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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2001; v. 188; p. 385-392;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.188.01.23
© 2001 Geological Society of London

Thermally driven porosity reduction: impact on basin subsidence

P. A. Bjørkum, O. Walderhaug & P. H. Nadeau

Statoil a.s, 4035 Stavanger, Norway

pab{at}statoil.com

At temperatures higher than c. 80°C, thermally driven, isochemical diagenetic porosity loss in siliciclastic sediments leads to a thinning of the sediment column. This process, termed thermochemical compaction, results in surface subsidence and generation of sediment accommodation space. The diagenetic reactions driving thermochemical compaction will operate regardless of the initial mechanism of basin formation and in addition to any externally controlled processes causing continued subsidence. Thermochemical subsidence rates are an inverse function of geothermal gradients. The total rates of subsidence at the surface, including isostatic and mechanical compaction effects, may reach several tens of metres per million years, and may have been important in driving Tertiary subsidence in basins west of Ireland. Unlike the exponentially decaying subsidence caused by tectonic thinning and rifting of the crust, thermochemical basin subsidence is a self-regulated intrabasinal process, which proceeds at a relatively high constant rate over geological time. If not arrested by extrabasinal or tectonic events, the overall effect can ultimately result in sediment metamorphism and granitization.





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