Duration - 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2014
PhD student - Cathal Reilly
Funding - PhD funded by GNS Science, Wellington, New Zealand, with additional support from Fault Analysis Group.
Research Partners
Project description
The Taranaki Basin has been faulted in response to episodic differential motion between the Pacific and Australian plates over the last 80 Myr. In the southern Taranaki Basin a rich multiphase deformation history has been recorded by 2D and 3D seismic reflection lines. Faulting accommodated extension during the Late Cretaceous to Mid Eocene (80-45 Ma), followed by contraction in the Late Eocene to Late Miocene (40-5 Ma) and then by Plio-Pleistocene to Recent back-arc extension (4-0 Ma). The oldest phase of extension occurred during breakup of Gondwana, while the later contractional and extensional phases of deformation were driven by subduction of the Pacific Plate. Some faults (e.g., Cape Egmont Fault) accrued displacement during each of these phases of deformation. This study will mainly use fault analysis techniques to study fault localisation, reactivation and growth on a broad range of scales, from fault zone to plate boundary, and will investigate the potential impact of faults on petroleum migration.
Contact: John Walsh
Tel: +353 1 716 2169
EMAIL