Analogue modeling of detachment zones and structural analysis of the Ringvassøy- Loppa Fault Complex, SW Barents Sea
The Southern part of Ringvassøy- Loppa Fault Complex is an extensional fault complex separating the Hammerfest Basin and the Tromsø Basin. Basement movements are believed to have caused the fault complex to work as a long- lived hinge line based on a deep seated zone of weakness, reactivated several...
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| Format: | Master Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10852/12643 http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-31724 |
| Summary: | The Southern part of Ringvassøy- Loppa Fault Complex is an extensional fault complex separating the Hammerfest Basin and the Tromsø Basin. Basement movements are believed to have caused the fault complex to work as a long- lived hinge line based on a deep seated zone of weakness, reactivated several times. Structural analysis with special emphasize on detachment zones, fluid communication and periods of active faulting, is presented based on interpreting of 2D seismic lines are presented for this study. Analogue experiments were performed as a complementary part to understand the structural geometries developed during multiple extensions with presence of detachments. Five extensional tectonic phases were distinguished in the sequences in the fault complex. The five phases were in Carboniferous?, Mid Jurassic- earliest Cretaceous, Early Cretaceous and Early Tertiary. Structures related to growth faults were identified in the seismic and established the active periods. These five observed tectonic phases are in correlation to the known regional tectonic phases in the South Western Barents Sea. Three vertically separated levels were affected by faulting in the fault complex, namely the Late Permian level of faulting, Mid Jurassic- Early Cretaceous level of faulting and Early Tertiary level of faulting. Three possible detachments are proposed to separate the different levels of faulting. Reactivation of faults during the tectonic events is likely to contain open fractures in the damage zone of the fault plane. Some of the faults in the fault complex appear to be reactivated and might affect the fluid communication in the area. Detachment zones are likely to have ceiling properties and consequently affect the migration path of hydrocarbons in the area. |
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