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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

Houston Geological Society Bulletin

Abstract


Houston Geological Society Bulletin, Volume 16, No. 9, May 1974. Pages 2-2.

Abstract: Previous HitGeologyTop of the Georges Bank Basin, Offshore New England*

By

Leslie K. Schultz

*Adapted from a paper presented by Leslie K. Schultz and R. L. Grover at Eastern Section A.A.P.G. Symposium, Atlantic City, New Jersey, April 23-25, 1973 and now in press Bulletin, AAPG.

The Georges Bank Basin is a basement depression with the deepest area being an arcuate trough approximately 120 miles in length. The basin is centered about 41° N. Lat., 68° W. Long. The deepest part of the basin contains approximately 26,000 feet of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments. This estimate is based on interpretation of geophysical data utilizing new velocity information from wells drilled on the western Scotian Shelf.

Overall stratigraphic similarity to rocks in the western Scotian Shelf is likely. The Jurassic section in the Georges Bank Basin is probably thicker than the western Scotian Shelf equivalent and is composed of predominantly marine units. Examination of geophysical data indicates the existence of more than 14,000 feet of Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic carbonates, marine shales, evaporites and consolidated sands. Salt diapirs similar to those in the Scotian Shelf have not been detected. Structural deformation is apparent in basement rocks in the Georges Bank Basin and consists of high angle normal faulting. Sediments form a southward thickening wedge beneath the continental shelf.

Estimates of recoverable oil and gas from sediments beneath the continental shelf and continental slope have been made by petroleum industry groups and federal agencies. The 30,000 cubic miles of Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic sediments in Georges Bank Basin may contain a significant share of these hydrocarbon reserves, assuring the basin a favorable place among eastern North America's frontier exploration areas.

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