Delaware Basin Structural Relationships_Manos

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Structural Relationships of the Delaware Basin and Central Basin PlatformTelemachos A. Manos

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Conclusions Basin Layout

A complex interplay of structural elements giving it the geometries we observe. Related to Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplifts, but the geometries do not align with what

we would expect for Marathon Orogeny Inherited structures

Permian Basin has a history of rifting which influences later movements Arrangement and trend of features might not align with ‘ideal’ structural geometries for

later events. Tectonic movements are reactivated on preexisting planes of weakness Flexural Profile

Superposition of two foreland basin profiles. Possibility of heterogeneity in the flexural rigidity.

Two Interpretations Development of structure accounting for observed features. Comparing consistency of interpretations

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UpliftDepressionFold-Thrust Belt

Modified from Anthony (2015)

Basin Layout

• West Platform Fault - Contact between DB and CBP

• Timing and orientation of CBP uplift similar to that of other Ancestral Rocky Mountain Uplifts.

• Orientation of E/W compression does not agree with NW advancement of OMTB

Val Verde Basin

Tectonic Stresses

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A A’Basin Layout

Complex structures on the CBP margin. Thrust, normal, and strike slip faulting.

Hills (1984)

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Inherited Structures– Grenville RiftingMany of the features in the Permian Basin are inherited from prior rifting, and persist throughout basin development.

Whitmeyer & Karlstrom (2007)

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Shumaker (1992), Galley (1958)

Inherited Structures– Eocambrian Subsidence• After Grenville Mid-continent rifting in (A), several

yoked ‘sag basins’ were superimposed after breakup of Rhodinia (B). Timing and orientation similar to that of the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen.

• Igneous basement in DB dated to 1.3-1.1 Ga, suggesting dominant structural rifting in Grenville, and minimum structural influence in Rhodinia breakup.

• Unit thicknesses of Tobosa Basin indicate timing and amount of sag post-breakup.

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Inherited Structures– Eocambrian Subsidence• Delaware Aulacogen is similar in trend and timing to other

Rhodinia-breakup related Aulacogens.

• Predetermined planes of weaknesses reactivated during Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplifts.

Walper (1977)

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Inherited Structures– Eocambrian Subsidence• Tobosa Basin features

persist through the Pennsylvanian, as the location of carbonate reefs and platforms are predetermined by inherited structural features.

• By early Permian, compression will trend uplifts along rift features.

• Uplifts may be related to advancement of the OMTB, but because faulting accommodates along preexisting planes of weakness, the geometries are not aligned with what we would expect.

Late Penn/ Early PermLate Miss/ Early Penn

Modified from Wright (2011)

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Inherited Structures – TimelineReferenceTectonic PhasePeriod

Modified from Romans (2003)

E/W Compression during OMTB advancement

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Flexural Profile – OMTB Val VerdeC C’

• The Val Verde Basin, southeast of the CBP and in the immediate foredeep of the OMTB can be accurately modeled with constant flexural parameters.

• Applying similar constraints west of the CBP in the DB yields different results

Yang & Dorobeck (1995)

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Yang & Dorobeck (1995)

B B’

• Synorogenic strata do not thicken drastically towards the OMTB, suggesting minimal flexural influence immediately west of the CBP.

• Subsidence in the DB a composite of flexure from OMTB and CBP.

• Yang & Dorobeck suggest the forebulge produced from OMTB may have been removed by loading from CBP during E/W compression

Flexural Profile – OMTB NW to SE

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Yang & Dorobeck (1995)

Flexural Profile – Inconsistent CBP

• Flexural profiles accounting only for CBP loads do not predict observed thickness.

• Either too narrow or too shallow

• Varying flexural rigidity (D) can produce better matching profiles, suggesting crustal homogeneity – especially in the SW corner of the DB.

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Flexural Profile – Crustal heterogeneities

Gravity anomalies within the DB and CBP basement, accounting for removal of sediment overlying the basal Ellensburger formation Adams & Keller (1996)

• Gravity Anomalies over the DB and CBP further suggest crustal heterogeneity, as modeled by igneous bodies underlying basin features.

• Consistent with dates of rifting, and wells penetrating basement

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UpliftDepressionFold-Thrust Belt

Modified from Anthony (2015)

Two Interpretations – West Platform Fault

Contact between DB and CBP – West Platform Fault

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Two Interpretations – West Platform Fault

• Diversity of features: thrusting, folding, overturned beds, flower structures.

Shumaker (1992)

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Two Interpretations – West Platform Fault

• Yang & Dorobeck (1995) interpret a clockwise rotation of CBP blocks with emphasis on right lateral west platform faulting

• Shumaker (1992) interprets counter-clockwise rotation of CBP blocks with emphasis on left lateral cross-platform blocks

• Hoak et al., (1998) synthesizes the two interpretations side-by-side

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Two Interpretations – Yang & Dorobeck (1995)

Fault map of basal Ellensburger Fm. With emphasis on CBP-bounding faults

•Emphasis on NNW trending right-lateral strike-slip faults, clockwise block rotation.

• Requires large amounts of right-lateral displacement on West Platform Fault, up to 10km (Hills, 1970)

•Transpression causes interior block rotation of CBP, producing uneven E/W shortening along West Platform Fault in en echelon thrust pattern.

Yang & Dorobeck (1995), Tai & Dorobeck (2000)

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Two Interpretations – Shumaker (1992)• Shumaker’s model involves similarly

divided CBP blocks, which rotate along a vertical axis.

• Does not observe large amounts of right-lateral faulting along West Platform Fault

• Emphasizes E/W trending left-lateral wrench faulting, suggesting regional compression.

• E/W translation accounts for differences in observed deformation.

• Model is confusing, because westward translation of blocks would cause counter-clockwise rotation

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Two Interpretations – Additional Evidence• Hoak et. Al., (1998) agrees with Yang &

Dorobeck’s model, stating there are several right-lateral offset features within the DB.

• Yang & Dorobeck model is more internally consistent, agrees with surrounding fault geometries, and incorporates a wider study area.

Walper (1977)Yang & Dorobeck (1995)

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Conclusions Basin Layout

A complex interplay of structural elements giving it the geometries we observe. Related to Ancestral Rocky Mountain uplifts, but the geometries do not align with what

we would expect for Marathon Orogeny Inherited structures

Permian Basin has a history of rifting which influences later movements Arrangement and trend of features might not align with ‘ideal’ structural geometries for

later events. Tectonic movements are reactivated on preexisting planes of weakness Flexural Profile

Superposition of two foreland basin profiles. Possibility of heterogeneity in the flexural rigidity.

Two Interpretations Development of structure accounting for observed features. Comparing consistency of interpretations

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References Adams, D. & Keller, G. (1996). Precambrian basement geology of the Permian Basin region of West Texas and eastern New Mexico; a geophysical perspective. AAPG

Bulletin, 80(3), 410-431. Retrieved from http://aapgbull.geoscienceworld.org/content/80/3/410

Anthony, J. (2015). PROVENANCE OF THE MIDDLE PERMIAN, DELAWARE MOUNTAIN GROUP: DELAWARE BASIN, SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO AND WEST TEXAS. Repository.tcu.edu. https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/8303

Galley, J. E., (1958), Oil and geology in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, in Weeks, L. G., ed., Habitat of oil: Tulsa, Oklahoma, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 395–446

Hills, J. (1970). Late Paleozoic Structural Directions in Southern Permian Basin, West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. AAPG Bulletin, 54(10), 1809-1827. Retrieved from http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1968-70/data/pg/0054/0010/1800/1809.htm?doi=10.1306%2F5D25CC3B-16C1-11D7-8645000102C1865D

Hills, J. (1984). Sedimentation, Tectonism, and Hydrocarbon Generation in Delaware Basin, West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. AAPG Bulletin, 68(3), 250-267. Retrieved from http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1984-85/data/pg/0068/0003/0250/0250.htm

Hoak, T.; Sundberg, K. & Ortoleva, P. (1998) Overview of the structural geology and tectonics of the Central Basin Platform, Delaware Basin, and Midland Basin, West Texas and New Mexico. Germantown, Maryland. UNT Digital Library.http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc678963/.

Romans, B.W., (2003) Sedimentation Patterns of a Permian Basinal Cycle, Upper Cutoff, Brushy Canyon, and Lower Cherry Canyon Formations, Western Delaware Basin, West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, U.S.A. [Unpublished Master’s Thesis]: Colorado School of Mines, 175 p.

http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.766363

Shumaker, R. (1992). Paleozoic structure of the Central Basin uplift and the adjacent Delaware Basin, West Texas. AAPG Bulletin, 76(11), 1804-1824. Retrieved from http://aapgbull.geoscienceworld.org/content/76/11/1804

Walper, J. L., (1977), Paleozoic tectonics of the southern margin of North America: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 27, p. 230–239.

Whitmeyer, S. J., & Karlstrom, K. E. (2007). Tectonic model for the Proterozoic growth of North America. Geosphere, 3(4), 220-259. doi:10.1130/ges00055.1

Wright, W. (2011). Pennsylvanian paleodepositional evolution of the greater Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico: Depositional systems and hydrocarbon reservoir analysis. AAPG Bulletin, 95(9), 1525-1555. doi:10.1306/01031110127

Yang, K. & Dorobek, S. (1995) The Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico: tectonic history of a “composite” foreland basin and its effects on stratigraphic development, in Dorobek, S. L., and Ross, G. M., eds., Stratigraphic evolution of foreland basins: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology), v. 52, p. 149–174.

Yang, K. & Dorobek, S. (1995). The Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico: Flexural Modeling and Evidence for Lithospheric Heterogeneity Across the Marathon Foreland. Special Publications Of SEPM. Retrieved from http://archives.datapages.com/data/sepm_sp/SP52/The_Permian_Basin_of_West_Texas.htm

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Questions