Thermomechanical modeling of black sea basin formation, subsidence, and sedimentation

Giacomo Spadini*, Andrew G. Robinson, S. A.P.L. Cloetingh

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

We demonstrate the key role of prerift rheology on the kinematics of basin formation and subsidence history in the Western and Eastern Black Sea basins. Constraints on modeling results are provided by a large data set based on >50,000 km of multichannel seismic data, offshore and onshore wells, regional gravity and magnetic surveys, refraction seismic data, and field studies. The western and eastern parts of the Black Sea appear to be two distinct basins, characterized by different evolutionary paths determined by different prerift conditions. The model supports the presence of important differences in the thickness and in the thermal state of the lithosphère, which rifted to form the Western (middle Barremian) and the Eastern (middle Paleocene) Black Sea subbasins. A 200-km thick and an 80-km thick prerift lithosphère appears to have driven the deformation in the Western and in the Eastern Black Sea, respectively. Differences in the geometry and in the mechanical properties of the prerift lithosphère have a strong control on the depth of necking and, thus, on the basin morphology. The model sheds light on paleotectonic and paleogeographic reconstructions, duration of rifting events, location of subsiding areas, and erosional surfaces. Stratigraphie modeling provides new constraints on the paleowater depth evolution of the basin and associated basement subsidence. The model reproduces and provides explanations for several features of the stratigraphy of the Black Sea: the apparent near absence of synrift strata (other than in the Western Pontides), thin to condensed early postrift sequences in both basins, a thick upper Eocene in the Eastern Black Sea, a relatively thin Oligocene to Miocene and a very thick Quaternary. It also predicts the geometry and depth of the lake that developed in the center of the Black Sea when sea level fell by 1500 m during the late Miocene.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)19-38
Number of pages20
JournalAAPG Memoir
Issue number68
Publication statusPublished - 1997

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Thermomechanical modeling of black sea basin formation, subsidence, and sedimentation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this