depths, warm waters flowing from
the northern South Atlantic, and sediment starva-
tion provided a setting suitable for the formation of
small reef-like carbonate mounds that are present
in the area from the Maastrichtian to the Eocene.
These mounds are described in detail in the next
section.
The 75- and 68-Ma dates assigned to the upper-
most Cretaceous unconfor mities is my best
approximation based on the presence of numer-
ous foraminifera of the Archeoglobigerina cre-
tacea zone of Huber (1992) (mostly Campanian)
in the rocks underlying the 75-Ma unconformity,
poor dating of the interval in between the two
unconformities (probably Maastrichtian), and the
onlapping relationship of overlying Paleocene
deposits cover ing the 68-Ma unconfor mity
(Galeazzi, 1994; Figures 7, 19).
Paleocene–Eocene Megasequence 4:
Onlapping, Distal Shelf to Basinal Deposits in
an Underfilled Asymmetric Basin
Megasequence 4 is a wedge-shape interval,
approximately 700 m thick in the south and
30–50 m thick in the north, composed of glau-
conitic sandstones and claystones of the Arenas
Glauconíticas Formation, calcareous claystones,
and carbonates (Figure 5). Its base and top are
marked by the 68- and 42.5-Ma unconformities,
respectively (Figure 19). The 68-Ma unconformity
is a major stratigraphic surface characterized by
truncation of underlying beds in the northern
tracts of the study area and by onlap termination of
overlying strata (Figure 19). The 68–Ma unconfor-
mity’s chronostratigraphic significance, with a max-
imum time gap of Maastrichtian–early Eocene age,
is shown by Figures 6 and 7. The Malvinas–early
Paleogene depocenter was located to the south and
southeast of the study area, represented by an east-
west–trending trough (lines 13 and 81, Figure 10).
Megasequence 4 is made up of an older wedge that
fills this southern trough and a set of younger
onlapping sequences that progressively encroach
the shallower platform to the north. The section
has been subdivided into three main sequences:
P1, P2, and P3 (Figure 19, P = Paleogene). These
sequences are arranged in an aggradational pattern
progressively onlapping the Dungeness arch at a
higher point in a northerly direction. Consequently,
 68° W 66° 64°W 68°W 66°W 64°W 68° W 66° W 64° W
Sediment supply Eruption centers A Sediment supply B Sediment supply C
?
W
620

(suspended load)

53°S 53° S 53° S

FIG. 23 D

54° S 54° S
54° S

TIERRA DEL TIERRA DEL NEOCOMIAN TIERRA DEL

FUEGO Main rift trend
LATE JURASSIC FUEGO FUEGO
SENONIAN
Basement high
50 km 50 km 50 km
Malvinas Basin Evolution

68° W 66° W 64° W 68° W 66° W 64° W

PALEOCENE- EOCENE PINCH OUT PINCH OUT
D OLIGOCENE- PLIOCENE E
SEQ. P2 SEQ. P1
Area under erosion
during deposition of P2 11 (21 Ma)
10 9
8 6
Sediment supply 5
53° S 4 53° S
3
1 (5.5 Ma)

Foredeep
Platform
? Miocene sequences
depositional shelf break

?
Fig. 23 H
Sediment supply Orca x-1
Hinge zone Orca x-1
Fig. 23 E
Foredeep trough
54°S 54•
Fig. 23 G S
TIERRA DEL Paleocene- Eocene Trough TIERRA DEL
FUEGO FUEGO
Folded belt
Fig. 23 F
50 km 50 km
Scale 1:2,000,000

Figure 20—Evolution of Mesozoic–Cenozoic faulting and sediment supply in the southwestern portion of the Malvinas Basin. Thick arrows indicate
main direction of sediment transport. (A) Late rift-phase extensional faulting. (B) Early sag-phase extensional faulting. (C) Sag-phase normal faulting.
(D) Foredeep transition-phase strike-slip, normal, and minor reverse faulting. Note the relatively uplifted area of nondeposition within the central
portion of the map determined by the onlap termination of P1 and P2 sequences. (E) Foredeep-phase compressional faulting. Evolution of late
Oligocene–Miocene shelf break showing the along-the-axis progradation style that partially filled the Malvinas foredeep basin. Note that although
Mesozoic faulting is widespread throughout the area, post-Cretaceous faults are mostly localized in the fold belt and southern portion of the basin.
Fault density south of well Orca x-1 is lower than real due to scarce seismic coverage.

the rocks overlying the Cretaceous within the
southern trough are of Paleocene (Danian?) age,
whereas on the arch crest (e.g., wells Erizo x-1 and
Krill x-1, Figure 12) they are of middle Eocene age
(Figure 19).
Sequence P1 involves rocks within the southern
trough and is composed of a wedge of Paleocene
strata, which pinches out within the southern reach-
es of the platform (Figures 12, 19). Sequence P2
includes Paleocene and Eocene strata, and onlaps the
Dungeness arch farther north than does P1 (Figure
20D). P2’s top is an unconformity associated with
Galeazzi 621
Figure 21—Seismic lines of
carbonate mounds of the
Maastrichtian–Paleogene interval
(location shown in Figure 3).
(A) Uninterpreted and
(B) interpreted seismic line of
a symmetric carbonate mound.
(C) Uninterpreted and
(D) interpreted seismic image
of an asymmetric late Eocene(?)
carbonate body with internal
progradation pattern, developed
on top of a Late Cretaceous
carbonate bank. TWT = two-way
traveltime.
canyon incisions, just north of well Pulpo x-1.
Sequence P3 completely covers the arch and
records renewed deposition throughout the
entire area. The top of P3 is picked at the tectoni-
cally enhanced unconformity P3, dated at 42.5
Ma (Figures 10, 12, 19).
Sequences P1–P3 are characterized by mainly
parallel, locally mounded or progradational, high-
to moderate-amplitude reflections that turn basin-
ward into low-continuity, low-amplitude, mound-
ed to chaotic seismic events. Glauconitic sand-
stones and claystones north of well Orca x-1 are
622 Malvinas Basin Evolution

Table 1. Preferred Dating of Late Oligocene–Miocene
Sequences
Number Age (Ma)
12 30
11 21
10 17.5
9 16.5
8 15.5
7 13.8
6 12.5
5 10.5
4 LST*
3 8.2
2 6.3
1 5.5
LST = lowstand systems tract.
associated with a few carbonate mounds, normal-
ly 30–50 m thick, and up to 2 km wide (Figure
21). The carbonate bodies are represented in the
seismic lines by high-amplitude reflections form-
ing localized mounds. These mounds produce
velocity pull-up of underlying strata and com-
pactional upwarping of the overlaying layers.
Surrounding reflections commonly show onlap
terminations against their flanks. Sample descrip-
tions of cuttings of the sides of one mound drilled
by well Lapa x-1 at 1320 m (Figure 11), are
described as micritic limestones, locally dolomi-
tized, associated with abundant fragments of
echinoid spines, bryozoan colonies, and gastro-
pod shells. The carbonate mounds resemble the
micritic mounds described by Wilson (1975) for
the Devonian of Morocco. Some of the mounds
are more complex and show internal stratifica-
tion and progradation patterns (Figure 21), proba-
bly due to deposition under a diminishing accom-
modation regime. Wilson (1975) estimated this
type of carbonate mound forms in outer to mid-
dle neritic water depths; nevertheless, prograd-
ing units must have formed at or very close to
wave base.
The Paleocene–Eocene depositional scenario
is conceived as composed of two distinct deposi-
tional settings: (1) a deeper, basinal bathyal
southern trough and (2) a shallower middle to
outer neritic northern platform. The bulk of
Paleocene clastic sedimentation took place along
the axis of the southern trough, with westerly
derived allochthonous muddy detritus transport-
ed through the axis of the Magallanes foredeep.
The onlap pattern on the northern flank of the
trough represents the lateral ter mination of
downlapping basinal strata. Deposition on the
northern area was more active during the late
Paleocene and Eocene. Even dur ing the late
Paleocene–Eocene, the depositional rate north of
well Orca x-1 was slow to starved. In this area,
deposition of glauconite-rich sandstones and clay-
stones and local carbonate buildups, and develop-
ment of erosional surfaces were prominent.
An alternative depositional setting would be an
emerged platform in which the onlap of sequences
P1, P2, and P3 represents a coastal onlap against an
emergent northern area during the Paleocene and
Eocene (Galeazzi, 1994, 1996). The submerged

Table 2. Seismic Facies and Patterns Associated With Sequences on the Foredeep Platform

Systems Tracts Seismic Facies and Patterns Observations

Lowstand basin-floor fan Continuous, high- to mid-amplitude reflectors, Very conspicuous during
conspicuous bidirectional downlap on top major sea level falls.
of the sequence boundary. Deposition migrates northward in
younger sequences.

Lowstand slope fan Chaotic, medium-amplitude discontinuous Not always present in fourth-order
reflectors; pinches out on the slope of sequences.
sequence boundary.

Lowstand prograding Low-amplitude, low-continuity offlapping

wedge reflectors; pinches out in the upper slope
or outer shelf of the sequence boundary;
downlaps on the slope fan.

Transgressive High-amplitude, high-continuity Restricted to the shelf, usually

parallel reflectors. eroded.

Highstand Low- to medium-amplitude reflectors Restricted to the shelf, usually

downlapping on transgressive systems tract. eroded.

Table 3. Seismic Facies and Patterns Associated With Sequences in the Foredeep Trough
Systems Tracts Seismic Facies and Patterns
Lowstand High- to low-amplitude, moderate to highly
continuous reflectors, strong downlap and
subtle onlap on sequence boundary.
Transgressive, Medium amplitude, moderate to highly
Highstand continuous parallel reflections.
interpretation is favored by the presence of
canyons cut on P2, the muddy characteristics of the
carbonate buildups, the paleobathymetric interpre-
tation of the scarce benthic foraminifera preserved
in the section, and the distance to the coastline
contemplated in Late Cretaceous and Paleogene
paleogeographic reconstructions (Biddle et al.,
1986; Uliana and Biddle, 1988). The emerged case
is favored by the apparent backstepping arrange-
ment of sequences and the toplap termination of
the Eocene carbonates close to Calamar x-1 (Figure
21C, D), as well as the presence of br yozoan
colonies within carbonates.
The carbonate facies of the Late Cretaceous–
Eocene of the Malvinas Basin developed exclusively
on the eastern and southeastern f lanks of the
shallow-marine Dungeness arch. Their local paleo-
geographic development was presumably favored by
the warm waters coming from the northern South
Atlantic and by a distal location with respect to the
axial sediment supply fed through the Magallanes
Basin axis into the Malvinas trough during times of
global warm climate (Frakes et al., 1992).
Late Eocene-Miocene Megasequence 5:
Offlapping, Deep- to Shallow-Marine Fill of
an Asymmetric Basin
The upper Eocene–Miocene succession is
composed of lithic and glauconitic sandstones,
limestones, claystones, and tuffs (Figure 5). This suc-
cession consists of a lower aggradational upper
Eocene–lower Oligocene wedge developed on top of
the P3 (42.5 Ma) unconformity and covered by a
progradational upper Oligocene–Miocene succes-
sion. The top of the section is an important late
Miocene unconformity dated at 5.5 Ma (Figure 19).
Megasequence 5 shows a conspicuous wedge shape,
with thickness ranging from more than 4000 m to
500 m. The depocenter persisted in the southern
trough that had began to form during the Paleocene.
The basal bounding surface P3 (42.5 Ma) is a tec-
tonically enhanced unconformity that exhibits com-
mon features with basal foredeep unconformities as
defined by Bally (1989). In the southern tracts of the
Galeazzi 623
Observations
Separate members not detected; may show local
progradational intervals.
platform and foredeep trough, the bounding surface
is a downlap surface that records the deepening and
stratigraphic starvation in the deep basin area. On
the northern platform area and on top of anticlines
and other paleotopographic highs, the basal bound-
ing surface appears as an erosional surface that trun-
cates older units (Figures 7, 10).
The upper Eocene–lower Oligocene interval that
makes up the lower portion of megasequence 5 is a
wedge-shape accumulation restricted to the fore-
deep trough and southern tracts of the foredeep
platform. The paleontologic control on the platform
is not accurate enough to outline the extent of any
mappable rock unit of this age, which is apparently
condensed at the P3 unconformity; however, in
the Ciclón x-1 well there seems to occur as a contin-
uous, 1000-m-thick succession of late Eocene–
Miocene deposits (Figure 12). Thus, the oldest mem-
ber of this megasequence is assigned a late
Eocene–early Oligocene age. These deep-water
deposits were laid down during the peak flooding of
Malvinas Basin’s history (Figures 5, 7, 9). This flood-
ing rapidly changed the previous outer neritic-
bathyal depositional setting into a basinal environ-
ment under lower bathyal to abyssal water depths.
The sudden flooding of the basin correlates with the
early Oligocene eustatic rise, documented by Haq et
al. (1988), that must have been amplified by the tec-
tonically driven deepening of the basin. This eustatic
event has been recorded in numerous places in
South America. Some examples from Brazil were
documented by Pereira and Macedo (1990) in the
Santos Basin and Antunes et al. (1988) and Spadini et
al. (1988) in the Campos Basin, among others. Also,
Stoakes et al. (1991) reported the same event off-
shore Uruguay, and Legarreta et al. (1991) and
Legarreta and Uliana (1994) reported this event in
eastern Patagonia, as did Biddle et al. (1986) in the
Magallanes Basin.
The upper Oligocene–Miocene strata form a com-
plex progradational unit that is wedge shaped in the
south and sigmoidal shaped in the north (Figure 10)
due to the presence of the foredeep platform, and
trough provinces. On the foredeep platform the
upper Oligocene prograded on top of an upper
Eocene–lower Oligocene condensed section
624 Malvinas Basin Evolution
(Figures 6, 7). The progradation pattern depicts an
eastward advance of clastic wedges with a multiple
derivation from the west, southwest, and south
(Figure 20E).
A preliminary dating of the late Oligocene–
Miocene sequences was done using scarce paleonto-
logic data from five Exxon wells and data from wells
on the continent published in Masiuk et al. (1990).
Additionally, the observed stacking pattern was com-
pared with the idealized Neogene model of Bartek et
al. (1991) and the sequence stratigraphic description
of the Tertiary of Patagonia published by Legarreta
and Uliana (1994). The interpreted dating is shown
in Table 1. The twelve sequences recognized in this
section are of late Oligocene–late Miocene age, prob-
ably within the Chattian–Messinian interval.
The characteristic architecture of Miocene pro-
grading sequences varies depending on the loca-
tion within the Malvinas foreland basin. Within
the foredeep platform, type 1 sigmoidal-shape
sequences (Posamentier and Vail, 1988) were
deposited, made up of well-developed lowstand,
transgressive, and highstand systems tracts, strong-
ly onlapping atop sequence-bounding unconformi-
ties. Type 1 sequences change into the wedge-
shape type 2 sequences along the foredeep trough.
These sequences are interpreted to record the
lower reaches of fan-delta clinoforms, and show
similarities with the depositional models of deep-
water sequences presented by Vackarcs et al.
(1994) for the Miocene of the Pannonian Basin. In
Vackarcs et al.’s model, the sequence boundary is a
downlap surface on top of which the sandy tur-
bidites are deposited close to the base of the slope
(such as sandstones in Ciclón x-1, Figure 12). Some
minor onlap may be observed upslope on the type
2 sequence boundary. The transgressive and high-
stand systems tracts are represented by a uniform
claystone- and silt-prone layer draping the lowstand
unit and extending both basinward and upslope.
The seismic facies of Miocene sequences are sum-
marized in Tables 2 and 3. Cant (1996) described a
similar sequence architecture in the Cretaceous
Western Canada foreland basin, where type 1
unconformities on the foredeep platform change
into type 2 unconformities toward the rapidly sub-
siding foredeep trough domain.
The Pliocene–Pleistocene strata were not stud-
ied in detail due to the lack of well logs and pale-
ontologic data, and the low seismic resolution;
nevertheless, it seems that in the Pliocene sedi-
ments were mainly derived from the elevated
areas to the south, whereas the supply from the
west was shut off (Figures 9, 10). In the southeast-
ern corner of the study area, a strong and very
young (Pleistocene?) progradational wedge was fed
again from the south, and there was no apparent
coeval supply from the west (line 35 on Figure 10).
STRUCTURAL STYLES AND
TECTONIC EVOLUTION
The western Malvinas Basin shows a bidirec-
tional fault pattern that is the result of a multi-
phase histor y of deformation (Figure 8). The
northwestern tracts of the basin show predomi-
nantly north-northwest–oriented normal faults,
whereas its southern portion displays an east-
west–oriented array of normal, strike-slip, and
compressional faults (Figure 8). This structural
pattern is the result of the overprint of east-
west–oriented structures associated with Tertiary
transpression, over a set of mostly north-north-
west–trending Mesozoic normal faults.
The fault patterns and contours shown in the
structure map of Figure 22 depict the present-day
geometry of the subsurface in the western Malvinas
Basin. Overprinted by Tertiary tectonics, contours
show a centrally located basement high and the
deepening of strata toward the east, south, and
west, outlining the present-day extent of the
Dungeness arch and the Malvinas Basin. The depth
to top of Tobífera Formation is 1500 m on the
Dungeness arch, and more than 6000 m along the
axis of the foredeep (Figure 22).
The tectonic evolution of the Malvinas Basin has
been subdivided into four phases: rift, sag, fore-
deep transition, and foredeep sensu stricto, which
are summarized in following sections.
Jurassic Rift Phase: Extensional Deformation
and Birth of the Malvinas Basin
The early basin history was characterized by per-
vasive extensional deformation related to the
Triassic–Jurassic continental rifting of southern
South America. Fault-induced subsidence was at its
climax during the Middle Jurassic and was associat-
ed with intensive silicic and intermediate volcan-
ism. Several fault troughs and rift trends, mostly ori-
ented north-northwest, developed throughout the
area (Figure 20A). By the late Middle Jurassic,
depocenters broadened as faulting subsidence
diminished and thermo-cooling processes began,
defining a late-rift phase. These two main stages of
rifting in the Malvinas Basin are interpreted to
have been recorded, respectively, by the lower
and upper Tobífera sequences of megasequence 1
(Figures 6, 7). The broad basement high of the
Dungeness arch (Ludwig et al., 1968; Zambrano
and Urien, 1970) (Figure 20A) probably devel-
oped during this event, separating more densely
faulted Malvinas and Magallanes depocenters. The
Dungeness Arch presumably represents an area of
reduced crustal thinning that, due to its higher free-
board, remained elevated during the whole

Mesozoic and Cenozoic (M. Uliana, 1994, personal
communication).
The fault pattern suggests the presence of one
major north-northwest–oriented Jurassic rift in the
eastern part of the area that branches into minor
rift segments to the south (Figure 20A). Areas of
minor east-west–oriented normal faults developed
northeast and southwest of this rift, suggesting an
overall transtensional stress regime. Extensional
faulting was driven by major normal faults, with
offsets in excess of 1500 m (Figures 20A, 22), asso-
ciated with numerous minor antithetic and synthet-
ic faults. Master faults relate to each other along
transfer zones (sensu Morley, 1988; or accommoda-
tion zones of Rosendahl, 1987) of different types,
but only a few of them are connected through
transfer faults (Figure 23 A–D). Major faults show a
listric profile, with dip angles of about 60–80° in
their shallower reaches. Hanging walls show a syn-
thetic dip domain adjacent to the fault plane and a
broad syncline toward the center of the half graben
(Figure 23A, C). This geometry is interpreted to be
related either to a ramp of the fault plane as it cuts
through the basement rocks, or to a compaction
effect of the hanging-wall sedimentary column.
Transfer faults developed along planar, high-angle
fault planes (Figure 23B).
Late Jurassic–Cretaceous Sag Phase:
Interval of Tectonic Quiescence
The Late Jurassic–Cretaceous sag phase was
characterized by minimal faulting, which was
restricted to late normal movement along Jurassic
master faults. As shown on Figure 20B and C, the
number of active faults decreased throughout the
Cretaceous. The normal faults of Figure 23A–C
show the small offset and stratigraphic growth
observed in the sag-phase strata. Displacement
along old fault planes is interpreted to have been
related to sediment loading and differential com-
paction. Some minor reverse faults seem to have
formed during the Senonian (line 13 in Figure 10),
and could represent an early change in the regional
tectonic stresses, but no other manifestations of
such an event have been observed in the area.
Paleocene–Middle Eocene Foredeep
Transition Phase: Extensional and Strike-Slip
Deformation, Southwestern Malvinas Basin
A major change in the tectonic scenario of the
Malvinas Basin occurred around the Cretaceous–
Tertiary boundary. The tectonic stress regime
changed from a quiet Cretaceous condition to an
early Paleogene overall transtension. The renewed
Galeazzi 625
faulting occurred by a combination of reactivation of
old faults and formation of new normal strike-slip
and minor reverse faults (Figure 20D).
Faults active during this interval were restricted to
the southernmost part of the study area. These faults
follow an east-west orientation within the Malvinas
Basin and a north-northwest orientation in the
Magallanes Basin, parallel to the present Patagonian
orocline belt. Strike-slip faults are steep, and some of
them developed flower structures (Yrigoyen, 1989)
(Figure 23E). Associated normal faults are usually
also high angle, with planar fault planes and minor
hanging-wall rotation. The wedge-shape thickness
pattern of the lower Paleogene succession (Figure
10) suggests the presence of a trough in the south-
western portion of the basin.
The timing of deformation can be estimated by
stratal relationships within the transtensional struc-
tures. Thickness changes and tilting of older units
indicate that the structure shown in Figure 23E was
active mostly after the Cretaceous, but before the
late middle Eocene unconformity P3. Some reactiva-
tion occurred later, offsetting P3 and creating the
subtle anticline over the fault. Some normal faults
associated with this stage have significant throw,
such as the fault close to the western end of line 14
(Figure 9).
Late Eocene–Pliocene Foredeep Sensu Stricto
Phase: Compressional Deformation and Full
Development of the Malvinas Foredeep
By the end of the Eocene, the tectonic regime in
the Malvinas Basin became dominantly compres-
sional, with a probable associated strike-slip com-
ponent. Thrusts and strike-slip(?) faults associated
with the easterly encroaching Patagonian orocline
developed in the southern portion of the basin.
Full development of the foredeep trough and fore-
deep platform domains of the Malvinas Basin,
which began in the early Paleogene, culminated
with the emplacement of the Patagonian orocline
fold belt (Figure 20E). Thrust and reverse faults of
the fold belt trend east-west south of the Malvinas
Basin, become dominantly northwest across Tierra
del Fuego, and finally reach a north-northwest ori-
entation in the Patagonian Andes (Figure 1). The
frontal faults of the Patagonian orocline continue
eastward into the northern margin of the North
Scotia Ridge (Urien et al., 1981; Ramos et al.,
1982). Figure 23F is an example of the seismic qual-
ity across the frontal folds and thrusts of the fold
belt. As illustrated, available seismic profiles across
the fold belt do not allow detailed interpretations,
although the foredeep trough is clearly depicted
(Figure 10). Within the foredeep trough and plat-
form domains, numerous reverse and inverted
 68°W 67° W 66° W 65° W
626

1.7
1.9
1.8

1.6
2.2
NO DATA 3 4

2.0
2.

2.1
2.

1.5
1.1

2.5
1.1
1.5
1.8
1.6

0
2.0
1.7

1.
1.
1.2 1.5 4

1.1
1.0
5 1.3 53° S
1.2

2.3
2.
1.
8

2.2

4
2.5
2.2

1.
1.5

1.9
1. 1.

2.0
3 25

2.1

2.2
1.4
1.5
1.5
1. 1.7
5
1.6 1.8
1.
5

1.
1.2

6
1.6
2.
Malvinas Basin Evolution

2.5
2.8

1.9
3.0

1.
3.2

1.7

25

1.2
2.7

2.0
2.9
3.4

3.1

2.3

1.1
3.3

1.0
2.4

2.4

9
1.
1.8 2.1
2.5

1.2 9
5 0.
2 6
2. 2.
2.7

9
2.6

1.
2.3

2.0

1.5
7

1.4
1.8

1.

1.6
8
1.3 2.
2.4

1.3
2.9
1.6 2.25 2.5
2.0 3.0
4

1.1 1.5
3.

3.1 2
3.
2.
3

1.4 2.2 2.6 5

3.
3.

2.7

1.6 3.6
1.2 2.9
1. 8 3.0
7 2.
1.9
1.3 1.8 3.1 3.2
TIERRA DEL 2.0
2.5
FUEGO 3.7
3.8
3.9
4.0
5 4 °S
NO DATA 3.0 4.4

SPARSE DATA 4.3

4.2 4.1

Basement subcrop for Upper TobÌfera

Contour units: seconds
Contour interval: 0.1 (s)

50 km

Figure 22—Structural map in two-way-traveltime referred to top Tobífera Formation (150.5-Ma unconformity). Faulting is mostly extensional north
of 53°40′S, and normal, compressional, and strike-slip to the south. Structure in the southern area is mostly schematic, because faults are not corre-
lated due to scarce seismic coverage (see Figure 3). Regional thrust faults in the south are taken from Ramos et al. (1982). These faults represent the
frontal faults of the eastern extension of the Patagonian orocline. Normal faults on the northwestern corner of the area within the Magallanes Basin
are from Robbiano (1989).
 Galeazzi 627

Figure 23—Seismic lines showing different structural styles observed in the western portion of the Malvinas Basin.
(A) Master normal fault, (B) transfer fault, (C) master normal fault, (D) detailed structural map to top Tobífera For-
mation (150.5-Ma unconformity) of the transfer zone between faults shown in (A–C); M = master fault, A = antithetic
fault, T = transfer fault, (E) strike-slip fault, developing a positive flower structure, (F) frontal thrusts of the fold belt,
(G) reverse faults, (H) inverted normal fault. Location of sections (A–C) is indicated in map (D). Locations of map in
(D) and section (E) and (H) are shown in Figure 20D and E. TWT = two-way traveltime.
628 Malvinas Basin Evolution

Figure 24—Reconstruction of
an inverted structure in the
western Malvinas Basin.
(A) Reconstructed middle
Eocene structure showing a
Jurassic–Late Cretaceous
normal fault buried beneath
a thin Paleogene section.
(B) The structure is inverted
during the late Eocene–middle
Miocene; some of the Eocene
layers are eroded. (C)
Present-day structure as
recorded by an interpreted
seismic line showing that the
structure has been covered by
late Miocene deposits. The low
stratigraphic resolution of the
Oligocene section impedes a
more accurate dating of the
compressional event at this
location. TWT = two-way
traveltime.

faults have been mapped (Figure 20E). Most of
those faults are Jurassic–Early Cretaceous normal
faults that have been inverted due to their favorable
east-west orientation with respect to Tertiary com-
pression (Figure 23G, H).
Compressional structures illustrated by Figure 23G
and H provide criteria for constraining the age of
compression within the basin. Figure 24 shows that
the reverse faults in Figure 23H formed most proba-
bly during the late Eocene–early Miocene. Similarly,
reverse faults in Figure 23G formed during that
same time interval, but continued moving or were
reactivated later, developing a minor anticline
involving upper Miocene rocks. The low strati-
graphic resolution of the Oligocene strata does not
allow a more accurate determination of the timing
of this event. Additional inverted faults well
inboard the platform also show folded Miocene
strata (Figure 10, line 13; north end of Figure 19).
Unfortunately, there is no direct evidence to date

Table 4. Well Test Results From Malvinas Basin Wells
Well Formation
Salmón x-2 Springhill
Calamar x-1 Springhill
Salmón x-1 Arenas Glauconíticas
Krill x-1 Springhill
Ciclón x-1 Springhill
the age of development of the folded belt. South-
erly derived sedimentation is evident only within
the middle Miocene and younger successions
(Figure 20); nevertheless, the sudden drowning of
the basin (Figure 5) and the development of the P3
(42.5 Ma) tectonically enhanced unconformity in
the late middle Eocene (Figures 6, 7) suggest that
major mountain building adjacent to the southern
boundary of the basin occurred during the middle
Paleogene, triggering the downwarping of the
Malvinas Basin’s crust.
The Paleocene–Pliocene succession of the
Malvinas Basin displays an overall foredeep-style
stratal pattern. This succession is on top of a major
top-of-Cretaceous unconformity and was deposited
during a time of active tectonism in the southern por-
tion of the basin; therefore, the foredeep stage of the
Malvinas Basin is considered to have started in the
Paleocene, with a foredeep transition phase charac-
terized by an overall transtensional regime within the
foreland. The full development of the Malvinas fore-
deep, however, occurred later during the middle
Eocene–Oligocene (Galeazzi, 1994). This second
phase was signaled by the enhanced drowning of the
basin and overall compressional deformation within
the foreland, and thus is considered the “foredeep
sensu stricto” phase of the Malvinas Basin. Paleogene
transtensional deformation eventually could be inter-
preted as a pull-apart stage preceding the inception
of the compressional foredeep stage. Deposition dur-
ing the twofold evolution of the Malvinas foredeep
shows a starving-upward underfilled initial stage
(Paleogene) and a final overfilling period (Miocene–
Pliocene), as documented in numerous foredeep
basins in the world (Sinclair, 1994).
The interpretation regarding the timing of the
Tertiary compression in the Malvinas Basin presented
here partially agrees with the observations of
Yrigoyen (1989), who considered the age of main tilt-
ing within the basin as late Oligocene. Ludwig et al.
(1978), using regional considerations such as the tim-
ing of the Patagonian Andes orogeny, suggested that a
major subsidence pulse in the Malvinas Basin
occurred during the late Eocene–early Oligocene.
The early Paleogene transtensional phase was
coeval with the time of full development of the
Late Cretaceous–Neogene Magallanes foredeep and
Galeazzi 629
Well Test
59.2 m3/d 36° API, 96.6 (condensate), 596 Mm3/d (gas)
509 m3/d 37° API
7.6 m3/d 20° API
3.6 m oil sand
Oil shows
compressional deformation along the western
reaches of the Patagonian orocline–Fueguian
Andes folded belt (Katz, 1963; Bruhn and Dalziel,
1977; Dott et al., 1977; Caminos, 1980; Winslow,
1981, 1982; Biddle et al., 1986; Wilson, 1991;
Cunningham, 1993). Coeval extensional or trans-
tensional deformation induced the exhumation of
the Darwin metamorphic complex (Dalziel and
Brown, 1989) (Figure 1) and the formation of small
Eocene pull-apart basins documented by Caminos
et al. (1981) in the northern margin of the Canal de
Beagle, onshore Argentina, about 60 km south of
the southern edge of the study area. The middle
Paleogene–Neogene foredeep sensu stricto phase
thus would be related to final bending of the
Patagonian orocline and the consequent growth
of a fold belt just south of the Malvinas Basin
(Galeazzi, 1994).
The two-phase tectonic evolution of the ter-
tiary Malvinas Basin can be related at the regional
scale to the history of separation of South America
and the Antarctic Peninsula and the emplacement
of westward subduction at the Scotia arc system.
In their account of 84-Ma–Holocene relative plate-
displacement paths of South America and the
Antarctic Peninsula, Cunningham et al. (1995)
described a time of change from prevailing strike-
slip to an overall diverging interplate displace-
ment at around 55–40 Ma. This date roughly coin-
cides with the major tectonic changes observed in
the Malvinas Basin. Compression along the east-
ern reaches of the Patagonian orocline might have
begun in the Oligocene somehow related to the
creation of the Scotia plate as the Antar ctic
Peninsula dr ifted away from South Amer ica
(Barker et al., 1991; Cunningham et al., 1995).
Deformation then propagated eastward during the
Miocene–Holocene (Ludwig and Rabinowitz,
1982; Barker et al., 1991; Platt and Phillip, 1995;
Biddle et al., 1996) as the Scotia Arc retreated east-
ward and numerous continental blocks of the
Antarctandes Isthmus of Dalziel and Elliot (1973),
such as the Burdwood Bank and the South
Georgia Island, collided with the South American
plate (Davey, 1972; Barker and Burrel, 1977;
De Wit, 1977 Barker and Londsdale, 1991;
Royden, 1993).
630 Malvinas Basin Evolution

FOREDEEP PLATFORM AREA FOREDEEP TROUGH AREA

N S

Folded
Belt

Dungeness
Arch

Source Rock

SOURCE ROCK
IMMATURE OIL GENERATION GAS GENERATION
LEAN TERRESTIAL OIL-PRONE MARINE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NOT TO SCALE

Figure 25—Idealized north-south cross section of the western Malvinas Basin showing the essential elements of the
Lower Inoceramus–Springhill petroleum system. Hydrocarbons migrated from the source rock directly into
Springhill sandstones. The widespread distribution of Springhill sand-rich facies allowed long-distance lateral sec-
ondary migration. Oil shows observed within Tertiary sandstones and carbonates suggest vertical along-fault migra-
tion from the Lower Inoceramus source rock. Key: (1) pre-Jurassic basement, (2) Jurassic volcaniclastic rocks of
Tobífera Formation, (3) Late Jurassic–Barremian fluvial and shoreline sandstones of Springhill Formation, (4) Bar-
remian–Aptian source rock offshore shales of Lower Inoceramus Formation, (5) mud-prone Mesozoic–Cenozoic
overburden succession, (6) Maastrichtian–Tertiary sand-prone reservoirs, (7) Maastrichtian–Eocene carbonate
buildups, (8) primary migration path, (9) secondary migration path.

PETROLEUM GEOLOGY Petroleum System

Hydrocarbon Occurrences The occurrence of oil in the Malvinas Basin is

and Exploration Results
Seventeen oil and gas exploratory wells have
been drilled in the Malvinas Basin; 14 of these
wells are within the study area (Figures 1, 3). YPF
drilled the first well, Ciclón x-1, in 1980, which
resulted only in oil shows in Springhill Formation
sandstones (Bianchi, 1986), but proved the pres-
ence of a petroleum system within the basin. In
search of Magallanes-like plays, Exxon drilled 13
additional explorator y wells during 1981 and
1982. In 1991 and 1992, Occidental Argentina
drilled three wells in the northern portion of the
basin. Oil shows and tests are summarized in
Table 4.
Oil and gas so far have been recovered from
Springhill Formation coastal sandstones and “plat-
form” sandstones of the Arenas Glauconíticas
For mation. Minor oil shows have also been
detected within Paleogene carbonates and
Miocene turbidite sandstones.
most probably a product of a Lower Inoceramus–
Springhill petroleum system (sensu Magoon and
Dow, 1994) (Figures 25, 26). An equivalent petro-
leum system is considered to have generated most
of the oil in the Magallanes Basin (Pittion and
Gouadain, 1991). The source rock is composed of
upper Hauterivian–lower Aptian organic shales and
siltstones of the Lower Inoceramus Formation. The
source rock contains a type II to type II–III kero-
gen. Demaison and Huizinga (1994) assigned an
average source potential index (SPI) of 3 and 1
tHC/m 2 (metric tons of hydrocarbon per square
meter) to this source rock in the Malvinas and
Magallanes basins, respectively. Pittion and
Gouadain (1991) reported a 0.6–1.3% TOC source
rock with a type II kerogen, and a hydrocarbon
index S1 of 5–10 kg/t (kg of hydrocarbon per metric
ton of rock) for the Lower Inoceramus Formation in
the Magallanes Basin. Coeval deposits within the
Malvinas Plateau are rich in marine organic matter
and yielded TOC values of 3–8%, containing a type

JUR. CRET. NEOG. AGE
PALEOG.
Early Late P E O M P
Events
Petroleum System
Source Rock
Reservoir Rock
Seal Rock
Overburden Rock
Trap Formation
Generation- Migration
Accumuation
Preservation Time
Critical Moment
Figure 26—Essential elements and processes of the
Lower Inoceramus–Springhill petroleum system in the
western Malvinas Basin. Trap formation and preserva-
tion time vary for the different tectonic provinces.
The critical moment is chosen at the major late
Eocene–Oligocene subsidence event that initiated the
foredeep sensu stricto tectonic phase.
II kerogen (Deroo et al., 1983; von der Dick et al.,
1983). Marinelli et al. (1992) described the organic
material within Lower Inoceramus Formation in
the Malvinas Basin to change character from terres-
trial to marine east and south of the Dungeness
arch (Figure 25). Using vitrinite-reflectance mea-
surements, they estimated that the source rock was
immature along the Dungeness arch within the
early oil generation window in the central and
outer portions of the foredeep platform, and within
the late oil and gas window in the northern flank
and center of the foredeep trough. Additionally,
Marinelli et al. (1992) estimated that maturation of
this source rock commenced by 40 Ma, a date that
agrees with the overall structural-stratigraphic evo-
lution described here. Minor source rock intervals
include Albian offshore shales of the Margas Verdes
Formation and Middle Jurassic lacustrine shales of
the Tobífera Formation, as described by Pittion and
Gouadain (1991) and Cagnolatti et al. (1996) for
the Magallanes Basin.
The main reservoir of the Lower Inoceramus–
Springhill petroleum system consists of the
Springhill Formation fluvial and shoreline sand-
stones (Figure 25). Core data from Exxon wells
yielded sandstone porosities within the 8–32%
range and permeabilities of up to 2300 md. The
depositional strike of Springhill shoreline deposits
is northeast within most of the study area, and
turns east-west to the south, paralleling the
Dungeness; therefore, reservoir-grade facies shale
out to the south and southeast. Minor reservoir lev-
els are represented by Maastrichtian–Paleocene
sandstones of the Arenas Glauconíticas Formation
and associated carbonate deposits, as well as
Miocene turbidite sandstones.
Galeazzi 631
Structural traps within the Malvinas Basin are
related to positive structures associated with
Jurassic–Early Cretaceous extensional faults,
Paleogene strike-slip and normal faults, and Miocene
compressional and transpressional structures (Figure
27). Stratigraphic and combination traps are related
to updip pinch-out of coastal Springhill Formation
sandstones, Upper Cretaceous–Paleogene carbonate
buildups, lateral termination of Arenas Glauconíticas
Formation sandstones, and Miocene turbidite-
sandstone lobes (Figure 27).
The foredeep platform and foredeep trough
Tertiary tectonic domains define two major hydrocar-
bon provinces. The foredeep platform province is
characterized by a poor terrestrial to marine source
rock that ranges from immature in the north to with-
in the early to middle oil window in the south. Thick
late Neocomian–middle Cretaceous reservoirs with
poor vertical seal are found within northern tracts of
the foredeep platform (tested by Occidental wells),
and thinner Late Jurassic–Neocomian reservoirs with
good vertical seals occur within the central and
southern platform tracts (tested by Exxon wells).
Structural and combination traps are mainly related
to Jurassic–Neocomian extensional structures.
Similarly to the Magallanes Basin (Pittion and
Gouadain, 1991), lateral long-distance migration is
favored along Springhill sandstones, as suggested by
the presence of oil in the Calamar x-1 well some 100
km away from the oil kitchen. Minor reservoirs are
provided by the Maastrichtian–Paleogene Arenas
Glauconíticas sandstones and carbonate buildups.
The foredeep trough province south of well Orca x-1
(Figures 3, 20E) is characterized by a higher quality
marine-type source rock that is within the late oil and
gas generation windows. Springhill reservoir facies
seem to be thin and mostly Jurassic in age. Traps are
mainly Miocene–Pliocene in age due to pervasive
Tertiary reactivation of Jurassic–Neocomian faults.
Numerous young faults provide potential local verti-
cal migration paths to Miocene turbidite sandstone
reservoirs.
CONCLUSIONS
The detailed description of the western portion
of the Malvinas Basin presented in this paper pro-
vides new information to better understand the geo-
logic evolution of southern Patagonia. In this paper, I
also offer a detailed account of stratal and lithologic
patterns and a broad description of structural styles
and faulting, which can be used to guide future
hydrocarbon exploration efforts in the basin.
From a stratigraphic perspective, perhaps my
main conclusion is that the southwestern portion
of the Malvinas Basin is the repository of a single
mud-prone depositional cycle of Jurassic–Holocene
632 Malvinas Basin Evolution
STRUCTURAL TRAPS:
Normal fault
150.5 Ma
Reverse fault
6
8 Weak lateral seal
8
5
9
4
150.5
1 2 3 4
Figure 27—Major trap styles within the western Malvinas Basin. Key: (1) fluvial sandstones, (2) shoreline and tur-
bidite sandstones, (3) source rock shales, (4) offshore shales, (5) micritic carbonates.
age. Five megasequences bounded by major
unconformities of regional significance subdivide
this first-order transgressive-regressive cycle. A
simple coastal-shoreline-shelfal backstepping
arrangement of its basal Late Jurassic–Neocomian
transgressive suite provides the source rock–main
reservoir doublet of the petroleum system. Late
Cretaceous–Tertiary successions act as the overbur-
den rock and contain additional minor reservoirs.
Locally, synrift Middle Jurassic lacustrine shales
could have yielded hydrocarbons, and provide a
secondary petroleum system as observed in the
Magallanes Basin (Cagnolatti et al., 1996).
The structural analysis of the basin shows that it
evolved through the classic rift-sag (passive mar-
gin) and foredeep stages of most foredeep basins.
The major unconformities that bound megase-
quences developed as a result of the initiation of
each of these tectonic phases: inception of rifting,
rift-sag transition, sag-foredeep transition, and
beginning of foredeep sensu stricto. Perhaps the
most interesting phase of the tectonic evolution of
the area is the two-phase Tertiary foredeep stage.
Although a lack of good seismic coverage impeded
a detailed mapping of the southern foredeep, the
observed structures suggest the existence of an
early Paleogene transtensional phase followed by a
late Paleogene–Neogene compressional (probably
transpressional) period. Tertiary structures in the
southern portion of the basin include strike-slip
STRATIGRAPHIC TRAPS
Springhill and Arenas Glauconiticas Formations
Basement High
150.5 Ma
or 68 Ma
Oligocene– Miocene Turbidites
SB
Erosional truncation–Arenas Glauconiticas Formation
P3 (42.5 Ma)
Maastrichtian– Eocene carbonate buildups
SB (68 Ma)
5 NOT TO SCALE
faults (some with associated flower structures),
normal faults, reverse faults, and inverted normal
faults. The twofold history of deformation of the
Tertiar y Malvinas foredeep can be related to
the plate-scale twofold history of separation of the
Antarctic Peninsula and South American plates
(Cunningham et al., 1995), the creation of the
Scotia plate, and the eastward retreat of the Scotia
subduction zone.
Oil discoveries in the Malvinas Basin have been
reported as noneconomical, partially filled traps
(Yrigoyen, 1989). These results appear related in
general terms to insufficient generation or inefficient
migration of hydrocarbons to the foredeep platform,
or perhaps to incomplete preservation. Whatever
the cause, exploration efforts to date suggest that
the Malvinas Basin contains an undercharged
petroleum system. If this is the case, successful
exploration would be the result of defining the most
efficient kitchen to closest-to-the-kitchen trap sys-
tems, keeping in mind the varied source-reservoir-
trap systems occurring in the Malvinas Basin.
REFERENCES CITED
Antunes R., N. Takahiro Sonoki, and M. Caminatti, 1988,
The Enclova paleocanyon (Campos basin—Brazil), its
Oligocene–Miocene history based on calcareous nannoplank-
ton stratigraphy and seismostratigraphy: Revista Brasileira de
Geociências, v. 18, p. 283–290.

Arbe, H. A., 1989, Estratigrafía, discontinuidades y evolución sedi-
mentaria del Cretácico en la cuenca Austral, Provincia de Santa
Cruz, in G. A. Chebli and L. A. Spalletti, eds., Cuencas sedimen-
tarias Argentinas: Serie Correlación Geológica 6, Universidad
Nacional del Tucumán, p. 419–442.
Bally, A. W., 1989, Phanerozoic basins of North America, in A. W.
Bally and A. R. Palmer, eds., The geology of North America, an
overview: Geological Society of America, DNAG series,
p. 397–446.
Barker, P. F., 1979, The history of ridge-crest offset at the
Falkland–Agulhas fracture zone from a small circle geophysical
profile: Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society,
v. 59, p. 131–145.
Barker, P. F., 1982, The Cenozoic subduction history of the Pacific
margin of the Antarctic peninsula: ridge crest–trench interac-
tions: Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 139,
p. 787–802.
Barker, P. F., and J. Burrel, 1977, The opening of the Drake
Passage: Marine Geology, v. 25, p. 15–34.
Barker, P. F., and M. J. Lonsdale, 1991, A multichannel seismic pro-
file across the Weddell Sea margin of the Antarctic peninsula:
regional tectonic implications, in M. R. A. Thomson, J. A.
Crame, and J. W. Thomson, eds., Geological evolution of
Antarctica: World and Regional Geology I: Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press, p. 237–241.
Barker, P. F., I. W. D. Dalziel, and B. C. Storey, 1991, Tectonic
development of the Scotia arc region, in R. J. Tingley, ed., The
geology of Antarctica: Oxford, Clarendon Press, p. 215–248.
Bartek, L. R., P. R. Vail, J. B. Anderson, P. A. Emmet, and S. Wu,
1991, Effects of Cenozoic ice sheet fluctuations in Antarctica
on the stratigraphic signature of the Neogene: Journal of
Geophysical Research, v. 96, p. 6753–6778.
Bianchi, C., 1986, Areas en licitación cuencas costa afuera: Cuenca
de Malvinas, in Petroleo y gas en Argentina: Centro
Internacional de Información Empresaria, v. 1, p. 240–252.
Biddle K. T., M. A. Uliana, R. M. Mitchum, Jr., M. G. Fitzgerald, and
R. C. Wright, 1986, The stratigraphic and structural evolution
of the central and eastern Magallanes Basin, southern South
America: International Association of Sedimentologists Special
Publication 8, p. 41–61.
Biddle, K. T., P. D. Snavely III, and M. A. Uliana, 1996, Plateau de
las Malvinas, in V. A. Ramos and M. A. Turic, eds., Gología y
recursos naturales de la plataforma continental Argentina: 13th
Congreso Geológico Argentino y 3d Congreso de Exploración
de Hidrocarburos, Relatorio, p. 225–252.
British Antarctic Survey, 1985, Tectonic map of the Scotia arc:
Cambridge, British Antarctic Survey, BAS (misc) 3, scale
1:3,000,000.
Bruce R. M., E. P. Nelson, S. G. Weaver, and D. R. Lux, 1991,
Temporal and spatial variations in the southern Patagonian
batholith; constraints on magmatic arc development, in R. S.
Harmon and C. W. Rapela, eds., Andean magmatism and its
tectonic setting: Geological Society of America Special Paper
265, p. 1–12.
Bruhn, R. L., and I. W. D. Dalziel, 1977, Destruction of the Early
Cretaceous marginal basin in the Andes of Tierra del Fuego, in
M. Talwani and W. C. Pitman, eds., Island arcs, deep sea
trenches and back arc basins: Maurice Ewing Series, no. 1:
American Geophysical Union, p. 395–405.
Bruhn, R. L., C. R. Stern, and M. J. De Wit, 1978, Field and geochem-
ical data bearing on the development of a Mesozoic volcano-
tectonic rift zone and back arc basin in southern South
America: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 41, p. 32–46.
Cagnolatti, M., R. Martins, and H. Villar, 1996, La Formación
Lamaire como probable generadora de hidrocarburos en el area
Angostura, Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: 13th
Congreso Geológico Argentino y 3d Congreso de Exploración
de Hidrocarburos, Actas 1, p. 123–139.
Caminos, R., 1980, Cordillera Fueguina: geología regional
Argentina, Segundo Simposio: Academia Nacional de Ciencias
de Córdoba, 1976, v. II, p. 1463–1501.
Galeazzi 633
Caminos, R., M. Haller, O. Lapido, A. Liznain, R. Page, and V.
Ramos, 1981, Reconocimiento geológico de los Andes
Fueguinos, Territorio Nacional de Tierra del Fuego: 8th
Congreso Geológico Argentino, San Luis, Actas 3, p. 759–786.
Cant, D. J., 1996, Sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic
organization of a foreland clastic wedge, Mannville Group,
Western Canada basin: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 66,
p. 1137–1147.
Cunningham, W. D., 1993, Strike-slip faults in the southernmost
Andes and the development of the Patagonian orocline:
Tectonics, v. 12, no. 1, p. 169–186.
Cunningham, W. D., I. W. D. Dalziel, T.-Y. Lee, and L. A. Lawver,
1995, Southernmost South America–Antarctic Peninsula rela-
tive plate motions since 84 Ma: implications for the tectonic
evolution of the Scotia arc region: Journal of Geophysical
Research, v. 100, no. B5, p. 8257–8266.
Dalziel, I. W. D., 1981, Back-arc extension in the southern Andes: a
review and critical reappraisal: Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society of London, v. 300, p. 319–335.
Dalziel, I. W. D., 1983, The evolution of the Scotia arc: a review, in
R. L. Oliver, P. R. James, and J. B. Jago, eds., Antarctic earth sci-
ence: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 283–288.
Dalziel, I. W. D., and R. L. Brown, 1989, Tectonic denudation of
the Darwin metamorphic core complex in the Andes of Tierra
del Fuego, southernmost Chile: implications for Cordilleran
orogenesis: Geology, v. 17, p. 699–703.
Dalziel, I. W. D., and D. H. Elliot, 1973, The Scotia arc and
Antarctic margin, in A. E. M. Nairn and F. G. Stehli, eds., The
ocean basins and margins: 1. The South Atlantic: New York,
Plenum Press, p. 171–245.
Dalziel, I. W. D., M. J. De Wit, and K. F. Palmer, 1974, A fossil
marginal basin in the southern Andes: Nature, v. 250,
p. 291–294.
Davey, F. J., 1972, Gravity measurements over Burwood Bank:
Marine Geophysical Research, v. 1, p. 428–435.
Davidson, J., C. Mpodozis, E. Godoy, F. Hervé, R. Pankhurst, and
M. Brook, 1987, Late Paleozoic accretionary complexes on the
Gondwana margin of southern Chile: evidence from the
Chonos Archipelago, in G. McKenzie, ed., Gondwana six:
structure, tectonics and geophysics: American Geophysical
Union, Geophysical Monograph 40, p. 221–227.
de Giusto, J. M., C. A. Di Persia, and E. Pezzi, 1980, Nesocratón del
Deseado: geología regional Argentina, segundo simposio:
Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba, 1976, v. 2,
p. 1389–1430.
Demaison, G., and B. J. Huizinga, 1994, Genetic classification of
petroleum systems using three factors: charge, migration, and
entrapment, in L. B. Magoon and W. G. Dow, eds., The
petroleum system—from source to trap: AAPG Memoir 60,
p. 73–89.
Deroo, G., P. Herbin, and J. Roucaché, 1983, Organic geochem-
istry of Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous sediments from Site 511,
Leg 71, western South Atlantic, in W. J. Ludwig et al., eds.,
Initial reports of the Deep-Sea Drilling Project: DSDP, v. 71,
part 2, p. 1001–1014.
De Wit, M. J., 1977, The evolution of the Scotia arc as a key to the
reconstruction of south western Gondwanaland: Tectono-
physics, v. 37, p. 53–81.
Di Persia, C. A., 1965, Presencia de sedimentos triásicos en el
ambiente del Deseado: Actas de las Segundas Jornadas
Geológicas Argentinas, v. 2, p. 147–154.
Dott, R. H., Jr., R. D. Winn, M. J. De Wit, and R. L. Bruhn, 1977,
Tectonic and sedimentary significance of Cretaceous Tekenika
beds of Tierra del Fuego: Nature, v. 266, p. 620–622.
Dott, R. H., Jr., R. D. Winn, and C. H. L. Smith, 1982, Relationship
of late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic sedimentation to the tec-
tonic evolution of the southernmost Andes and Scotia Sea, in
C. Craddock, ed., Antarctic geoscience: Madison, University of
Wisconsin, p. 193–202.
du Toit, A. L., 1937, Our wandering continents: Edinburgh, Oliver
and Boyd, 366 p.
634 Malvinas Basin Evolution
Feruglio, E., 1949, Descripción geológica de la Patagonia:
Dirección General de YPF, Buenos Aires, 1127 p.
Forsyth, D. W., 1975, Fault plane solutions and tectonics of the
South Atlantic and Scotia Sea: Journal of Geophysical Research,
v. 88, p. 1429–1443.
Forsythe, R. D., 1982, The late Paleozoic to early Mesozoic evolu-
tion of southern South America: a plate tectonic interpreta-
tion: Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 139,
p. 671–682.
Frakes, L. A., J. E. Francis, and J. I. Syktus, 1992, Climate modes of the
Phanerozoic: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 274 p.
Franchi, M. R., J. L. Panza, and R. E. de Barrio, 1989, Depósitos
Triásicos y Jurásicos de la Patagonia extraandina, in G. A.
Chebli and L. A. Spalletti, eds., Cuencas sedimentarias
Argentinas: Serie Correlación Geológica 6, Universidad
Nacional del Tucumán, p. 347–378.
Galeazzi, J. S., 1994, Stratigraphic and structural evolution of the
western Malvinas and eastern Magallanes basins, Argentina:
Master’s thesis, Rice University, Houston, Texas, 150 p.
Galeazzi, J. S., 1996, Cuenca de Malvinas, in V. A. Ramos and M. A.
Turic, eds., Gología y recursos naturales de la plataforma conti-
nental Argentina: 13th Congreso Geológico Argentino y 3d
Congreso de Exploración de Hidrocarburos, p. 273–309.
Gust, D. A., K. T. Biddle, D. W. Phelps, and M. A. Uliana, 1985,
Associated Middle to Late Jurassic volcanism and extension in
southern South America: Tectonophysics, v. 116, p. 223–253.
Haq, B. U., J. Hardenbol, and P. R. Vail, 1988, Mesozoic and
Cenozoic chronostratigraphy and cycles of sea-level change, in
C. K. Wilgus, B. S. Hastings, C. G. St. C. Kendall, H. W.
Posamentier, C. A. Ross, and J. C. van Wagoner, eds., Sea-level
changes: an integrated approach: SEPM Special Publication 42,
p. 71–108.
Herron, E. M., R. Bruhn, M. Winslow, and L. Chaqui, 1977, Post-
Miocene tectonics of the margin of southern Chile, in
M. Talwani and W. C. Pitman III, eds., Island arcs, deep sea
trenches and back-arc basins: p. 273–284.
Hervé, F., E. Nelson, K. Kawashita, and M. Suárez, 1981, New iso-
topic ages and the timing of orogenic events in the Cordillera
Darwin, southernmost Chilean Andes: Earth and Planetary
Science Letters, v. 55, p. 257–265.
Hervé, F., M. Suarez, and A. Puig, 1984, The Patagonian batholith
South of Tierra del Fuego: timing and tectonic implications:
Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 141,
p. 909–917.
Hinterwimer, G. A., V. E. Messinger, and L. A. Soave, 1984, Análisis
de facies, porosidad y diagénesis de una secuencia de playa;
Formación Springhill en el sondeo Puesto Barros, Provincia de
Santa Cruz: Noveno Congreso Geológico Argentino, Actas 5,
p. 136–145.
Huber, B. T., 1992, Upper Cretaceous planktic foraminiferal bio-
zonation for the Austral realm: Marine Micropaleontology,
v. 20, p. 107–128.
Jacquin, T., 1987, Analogies et différences entre les black shales du
Crétacé inférieur et supérieur de l’Atlantique Sud: Bulletin de la
Société Géologique de France, 8 séri, tome III, no. 4,
p. 705–713.
Katz, H. R., 1963, Revision of Cretaceous stratigraphy in
Patagonian Cordillera of Ultima Esperanza, Magallanes
Province, Chile: AAPG Bulletin, v. 47, p. 506–524.
Kokogián, D. A., and G. Barzola, 1996, Estratigrafía y ambiente sed-
imentario de la Fm Springhill en la cuenca de Malvinas occiden-
tal (abs.): 13th Congreso Geológico Argentino y 3d Congreso
de Exploración de Hidrocarburos, Actas I, p. 283.
Koutsoukos, E., 1987, A área noroeste da Bacia de Campos, Brasil,
do Mesocretáceo ao Neocretáceo: evoluçao paleoambiental
and paleogeográfica pelo estudo de foraminíferos: Revista
Brasileira de Geociências, v. 17, no. 2, p. 168–172.
Kranck, E. H., 1932, Geological investigations in the Cordillera of
Tierra del Fuego; Acta Geographica 4, no. 2: Helsinki, Helsinki-
Helsingfors, 231 p.
Lawver, L. A., J. G. Sclater, and L. Meinke, 1985, Mesozoic and
Cenozoic reconstructions of the South Atlantic: Tectono-
physics, v. 114, p. 223–254.
Lawver, L. A., J. V. Royer, D. T. Sandwell, and C. R. Scotese, 1991,
Evolution of the Antarctic continental margins, in M. R. A.
Thomson, J. A. Crame, and J. W. Thomson, eds., Geological
evolution of Antarctica: world and regional geology I:
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 533–539.
Legarreta, L., and M. A. Uliana, 1994, Asociaciones de fósiles e
hiatos en el Supracretácico-Neogeno de Patagonia: una per-
spectiva estratigráfico-secuencial: Ameghiniana (Revista de la
Asociación Paleontológica Argentina), v. 31, no. 3,
p. 257–281.
Legarreta, L., M. A. Uliana, and M. A. Torres, 1991, Secuencias
deposicionales Cenozoicas de Patagonia central: sus relaciones
con las asociaciones de mamíferos terrestres y episodios mari-
nos epicontinentales. Evaluacion preliminar: Actas II Simposio
Terciario Chile, p. 135–176.
Lesta, P., R. Ferello, and G. Chebli, 1980, Chubut extraandino:
Geología Regional Argentina, Segundo Simposio: Academia
Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba, 1976, v. 2, p. 1307–1387.
Ling, H. Y., R. D. Forsythe, and R. C. Douglas, 1985, Late Paleozoic
microfaunas from southernmost Chile and their relation to
Gondwanaland forearc development: Geology, v. 13,
p. 357–360.
Lorenzo, J. M., and J. C. Mutter, 1988, Seismic stratigraphy and tec-
tonic evolution of the Falkland/Malvinas plateau: Revista
Brasileira de Geociências, v. 18 (2), p. 191–200.
Ludwig, W. J., 1983, Geologic framework of the Falkland Plateau,
in W. J. Ludwig et al., eds., Initial Reports of the Deep Sea
Drilling Project, v. 71, part 1: DSDP, p. 281–293.
Ludwig, W. J., and P. D. Rabinowitz, 1982, The collision complex
of the North Scotia Ridge: Journal of Geophysical Research,
v. 87, no. 35, p. 3731–3740.
Ludwig, W. J., I. J. Ewing, and M. Ewing, 1968, Structure of the
Argentine continental margin: AAPG Bulletin, v. 52,
p. 2337–2368.
Ludwig, W. J., C. C. Windisch, R. E. Houtz, and J. I. Ewing, 1978,
Structure of Falkland Plateau and offshore Tierra del Fuego, in
J. S. Watkins et al., eds., Geological and geophysical investiga-
tions of continental margins: AAPG Memoir 29, p. 125–137.
Ludwig, W. J., and Shipboard Scientific Party, 1983, Site 511: Deep
Sea Drilling Project, Initial Reports, Leg 71, p. 21–51.
Macellari, M., 1987, Tendencias regionales y ciclos deposicionales
del Cretácico del Oeste de Sudamérica: 10th Congreso
Geológico Argentino, Tucumán 1987, Actas III, p. 163–166.
Macellari, M., 1988, Cretaceous paleogeography and depositional
cycles of western South America: Journal of South American
Earth Sciences, v. 1, p. 373–418.
Magoon, L. B., and W. G. Dow, 1994, The petroleum system, in
L. B. Magoon and W. G. Dow, eds., The petroleum system—
from source to trap: AAPG Memoir 60, p. 3–24.
Marinelli, R. V., 1982, Distribución de campos productores de
hidrocarburos en el área de plataforma de Cuenca Austral: su
relación con antiguas líneas de costa: Primer Congreso
Nacional de Hidrocarburos, Petroleo y Gas, p. 209–216.
Marinelli, R., H. Franzin, and G. Laffitte, 1992, La exploración
costa afurea en la Cuenca de Malvinas: Boletín de Informa-
ciones Petroleras, Dietsmore, p. 67–78.
Marshall, J. E. A., 1994, The Falkland Islands: a key element in
Gondwana paleogeography: Tectonics, v. 13, p. 499–514.
Masiuk, V., J. C. Riggi, and J. L. Bianchi, 1990, Análisis geológico
del Terciario del subsuelo de Tierra del Fuego: Boletín de
Informaciones Petroleras, v. 21, p. 70–89.
Mitchell, C., G. K. Taylor, K. G. Cox, and J. Shaw, 1986, Are the
Falkland Islands a rotated microplate?: Nature, v. 319,
p. 131–134.
Mitchum, R. M., Jr., and J. C. van Wagoner, 1991, High-frequency
sequences and their stacking patterns: sequence stratigraphic
evidence of high-frequency eustatic cycles: Sedimentary
Geology, v. 70, p. 131–160.

Morley, C. K., 1988, Variable extension in Lake Tanganyika:
Tectonics, v. 7, p. 785–801.
Natland, M. L., E. Gonzalez, A. P. Cañón, and M. Ernst, 1974, A sys-
tem of stages for the correlation of the Magallanes Basin sedi-
ments: Geological Society of America Memoir 139, 126 p.
Nelson, E. P., 1982, Post-tectonic uplift of the cordillera
Darwin orogenic core complex: evidence from fission track
geochronology and closing temperature-time relationships:
Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 139,
p. 755–761.
Nelson, E. P., I. A. D. Dalziel, and A. G. Milnes, 1980, Structural
geology of the cordillera Darwin—collisional-style orogenesis
in the southernmost Chilean Andes: Eclogae Geologicae
Helvetiae, v. 73, p. 727–751.
O’Connell, S., 1988, Lower Cretaceous organic-rich sediments
drilled on Antarctic continental margin during ODP Leg 113
(abs.): AAPG Bulletin, v. 72, no. 1, p. 231.
Pelayo, A. M., and D. A. Wiens, 1987, Current relative plate
motions in the Scotia region (abs.): EOS, Transactions of the
American Geophysical Union, v. 68, p. 1474.
Pereira, J., and J. Magalháes Macedo, 1990, A Bacia de Santos: per-
spectivas de uma nova província petrolífera na plataforma con-
tinental sudeste Brasileira: Geociencias Petrobrás, v. 4, no. 1,
p. 3–11.
Pittion, J. L., and J. Gouadain, 1991, Source rocks and oil genera-
tion in the Austral basin: Acts of the Thirteenth World
Petroleum Congress, Topics 2, p. 1–8.
Platt, N. H., and P. R. Phillip, 1995, Structure of the southern
Falkland Islands continental shelf: initial results from new seis-
mic data: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 12, no. 7,
p. 759–771.
Posamentier, H. W., and P. R. Vail, 1988, Eustatic controls on
clastic deposition II—sequence and systems tract models, in
C. K. Wilgus, B. S. Hastings, C. G. St. C. Kendall, H. W.
Posamentier, C. A. Ross, and J. C. van Wagoner, eds., Sea-level
changes: an integrated approach: SEPM Special Publication 42,
p. 125–154.
Rabinowitz, P. D., M. Delach, M. Truchan, and A. Lonardi, 1978,
Bathymetric map of Argentine continental margin: AAPG
Argentine Map Series, scale 1: 4,500,000, 4 sheets.
Ramos, V. A., A. H. Pesce et al., 1982, Mapa geológico de la
Argentina: Buenos Aires, Ministerio de Economía, Secretaría de
Industria y Minería, scale 1:4,000,000.
Riccardi, A. C., 1988, The Cretaceous system of southern South
America: Geological Society of America Memoir 168, 161 p.
Riccardi, A. C., and E. O. Rolleri, 1980, Cordillera patagonica aus-
tral: Geología Regional Argentina, Segundo Simposio,
Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba, 1976, v. 2,
p. 1173–1306.
Riggi, J. C., 1977, La Formación Springhill en el subsuelo de Tierra
del Fuego: Asociación Geologica Argentina Revista, v. 32,
p. 176–189.
Robbiano, J. A., 1989, Cuenca Austral sector costa afuera, in G. A.
Chebli and L. A. Spalletti, eds., Cuencas sedimentarias
Argentinas: Universidad Nacional del Tucumán, Serie
Correlación Geológica 6, p. 493–512.
Robbiano, J. A., H. A. Arbe, and A. Gangui, 1996, Cuenca Austral
marina, in V. A. Ramos and M. A. Turic, eds., Geología y recur-
sos naturales de la plataforma continental Argentina: 13th
Congreso Geológico Argentino y 3d Congreso de Exploración
de Hidrocarburos, Relatorio, p. 323–341.
Rosendahl, B. R., 1987, Architecture of continental rifts with spe-
cial reference to east Africa: Annual Review of Earth and
Planetary Science, v. 15, p. 445–503
Roth, P. H., 1986, Mesozoic paleoceanography of the North
Atlantic and Tethys oceans, in C. P. Summerhayes and N. J.
Shackelton, eds., North Atlantic paleoceanography: Geological
Society of London Special Publication 21, p. 299–320.
Royden, L. H., 1993, Evolution of retreating subduction bound-
aries formed during continental collision: Tectonics, v. 12,
p. 629–638.
Galeazzi 635
Russo, A., M. A. Flores, and H. Di Benedetto, 1980, Patagonia aus-
tral extraandina: Geología Regional Argentina, Segundo
Simposio, Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba, 1976,
v. 2, p. 1431–1462.
Sinclair, H. D., 1994, Underfilled foreland basin stratigraphy as a
record of early continental collision: an Alpine perspective:
14th International Sedimentological Congress, IAS 94, Recife,
Brazil, p. F20–F21.
Spadini, A., F. Esteves, D. Dimas-Brito, R. Latgé Milward de
Azevedo, and R. Rodrigues, 1988, The Macaé Formation,
Campos basin, Brazil: its evolution in the context of the initial
history of the South Atlantic: Revista Brasileira de Geociências,
v. 18, p. 261–272.
Stoakes, F. A., C. V. Campbell, R. Cass, and N. Uch, 1991, Seismic
stratigraphic analysis of the Punta del Este Basin, offshore
Uruguay, South America: AAPG Bulletin, v. 75, p. 219–240.
Thomas, C. R., 1949a, Geology and petroleum exploration
in Magallanes Province, Chile: AAPG Bulletin, v. 33,
p. 1553–1578.
Thomas, C. R., 1949b, Manantiales field, Magallanes Province,
Chile: AAPG Bulletin, v. 33, p. 1579–1589.
Turic, M., E. Mainardi, S. Hogg, and R. Stubelij, 1980, Malvinas
Basin, offshore Argentina: Offshore Technology Conference,
OTC 3912, p. 575–582.
Turner, J. C. M., 1980, Islas Malvinas: Geología Regional Argentina,
Segundo Simposio, Academia Nacional de Ciencias de
Córdoba, 1976, v. 2, p. 1503–1527.
Uliana, M. A., and K. T. Biddle, 1987, Permian to Late Cenozoic
evolution of northern Patagonia: main tectonic events, mag-
matic activity and depositional trends, in G. D. McKenzie, ed.,
Gondwana six: structure, tectonics and geophysics: American
Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph 40, p. 271–286.
Uliana, M. A., and K. T. Biddle, 1988, Mesozoic–Cenozoic paleo-
geographic and geodynamic evolution of southern South
America: Revista Brasileira de Geociências, v. 18, no. 2,
p. 172–190.
Uliana, M. A., K. T. Biddle, and J. Cerdán, 1989, Mesozoic exten-
sion and the formation of argentine sedimentary basins, in A. J.
Tankard and H. R. Balkwill, eds., Extensional deformation and
stratigraphy of the North Atlantic margins: AAPG Memoir 46,
p. 599–614.
Urien, C. M., and J. J. Zambrano, 1973, The geology of the basins
of the Argentine continental margin and Malvinas Plateau, in
A. E. M. Nairn and F. G. Stehli, eds., The ocean basins and
margins, v. 1, the South Atlantic: New York, Plenum,
p. 135–169.
Urien, C. M., J. Zambrano, and L. R. Martins, 1981, The basins of
southern South America (southern Brazil, Uruguay and eastern
Argentina), including the Malvinas Plateau and southern South
Atlantic paleogeographic evolution, in W. Volkheimer and
E. A. Musacchio, eds., Cuencas Sedimentarias del Jurásico y
Cretácico de America del Sur: Comité Sudamericano del
Jurásico y Cretácico, v. 1, p. 45–125.
Vackarcs, G., P. R. Vail, G. Tari, G. Pogácsás, R. E. Mattick, and
A. Szabó, 1994, Third-order middle Miocene–early Pliocene
depositional sequences in the prograding delta complex of the
Pannonian basin: Tectonophysics, v. 240, p. 81–106.
van Wagoner, J. C., R. M. Mitchum, K. M. Campion, and V. G.
Rahmanian, 1990, Siliciclastic sequence stratigaphy in well
logs, cores, and outcrops: AAPG Methods in Exploration 7,
55 p.
Vail, P. R., 1987, Seismic stratigraphy interpretation procedure, in
A. W. Bally, ed., Atlas of seismic stratigraphy: AAPG Studies in
Geology 27, p. 1–10.
Vail, P. R., R. M. Mitchum, Jr., R. G. Todd, J. M. Widmier,
S. Thompson III, J. B. Sangree, J. N. Bubb, and W. B. Hatlelid,
1977, Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level, in
C. E. Payton, ed., Seismic stratigraphy—applications to hydro-
carbon exploration: AAPG Memoir 26, p. 49–212.
Vail, P. R., F. Audemard, S. A. Bowman, P. N. Eisner, and G.
636 Malvinas Basin Evolution
Perez-Cruz, 1991, The stratigraphic signatures of tectonics,
eustasy and sedimentation—an overview, in G. Einsele, W.
Ricken, and A. Seilacher, eds., Cycles and events in stratigra-
phy: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 617–659.
Veevers, J. J., C. McA. Pawell, J. W. Collinson, and O. R. López
Gamundi, 1994, Synthesis, in J. J. Veevers and C. McA. Powell,
eds., Permian–Triassic Pangean basins and folded belts along
the Panthalassan margin of Gondwanaland: Geological Society
of America Memoir 184, p. 331–354.
Viviers, C. M., and R. Latgé Milward de Azevedo, 1988, The south-
eastern area of the Brazilian continental margin: its evolution
during the Middle and Late Cretaceous as indicated by paleo-
ecological data: Revista Brasileira de Geociências, v. 18, no. 3,
p. 291–298.
von der Dick, H., J. Rullkötter, and D. H. Welte, 1983, Content,
type, and thermal evolution of organic matter in sediments
from the eastern Falkland Plateau, DSDP Leg 71, in W. J.
Ludwig et al., eds., Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling
Project, v. 71, part 2: DSDP, p. 1015–1032.
White, D. A., 1980, Assessing oil and gas plays in facies-cycle
wedges: AAPG Bulletin, v. 64, p. 1158–1178.
Williams, B., and R. Hubbard, 1984, Seismic stratigraphic frame-
work and depositional sequences of the Santos basin, Brazil:
Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 1, p. 90–104.
Wilson, J. L., 1975, Carbonate facies in geologic history: Berlin,
Springer-Verlag, 471 p.
Wilson, T. J., 1991, Transition from back-arc to foreland basin
development in the southernmost Andes: stratigraphic record
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sebastián Galeazzi
Sebastián Galeazzi obtained a
B.S. degree in geology from the
University of Buenos Aires in 1989.
Following graduation, he worked
two years for Astra Capsa as a
development and well-site geolo-
gist. In 1994, he received an M.A.
degree in geology and geophysics
from Rice University, where his
studies focused on sequence stratig-
raphy and basin analysis. After grad-
uate school, he worked in exploration and development
geology of Astra's assets in Argentina and Venezuela. In
1997 he joined Total, where he is currently working on
exploration in the Middle East.
from the Ultima Esperanza district, Chile: Geological Society of
America Bulletin, v. 103, p. 98–111.
Wilson, T. J., A. M. Grunow, R. E. Hanson, and K. R. Schmitt, 1991,
Subduction-complex rocks on Diego Ramirez Islands, Chile, in
M. R. A. Thomson, J. A. Crame, and J. W. Thomson, eds.,
Geological evolution of Antarctica: world and regional geology
I: Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 419–421.
Winslow, M. A., 1980, Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics of the
fold and thrust belt in southernmost South America and strati-
graphic history of the cordilleran margin of Magallanes Basin:
Ph.D. dissertation, University of Columbia, Palisades, New
York, 254 p.
Winslow, M. A., 1981, Mechanics for basement shortening in the
Andean foreland fold and thrust belt of southern South
America, in K. McClay and N. J. Price, eds., Thrust and nappe
tectonics: Geological Society of London Special Publication 9,
p. 513–528.
Winslow, M. A., 1982, The structural evolution of the Magallanes
Basin and neotectonics in the southernmost Andes, in C.
Craddock, ed., Antarctic geoscience: Madison, University of
Wisconsin, p. 143–154.
Yrigoyen, M. R., 1989, Cuenca de Malvinas, in G. A. Chebli and
L. A. Spalletti, eds., Cuencas sedimentarias Argentinas: Serie
Correlación Geológica 6, Universidad Nacional del Tucumán,
p. 481–491.
Zambrano, J. J., and C. M. Urien, 1970, Geological outlines of the
basins in southern Argentina and their offshore extension:
Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 75, p. 1363–1396.