Subsidence Analysis and Visualization

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the analysis of subsidence in sedimentary basins. It presents BasinVis 2.0, a MATLAB-based program for visualizing the three types of subsidence with 1D/2D plots and 3D models. Subsidence analysis yields a graphic representation of the vertical movement of a stratigraphic horizon with respect to a datum in a sedimentary basin, while subsidence history offers valuable insights into basin-forming mechanisms, including tectonics, sedimentation, loading effects, sea-level changes, and thermal events. The authors discuss the three types of basin subsidence: total subsidence, tectonic subsidence, and thermal subsidence. The total subsidence is calculated using a decompaction technique based on appropriate porosity-depth trends, while the tectonic subsidence is calculated by means of a backstripping technique removing sedimentary load, and paleobathymetry effects. Multiple types of data indicating thermal effects are used to calculate thermal subsidence. Each subsidence analysis is presented using sample data acquired from various types of basins. Given its breadth of coverage, this book will benefit all researchers and postgraduate students in the earth sciences interested in sedimentary basins, especially sedimentologists and basin analysts. Researchers in the petroleum industry interested in the evolution of sedimentary basins, as well as developers working for scientific software related fields of earth science, will also find it a valuable resource.