Structural and stratigraphic study of the Laurentian Basin, offshore eastern Canada
The Laurentian Basin is a large Mesozoic rift basin located off the south coast of the island of Newfoundland and directly east of the Scotian Shelf. In spite of being adjacent to hydrocarbon discoveries of the Scotian Shelf the basin has remained essentially unexplored because of a moratorium that...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Memorial University of Newfoundland
2010
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://research.library.mun.ca/8956/ https://research.library.mun.ca/8956/1/Fagan_AlphonsusJoseph.pdf |
| Summary: | The Laurentian Basin is a large Mesozoic rift basin located off the south coast of the island of Newfoundland and directly east of the Scotian Shelf. In spite of being adjacent to hydrocarbon discoveries of the Scotian Shelf the basin has remained essentially unexplored because of a moratorium that has only recently been lifted. Only one exploration well has been drilled in the central part of the basin and has been reported as a dry hole in a press release from the operator. Detailed results of this well are still proprietary and therefore unavailable for this study. However, several wells located near the eastern and western margins of the basin and further along strike in adjacent basins with a similar structural and depositional history were suitable for seismic stratigraphic correlation to the study area. -- The basin was previously studied by MacLean and Wade (1992), of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), whose primary dataset consisted of 3072 km of 2D reflection seismic data acquired for the GSC in 1984 and 1987. The current study used the same core dataset but with the benefit of modern reprocessing by Arcis of Calgary. This reprocessing, which was carried out in 2005, resulted in significant improvements to the data, largely because of better multiple suppression and pre-stack time migration. The GSC seismic dataset was supplemented by approximately 14,000 km of 2D reflection seismic data provided by geophysical contractors GSI, GX Technology and Western Geco. The seismic data were integrated with well data, the GSC's regional gravity and magnetic data, and a recent high resolution magnetic survey donated to this project by Fugro. The study area covered approximately 87,000 km² of which 51,000 km² was located off-shelf on the continental slope and rise. -- The Laurentian Basin has also been subjected to recent tectonism. In 1929 a magnitude 7.2 earthquake with an epicentre close to the geographic centre of the basin triggered an immense turbidite flow known as the Grand Banks Slide. The mass ... |
|---|