Possible climate variability in the Lower Old Red Sandstone Conigar Pit Sandstone Member (early Devonian), South Wales, UK

The Early Devonian Conigar Pit Sandstone Member (CPSM) of the Freshwater West Formation (Lower Old Red Sandstone, Lochkovian age) at Freshwater West in south Wales comprises a heterolithic, predominantly alluvial suite (mudstones, fine to coarse-grained sandstones, conglomerates) with varying depositional architecture. A number of discrete facies associations are observed. The fine-grained, inclined- and non-inclined heterolithic association is dominant within the CPSM. It represents dryland sinuous channelized flow (IHS bedsets) and unconfined flow (non-inclined bedsets) at terminal and intermediate floodouts deposited under semi-arid conditions. Mudstones were deposited in two distinct environments associated with this semi-arid river system. Laminated and burrowed, reddish brown mudstones were deposited in shallow semi-permanent lakes or pools on the floodplain. Massive mudstones were deposited as within-channel muddy braid-bars, with sedimentary structures being lost during subsequent compaction. The mudstones exhibit Vertisol pedogenesis reflecting the seasonal wetting and drying associated with the semi-arid climate. Periods of intense desiccation are indicated by deep desiccation cracks and associated rubbly surfaces. Possible, though unproven tidal conditions influenced a small percentage of the heterolithic channels at Freshwater West. The extent of these channels is uncertain. The coarser-grained multi-storey sandstone association was deposited by low-sinuosity rivers with a fluctuating, but perennial discharge. Associated with these laterally extensive sandbodies was a high water table with surface ponding (wetlands) that enabled the preservation of plant detritus. During high discharge events, flow expanded over the contemporaneous floodplain depositing the sheet sandstone association within splay complexes. The interpretation that perennial discharge may have been triggered by basin-wide climate change challenges the long-held view that the Lower ORS climate was continuously semi-arid in nature. The spatial/temporal extent of this climate change is uncertain, as it is possible that the multi-storey sandbodies were deposited by allogenic rivers draining a distant, possibly uplifted source area. A decrease in the observed frequency and maturity of Vertisol profiles, and a corresponding increase in multi-storey sandbodies upward through the succession may reflect a long-term, episodic pattern of climate change. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An integrated study of Permo-Triassic basins along the North Atlantic passive margin: implication for future exploration

Permo-Triassic rift basins offer important hydrocarbon targets along the Atlantic margins. Their fill is dominated by continental red beds, comprising braided fluvial, alluvial fan, aeolian, floodplain and lacustrine facies. These relatively lightly explored basins span both the Atlantic and Tethyan domains and developed above a complex basement with inherited structural fabrics. Sparse data in offshore regions constrain understanding of depositional geometries and sedimentary architecture, further impeded by their deep burial beneath younger strata, combined with the effects of later deformation during continental breakup. This paper provides results from a multidisciplinary analysis of basins along the Atlantic margin. Regional seismic and well data, combined with geochemical provenance analysis from the European North Atlantic margins, are integrated with detailed outcrop studies in Morocco and Nova Scotia. The research provides new insights into regional basin tectonostratigraphic evolution, sediment fill, and reservoir distribution, architecture and quality at a range of scales. Regional seismic profiles, supported by key well data, indicate the presence of post-orogenic collapse basins, focused narrow rifts and low-magnitude multiple extensional depocentres. Significantly, Permo-Triassic basin geometries are different and more varied than the overlying Jurassic and younger basins. Provenance analysis using Pb isotopic composition of detrital K-feldspar yields new and robust controls on the sediment dispersal patterns of Triassic sandstones in the NE Atlantic margin. The evolving sedimentary architecture is characterized by detailed sedimentological studies of key outcrops of age equivalent Permian-Triassic rifts in Morocco and Nova Scotia. The interplay of tectonics and climate is observed to influence sedimentation, which has significant implications for reservoir distribution in analogue basins. New digital outcrop techniques are providing improved reservoir models, and identification of key marker horizons and sequence boundaries offers a potential subsurface correlation tool. Future work will address source and seal distribution within the potentially petroliferous basins