Tectonostratigraphic and Subsidence History of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia

Tectonostratigraphic and Subsidence History of the Northern Llanos Foreland Basin of Colombia
Author: Henry Miguel Campos
Publisher:
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2011
Genre:
ISBN:

The Llanos foreland basin of Colombia is located along the eastern margin of the northern Andes. The Llanos basin is bounded to the north by the Mérida Andes, to the east by the Guiana shield, to the south by the Serrania de la Macarena, and to the west by the frontal foothills thrust system of the Andes (the Cordillera Oriental). The Llanos foreland basin originated in the Maastrichtian, after a post-rift period during the Mesozoic, and recorded an abrupt pulse of middle Miocene subsidence possibly in response to subduction and collision events along the Pacific margin of northwestern South America. Regional east-west shortening, driven in part by collision of the Panama arc along the Pacific margin of Colombia, has built the widest part of the northern Andes. This wide area (~600 km) includes a prominent arcuate thrust salient, the Cordillera Oriental, which overthrusts the Llanos foreland along a broad V-shaped salient that projects 40 km over the northern Llanos foreland basin. In this study, I interpret 1200 km of 2D seismic data tied to 18 wells and regional potential fields (gravity and magnetic) data. Interpreted seismic data are organized into four regional (300 to 400-km-long) transects spanning the thrust salient area of the northern Llanos basin. I performed 2D flexural modeling on the four transects in order to understand the relative contributions of flexural subsidence due to tectonic and sedimentary loading. Sedimentary backstripping was applied to the observed structure maps of six Eocene to Pleistocene interpreted horizons in the foreland basin in order to remove the effects of sedimentary and water loading. Regional subsidence curves show an increase in the rate of tectonic subsidence in the thrust salient sector of the foreland basin during the middle to late Miocene. The flexural models predict changes in the middle Miocene to recent position of the eastern limit of foreland basin sediments as well as the changing location and vertical relief of the flexurally controlled forebulge. Production areas of light oil in the thrust belt and foreland basin are located either south of the thrust salient (Cusiana, Castilla, Rubiales oilfields) or north of the salient (Guafita-Caño Limon, Arauca oilfields) but not directly adjacent to the salient apex where subsidence, source rock thicknesses, and fracturing were predicted by a previous study to be most favorable for hydrocarbons. There are no reported light oil accumulations focused on the predicted present or past positions of the forebulge, but detailed comparisons of seismic reflection data with model predictions may reveal stratigraphic onlap and/or wedging relationships that could provide possible traps for hydrocarbons.

Pliocene-Pleistocene Evolution of Flora, Vegetation and Climate

Pliocene-Pleistocene Evolution of Flora, Vegetation and Climate
Author: Vladimir Torres Torres
Publisher:
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2006
Genre: Climatic changes
ISBN: 9789076894645

"The sediments from the basin of Bogotá (4°N, 74°W, 2550 m altitude) constitute one of the best investigated archives in terms of basin development, vegetation history, and climate change during the Quaternary (Pleistocene). Long sediment cores, drilled up to the bedrock of the basin, have provided the materials for study. In this thesis the results of the longest high resolution pollen record yet are presented: the record has a high resolution of ca. 1500 years for the last 3.2 million years. The body of this research shows the geological development of the basin, sediment infill and the development of different depositional environments, the evolution of the regional flora including several immigraiton events of important taxa, the history of vegetation change which is representative of the northern Andes, and the inferred record of climate change and climate variability. For the first time: 1) the complete sequence of ice ages is documented in a terrestrial record, and 2) the evolution of North Andean biomes has been placed in ccontinuouslychanging physical (abiotic) context." -- P.V.

Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia

Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia
Author: Sergio F. Vizcaíno
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2012-10-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 052119461X

Coastal exposures of the Santa Cruz Formation in southern Patagonia have been a fertile ground for recovery of Early Miocene vertebrates for more than 100 years. This volume presents a comprehensive compilation of important mammalian groups which continue to thrive today. It includes the most recent fossil finds as well as important new interpretations based on ten years of fieldwork by the authors. A key focus is placed on the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment during the time of deposition in the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) between twenty and fifteen million years ago. The authors present the first reconstruction of what climatic conditions were like and present important new evidence of the geochronological age, habits and community structures of fossil bird and mammal species. Academic researchers and graduate students in paleontology, paleobiology, paleoecology, stratigraphy, climatology and geochronology will find this a valuable source of information about this fascinating geological formation.

The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean

The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
Author: Claudio Bartolini
Publisher: AAPG
Total Pages: 977
Release: 2003
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0891813608

"AAPG Memoir 79, The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, is the first volume in more than a decade to document such a wide range of research on the geology of this vast area. Of the total 44 papers, roughly two-thirds pertain to the Gulf of Mexico, with an emphasis on the Mexican portion of the basin, and to the petroliferous areas of the southern Caribbean, including Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and Trinidad and Tobago. The remaining papers relate to the Antilles and Central America, as well as a series of papers that address region-wide topics such as plate tectonic evolution. A significant number of papers were contributed by authors from national oil companies and universities from within the region." --AAPG.

Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution

Amazonia: Landscape and Species Evolution
Author: Carina Hoorn
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 869
Release: 2011-09-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1444360256

The book focuses on geological history as the critical factor in determining the present biodiversity and landscapes of Amazonia. The different driving mechanisms for landscape evolution are explored by reviewing the history of the Amazonian Craton, the associated sedimentary basins, and the role of mountain uplift and climate change. This book provdes an insight into the Meso- and Cenozoic record of Amazonia that was characterized by fluvial and long-lived lake systems and a highly diverse flora and fauna. This fauna includes giants such as the ca. 12 m long caiman Purussaurus, but also a varied fish fauna and fragile molluscs, whilst fossil pollen and spores form relics of ancestral swamps and rainforests. Finally, a review the molecular datasets of the modern Amazonian rainforest and aquatic ecosystem, discussing the possible relations between the origin of Amazonian species diversity and the palaeogeographic, palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental evolution of northern South America. The multidisciplinary approach in evaluating the history of Amazonia has resulted in a comprehensive volume that provides novel insights into the evolution of this region.

Geology and Tectonics of Northwestern South America

Geology and Tectonics of Northwestern South America
Author: Fabio Cediel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 1010
Release: 2018-08-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319761323

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the geological evolution of the Northern Andes and contiguous shield areas, with a focus upon Colombia. Updated geological interpretations are supported by modern lithogeochemical, seismic, gravity and magnetic data and radiogenic isotope and radiometric age determinations. The composite data permits a detailed interpretation of the tectono-magmatic history of the Northern Andean Block, including the Andes of Colombia, northern Ecuador, western Venezuela and eastern Panamá. Tectonic reconstructions based upon characterization of more than thirty litho-tectonic and morpho-structural units, terrane assemblages and tectonic realms, and their bounding suture and fault systems, highlight the intimate and complementary Mesozoic-Cenozoic history of the Northern Andean Block and the Pacific and Caribbean Plates. The complex nature of Northern Andean assembly contrasts with ‘‘classical’’ Central Andean ‘‘Cordilleran-type’’ orogenic models. Differences render the application of typical Cordilleran-type models inappropriate for the Colombian Andes. The importance of underlying Proterozoic through mid-Mesozoic elements, in the development of Meso-Cenozoic Northern Andean orogeny-phase tectonic configurations is analyzed in the light of spatial-temporal studies and reconstructions related to basin formation, sedimentation, deformation, uplift mechanisms, structural style and magmatic evolution. The pre-Andean architecture of north western South America has played a pre-determinative role in the development of the Northern Andean orogenic system. 16 contributions analyze key stratigraphic, structural, metamorphic, magmatic and tectonic questions, and provide solutions as far as the most recent published field-based studies permit. The volume provides geological interpretations and tectonic models which contrast with repetitive theoretical proposals frequently found in the available literature.