Origin of anticline structure in the southern Hammerfest Basin and their impact in sedimentation and coarse-grained distribution

Abstract

This thesis shows how extensional fault-related folding holds a fundamental control on basin physiography and syn-kinematic sediments. The study has used two- and three-dimensional seismic data in combination with a stratigraphic attribute, well data and forward modeling to investigate an anticline structure in the southern part of the Hammerfest Basin, SW Barents Sea. The fault geometry changes significantly along the ENE –WSW striking Troms-Finnmark Fault Complex, suggesting different kinematic evolution alongside the same fault zone. From the forward modeling and the distinctive hanging-wall deformation patterns, the extensional fault-related anticline structure was developed by ramp-flat-ramp geometry during the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous rifting period. In response to the anticline development, a syncline was formed, which affected a major submarine fan system within the Knurr Formation. These structures controlled the depositional architecture of the syn-rift sediments. As the syncline developed, the turbidite deposition shifted from a northern to a north-eastern direction.