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Sedimentary Environment Case Studies |
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK(e-mail: c.jackson{at}imperial.ac.uk)
Three-dimensional seismic data are used to document the geometry, scale and distribution of soft-sediment deformation features in the post-rift succession of the Lomre Terrace, offshore Norway. In the Cretaceous to Upper Oligocene succession a polygonal fault network, developed in the in response to compaction and dewatering of the interval, was mapped using dip and azimuth grid-based attributes. In the same stratigraphic interval a series of chaotic seismic reflection packages are developed which are visualized using a volume-based seismic coherency attribute and interpreted as the seismic expression of mobilized mud masses. Immediately overlying the mobilized mud masses are a series of fault-bounded depressions that are interpreted to have formed in response to deflation of the mobilized mud masses caused by loading of the overlying succession. A series of shallow, curvilinear erosion surfaces are present on the seismic horizon bounding the top of the Pliocene succession and represent iceberg-keel plough marks. This study demonstrates that interpretation and visualization of three-dimensional seismic data coupled with attribute analysis provide valuable insights into soft-sediment deformation features in sedimentary basins, in particular the scale, geometry and distribution of such features and their temporal and spatial inter-relationships.
