This course lists common questions that must be answered to assess the geological risks of a petroleum province and explains how basin analysis methods can assist with reducing economic risks. The primary controls on the magnitude, shape and rate of subsidence of a basin, the types of lithospheric materials and their deformation responses are discussed. Isostasy’s effect on Earth’s layers and the primary mechanisms of isostatic compensation are discussed. The assumptions and components of Airy and flexural compensation models are discussed. It explains how gravity anomalies can be used to determine rock properties and subsidence. It lists common layered earth models and identifies the factors that control basin subsidence within these models. Steno’s Law of Superposition and Walther’s Law of Facies Successions are described and how these laws assist with basin analysis are explained. The function and generation of geohistory and backstrip diagrams are detailed. The basic processes involved in decompacting strata, making eustatic adjustments to corrected depths, and determining tectonic subsidence are discussed. The importance of determining the processes that generated unconformities and depositional hiatuses is explained.
$125
