Triassic-Jurassic Rifting: Continental Breakup and the Origin of the Atlantic Ocean and Passive Margins

970 Pages·1988·42.02 MB·English

by  W. MANSPEIZER (Eds.)

FURTHER TITLES IN THIS SERIES
1. J. AUBOUIN
GEOSYNCLINES
2. R.W. VANBEMMELEN
GEODYNAMIC MODELS
3. A. SUGIMURA and S. UYEDA
ISLAND ARCS
4. A.R. RITSEMA (Editor)
THE UPPER MANTLE
5. C. LOMNITZ
GLOBAL TECTONICS AND EARTHQUAKE RISK
6. X. LEPICHON, J. FRANCHETEAU and J. BONNIN
PLATE TECTONICS
7. R. W. GIRDLER (Editor)
EAST AFRICAN RIFTS
8. S.MUELLER (Editor)
THE STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH'S CRUST
9. N. PAVONIandR. GREEN (Editors)
RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS
10. S.W. CAREY
THE EXPANDING EARTH
U.A.M. JOHNSON
STYLES OF FOLDING
12. M.H.P.BOTT (Editor)
SEDIMENTARY BASINS OF CONTINENTAL MARGINS AND CRATONS
13. C.A. WHITTEN, R. GREEN and B.K. MEADE (Editors)
RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1977
M.N. TOKSÖZ, S.UYEDA andJ. FRANCHETEAU (Editors)
OCEANIC RIDGES AND ARCS
15. C.E.KEEN (Editor)
CRUSTAL PROPERTIES ACROSS PASSIVE MARGINS
16. P. VYSKOCIL, R. GREEN and H. MÄLZER (Editors)
RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1979
17. J.H. ILLIES (Editor)
MECHANISM OF GRABEN FORMATION
18. E.V. ARTYUSHKOV
GEODYNAMICS
19. P. MORGAN and B.H. BAKER (Editors)
PROCESSES OF CONTINENTAL RIFTING
20. P. VYSKOCIL A.M. WASSEFandR. GREEN (Editors)
RECENT CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS, 1982
21.F.-C. WEZEL (Editor)
THE ORIGIN OF ARCS
Developments in Geotectonics 22
TRIASSIC-JURASSIC
RIFTING
Continental Breakup and the Origin of the
Atlantic Ocean and Passive Margins
Part A
Edited by
W.MANSPEIZER
Department of Geological Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences,
Rutgers University, Newark, NJ07102, U.S.A.
ELSEVIER
r^^itfl^fig* Amsterdam — Oxford — New York — Tokyo, 1988
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Preface
These are extraordinary times for Triassic - Jurassic researchers of the Atlantic passive
margins. Extensive field studies on the African and North American plates during this past
decade have yielded a wealth of new data and ideas about rift basins and the origin of passive
margins, that but a few years ago would have seemed like childish speculation. New surface
and subsurface basins have been identified, fossils abound in strata that only recently were
considered barren, oil exploration is being pursued actively in continental strata of the
Richmond-Taylorsville, Sanford and Newark basins, Late Triassic marine strata have been
identified in Georges Bank off the coast of Massachusetts, and the roles of wrench tectonics,
successor basins and listric normal faults have challenged the classical view that these are sim-
ple extensional basins. This volume brings together representative examples of these studies.
It is not meant to be an exhaustive synthesis of the subject, but rather a vehicle to present
new data, new ideas and alternative views. Some of the papers present regional summaries,
others attempt to relate local features to regional questions, while others describe modern
rift basins as possible analogs of early Mesozoic basins.
Geologic data from the Atlantic passive margins record that continental rifting of central
Pangaea occurred during the Late Triassic - Early Jurassic (Liassic), and that sea-floor
spreading probably began no later than the Middle Jurassic. The primary subject of this book
focusses on the Triassic - Jurassic rifting events that led to the breakup of Pangaea and the
opening of the central Atlantic Ocean. Whereas other treatises have focused on the origin
of the passive margins, inferred primarily from geophysical data of the offshore basins, this
volume primarily and uniquely focuses on land-based field studies of the onshore synrift
basins. Offshore studies of synrift basins are also included in this volume, for they add
substantially to our understanding of the breakup. However, the onshore data base, while
complementary, is different, thus providing researchers with a different insight to the ques-
tions at hand.
This volume brings together 39 research papers contributed by an international team of
75 geologists from 12 countries. Each paper has been reviewed by 2 outside reviewers, and
originally accepted for publication in the AAPG-sponsored Memoir: Triassic and Liassic Rif-
ting. Financial exigency on the part of the AAPG during the later part of 1986, however,
caused the Society to postpone indefinitely the publication of this Memoir, compelling us to
seek another publisher. We greatfully acknowledge the help and support of Elsevier Science
Publishers.
The book is organized in 4 sections. Section 1, Pangaean Plate in Time and Space, first
locates Pangaea in space and then places the Triassic basins within an historical context on
the Alleghanian - Variscan Orogen. Section 2, the Offshore and Onshore Basins of the North
American and African Plates, comprises about 70% of all the papers in this book; it includes
papers on structural geology, petrology, paleontology, sedimentation, organic geochemistry,
vulcanism and mineral resources. Sections 3, Related Mesozoic Atlantic Rift Basins, includes
papers on Iberia, Western Europe, the Benue trough and Brazil. The final section of the
book, Analogs, includes the rift basins of East Africa, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba),
the Dead Sea, and the Rio Grande.
VI Preface
Although it is impossible to acknowledge the support of all the individuals who have con-
tributed to the successful completion of this book, I am particularly indebted to each authors
for their contribution to this book and to the cadre of reviewers who have given generously
of their time and expertise. I am most grateful also to Ms. Ann Kutyla, Rutgers. Newark
Geology Department, whose willing cooperation has contributed markedly to the successful
completion of this book. To Mrs. Katherine Pyle, University of Tulsa, for her incisive com-
ments and re-organization of several early manuscripts. And finally to my wife, Sylvia, my
children, David, Michele, Ilyssa and Neil, and to friends and students for their patience and
understanding, particularly on those bad days.
WARREN MANSPEIZER
List of Contributors
CARLOS L.V. AIKEN HAROLD L. COUSMINER
Center for Lithospheric Studies, U.S. Department of the Interior,
University of Texas at Dallas, Minerals Management Service,
Richardson, TX 75080, U.S.A. Pacific OCS Region,
1340 W. Sixth Street,
ALFREDO ARCHE Los Angeles, CA 90017, U.S.A.
Dept. Estratigrafia,
Univ. Complutense, P. DAINELLI
Madrid 28040, Spain GEOMAP,
Florence, Italy
JACQUES BEAUCHAMP
Departement de Geologie,
JELLE ZEILINGA DE BOER
Universite de Picardie,
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences,
80039 Amiens, France
Wesleyan University,
Middletown, CT 06457, U.S.A.
J. BENKHELIL
Departement de Geologie,
S. DERKSEN
Universite de Dakar,
Marathon Oil Co.,
Dakar, Senegal
P.O. Box 269,
Littleton, Colo., U.S.A.
RICHARD N. BENSON
Delaware Geological Survey,
ROBERT G. DOYLE
University of Delaware,
Robert G. Doyle & Assoc,
Newark, DE 19716, U.S.A.
10 E. Woodtimber Court,
The Woodlands, TX 77381, U.S.A.
CARL F. BURGESS
Exxon Company, U.S.A.
P.O. Box 61812, J.D. FAIRHEAD
New Orleans, LA 70161, U.S.A. Department of Earth Sciences,
The University of Leeds,
C.A. BURGESS Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K.
Project PROBE,
Department of Geology, F.D. FOLEY
Duke University, Texaco, Inc.,
Durham., N.C., U.S.A. Southern Exploration Division,
New Orleans, LA 70130, U.S.A.
GAIL P. CLEMENT
Ocean Drilling Program, MICHAEL F. FORLENZA
Texas A & M, ESSO Exploration Inc.,
University Research Park, Houston, TX 77001, U.S.A.
College Station, TX 77840, U.S.A.
GERALD M. FRIEDMAN
AMY E. CLIFFORD Dept. of Geology,
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College City University of New York,
Wesleyan University, New York, NY 12181, U.S.A.
Middletown, CT 06457, U.S.A.
viii List of Contributors
PAMELA J.W. GORE BARRY J. KATZ
Department of Geology, Texaco Inc.,
Emory University, Exploration & Production
Atlanta, GA 30322, U.S.A. Technology Division,
3901 Briar Park,
POL GUENNOC Houston, TX 77042, U.S.A.
Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres,
B.P. 337, G. RANDY KELLER
29273 Brest Cedex, France Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Texas at El Paso,
SANTIAGO HERNANDO El Paso, TX 79968, U.S.A.
Dept. Estratigrafia,
Univ. Complutense, KIM D. KLITGORD
Madrid, 28040 Spain U.S. Geological Survey,
Woods Hole, MA 02543, U.S.A.
WILLIAM T. HOLSER
Department of Geology, J. LAMBIASE
University of Oregon, Marathon Oil Company,
Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A. P.O. Box 269,
Littleton, Colo., U.S.A.
JAMES D. HOOVER
Department of Geological Sciences,
MARCOS C. LANA
University of Texas at El Paso,
Petrobras Research Center (CENPES),
El Paso, TX 79968, U.S.A.
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 21910
JOHN F. HUBERT
EDGARD LAVILLE
Department of Geology/Geography,
Departement de Geologie-Laboratoire
University of Massachusetts,
de Geologie de Normandie Occidentale,
Amherst, MA 01003, U.S.A.
Universite de Caen,
Esplanade de La Paix,
JOSEPH HULL
14032 Caen Cedex, France
Geology Department,
Rutgers University,
JOSE LOPEZ
195 University Ave.,
Dept. Estratigrafia,
Newark, NJ 07102, U.S.A.
Univ. Complutense,
Madrid, 28040 Spain
DEBORAH R. HUTCHINSON
U.S. Geological Survey,
MARK LUCAS
Woods Hole, MA 02543, U.S.A.
Geology Department,
LUBOMIR F. JANSA Rutgers University,
Atlantic Geoscience Center, Newark, NJ 07102, U.S.A.
Geological Survey of Canada,
Box 1006, R. LUTZ
Dartmouth, N.S. B24 4AZ, Canada Department of Geological Sciences,
Old Dominion University,
T. JORJORIAN Norfolk, VA 23508, U.S.A.
Texaco Inc.,
Exploration & Production WARREN MANSPEIZER
Technology Division, Geology Department,
3901 Briar Park, Rutgers University,
Houston, TX 77042, U.S.A. Newark, NJ 07102, U.S.A.
ELI KASHAI J. GREGORY Mc HONE
Oil Exploration Ltd., Department of Geological Sciences,
P.O. Box 50199, University of Kentucky,
Tel Aviv, 61500 Israel Lexington, KY 40506-0059, U.S.A.
List of Contributors IX
N. MEADER GEORGES POUIT
Marathon Oil Company, Bureau de Recherches Geologiques
P.O. Box 269, et Minieres,
Littleton, Colo., U.S.A. B.P. 6009,
45060 Orleans Cedex, France
KEVIN L. MICKUS
Department of Geological Sciences,
JOHN H. PUFFER
University of Texas at El Paso,
Geology Department,
El Paso, TX 79968-055, U.S.A.
Rutgers University,
Newark, NJ 07102, U.S.A.
EDISON J. MILANI
Petrobras Research Center (CENPES),
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 21910 AMPARO RAMOS
Dept. Estratigrafia,
ZOHAIR NAWAB Univ. Complutense,
Saudi-Sudanese Red Sea Joint Commission, Madrid, 28040 Spain
P.O. Box 5886,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia NICHOLAS RAST
Department of Geology,
PAUL E. OLSEN Bowman Hall,
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, The University of Kentucky,
Columbia University, Lexington, KY 40506, U.S.A.
Palisades, NY 10964, U.S.A.
ROBERT RESSETAR
MARTHA E. OSHCHUDLAK
Earth Sciences & Resources Institute,
Fred C. Hart Associates, Inc.,
University of South Carolina,
P.O. Box 8248,
Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, U.S.A.
WAYNE J. PEEPLES ELEANORA I. ROBBINS
Department of Geological Sciences, U.S. Geological Survey,
University of Texas at El Paso, Reston, VA 22092, U.S.A.
El Paso, TX 79968-0555, U.S.A.
COLEMAN R. ROBISON
MARTA PEREZ-ARLUCEA Texaco Inc.,
Dept. Estratigrafia, Exploration & Production
Univ. Complutense, Technology Division,
Madrid, 28040 Spain 3901 Briarpark,
Houston, TX 77042, U.S.A.
ANTHONY R. PHILPOTTS
Department of Geology & Geophysics
G.R. ROBINSON, Jr.
University of Connecticut
U.S. Geological Survey,
Storrs, CT 06268
954 National Center,
Reston, VA 22092, U.S.A.
J.F. PONSARD
3 Laboratoire de Geologie Dynamique,
SAMUEL ROOT
U.A. CNRS 132,
Department of Geology,
Universite d'Aix,
The College of Wooster,
Marseille III, France
Wooster, OH 44691, U.S.A.
M. POPOFF,
3 Laboratoire de Geologie Dynamique, BRUCE R. ROSENDAHL
U.A. CNRS 132, Project PROBE,
Universite d'Aix, Duke University,
Marseille III, France Durham, N.C., U.S.A.
X List of Contributors
S. SANDER WILLIAM A. THOMAS
Project PROBE, Department of Geology,
Department of Geology, University of Alabama,
Duke University, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-1945, U.S.A.
Durham, N.C., U.S.A.
ROB VAN DER VOO
L. SAUGY Department of Geological Sciences,
4 Elf Nigeria, University of Michigan,
Lagos, Nigeria Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1063, U.S.A.
MICHAEL A. SMITH R. VENKATAKRISHNAN
Texaco Inc., Department of Geological Sciences,
E & P Technology Division, Old Dominion University,
3901 Briarpark Norfolk, VA 23508, U.S.A.
Houston, TX 77042, U.S.A.
CARMINA VIRGILI
JOSEPH P. SMOOT Dept. Estratigrafia,
Branch of Eastern Regional Geology, Univ. Complutense,
U.S. Geological Survey, Madrid, 28040 Spain
Reston, VA 22092, U.S.A.
JOHN A. WADE
ALFONSO SOPENA Atlantic Geoscience Center,
Dept. Estratigrafia, Geological Survey of Canada,
Univ. Complutense, Box 1006,
Madrid, 28040 Spain Dartmouth, N.S. B2Y 4A2, Canada
WILLIAM E. STEINKRAUS H.J. WELSINK
Chevron Overseas Petroleum, Petro-Canada Resources,
6001 Bolinger Canyon Rd., P.O. Box 2844,
P.O. Box 5046, Calgary, Alta. T2P 3E3, Canada
San Ramon, CA 94583-0946, U.S.A.
DAVID WHITTINGTON
PETER SZATMARI ATC, 1635 Pumphrey Ave.
Petrobras Research Center (CENPES), Auburn, AL 36830-4303, U.S.A.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 21910
GERALD P. WILKES
A.J. TANKARD Virginia Division of Mineral Resources,
Petro-Canada Resources, Charlottesville, VA 22903, U.S.A.
P.O. Box 2844,
Calgary, Alta. T2P 2E3, Canada DANIEL G. ZIEGLER
Southeastern Exploration & Production Company,
G.K. TAYLOR Dallas, TX 75201, U.S.A.
Groundwater Protection Division,
SC Department of Health & Environmental P.A. ZIEGLER
Control, Shell Internationale Petroleum
2600 Bull Street, Maatschappij B.V.,
Columbia, SC 29201, U.S.A. P.O. Box 162,
2501 AN The Hague, The Netherlands
DANIEL A. TEXTORIS
University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, NC 27514, U.S.A.
Chapter 1
Variscan - Alleghanian orogen
N. RAST
ABSTRACT
The Variscan - Alleghanian orogen stretches from the southeastern United States to eastern Europe and
fragments of it are also detected in eastern and northeastern Africa. The orogen has originally been produced by
the collision between Gondwana, Laurentian and Baltic cratons, as well as the intervening microcontinents. As a
result of postorogenic erosion, superposed sedimentation and Mesozic and Tertiary rifting and compressive episodes
the orogen is divided into separated segments and massifs. The north-northwestern edge of the orogen, marked by
the northern Variscan thrust and deformation front, indicates tectonic transport to the north-northwest, while the
south-southeastern edge of the orogen similarly delineated by the southern Variscan front shows tectonic transport
to the south-southeast. This polarity is the strongest evidence for the continental collision causing Variscan-
Alleghanian orogeny.
Within the fronts the orogen can be divided into the internides and the northern and southern externides. The
internides are characterized by variable, but commonly high-grade metamorphism and granitic intrusions. The nor-
thern externides are weakly metamorphosed, generally devoid of granites, and strongly affected by overthrusting.
The southern externides have had similar features but are heavily overprinted by the Alpine structures. Several lines
can be suggested as collisional sutures. The orogen forms a foundation to the postorogenic Permo-Triassic deposits.
Introduction
Following the original work of Suess (1885 - 1909) in Europe it has become customary to
delineate orogenic belts on a world-wide scale. Although lately there has been a waning in
enthusiasm for this usage, the tradition in many cases still persists. In this paper, the
Variscan - Alleghanian orogen is restricted to western and central Europe and parts of North
Africa, as well as eastern North America. In Europe eastwards, I place the limit to the belt
against a fault system known as the Tornquist line (Fig. 1-1), while in North America I
restrict it to the Appalachian system and consider the Ouachitas to be broadly synchronous
but a separate system. The east-southeastern part of the orogen then includes the
Mauritanides of West Africa as well as overprinted Variscan structures within the Alpine
orogenic belt. While manifestations of Variscan (Hercynian) orogenic events have been
claimed from the Caucasus, Iran, Soviet Turkestan, etc., I think it is sensible to restrict the
definition to the irregular crescentic region margined by the Laurentian and Baltic cratons
(Laurasia) on one side and the African craton on the other. In this region, numerous in-
vestigations indicate a distinct polarity of folds and thrust faults and therefore of tectonic
transport. This is shown in Figure 1-1, which has been constructed principally on the basis
of information provided by Hatcher and Odom (1980), Geiser and Engelder (1983) and Rast
et al. (1984) in North America, by Shackleton et al. (1982) in Britain, by Krebs (1977), Matte
(1983) and Vai (1979) in Europe, by Michard (1978), Dillon and Sougy (1974) and Conrad
and Lemosquet (1984) in North Africa, and by Bourrouilh and Gorsline (1979) in the western
Mediterranean area. The mirror symmetry of vergence of Variscan structures indicates that