The following is posted on behalf of John Underhill at Edinburgh. Please
contact him directly. Do not use the reply button to respond to this
message.

Cheers

John

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|
|Applications are welcomed from suitably qualified PhD students for the
|following two Postdoctoral research opportunities at The Department of
|Geology & Geophysics, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is expected
|that the two complimentary 2-year projects will run in parallel. It is
|hoped that both will begin in October 2000.
|
|The first project would particularly suit a structural geologist with
|seismic interpretation experience; the second would suit a clastic
|sedimentologist with an interest in understanding the interaction between
|extensional tectonics and sediment dispersal patterns.
|
|Interested parties should forward a letter of application together with an
|up-to-date cv and the names of three Academic or Industrial referees by the
|28th July to:
|
|Professor John Underhill
|Department of Geology & Geophysics
|The University of Edinburgh
|Grant Institute
|Kings Buildings,
|West Mains Road,
|Edinburgh
|EH9 3JW.
|
|It is expected that interviews for the positions will be held in Edinburgh
|in late August.
|
|Best Wishes
|
|John Underhill
|
|
|THE STRUCTURAL EVOLUTION AND BASIN-FILL ARCHITECTURE OF PERMO-TRIASSIC
|SEDIMENTARY BASINS, NORTHERN NORTH SEA
|
|
|INTRODUCTION
|
|Two industry-supported postdoctoral research projects are to be initiated
|at The University of Edinburgh. They will form part of on-going regional
|studies designed to "unravel" the structural evolution and basin-fill
|architecture of the Permo-Triassic to Lower Jurassic sedimentary basin of
|the UK Northern North Sea. The study will be split into the following two
|parts, each undertaken as a two year post-doctoral fellowship at the
|University of Edinburgh and under the leadership of Prof John Underhill.
|Appointment will be on the University Academic salary scale.
|
|
|Project 1: Structural evolution and reconstruction of the Permo-Triassic to
|Early Jurassic basin architecture;
|
|Project 2: Stratigraphic and depositional modelling of the basin-fill
|sequences, including field analogue studies.
|
|
|The results of the projects will significantly enhance geological
|understanding of Triassic basin evolution of the Northern North Sea and
|evaluating its impact not only for hydrocarbon prospectivity but continued
|development of known Triassic reserves in the region.
|
|The following sections summarise the rationale behind the whole project
|concept and outline the scope of work for both structural and
|sedimentological modelling aspects of the study.
|
|
|PROJECT BACKGROUND/RATIONALE
|
|The presence of well-defined sedimentary basins in onshore and offshore
|areas of the UK which are unaffected by the effects of Jurassic extension
|(e.g. in the Hebrides, Horda Platform and Unst Basin areas), suggests that
|Permo-Triassic rifting played an important role in North Sea basin
|development. That the exact role of Permo-Triassic events has remained
|uncertain in the Northern North Sea is largely because of the masking
|effect caused by the Jurassic extensional overprint. Consequently, neither
|a precise definition of Permo-Triassic basins nor even an accurate
|definition of their basin-bounding fault systems has previously been
|achieved. In the absence of clearly defined structures and a knowledge of
|the general Permo-Triassic stratigraphic architecture has led many to
|presume that the Jurassic fault configuration simply reflects reactivation
|and upward propagation of a fault system that was active in Permo-Triassic
|times.
|
|Recent advances in the resolution and increased spatial density of 3-D
|seismic data from areas like the Moray Firth and Northern North Sea (e.g.
|Snorre Field) together with new, deeper borehole penetrations afford an
|opportunity to accurately map Permo-Triassic structures and hence, enable
|an assessment of basin development and the interaction between the older
|and younger extensional fault systems to be undertaken. Interestingly,
|these data suggest that the Permo-Triassic fault system was markedly
|different from the Late Jurassic one with faults having different strike
|and opposite polarity.
|
|A change in the interpretation of the Permo-Triassic to Early Jurassic
|fault and basin configuration could also directly impact the understanding
|of the sediment distribution patterns, both at the regional and field
|scales. There is therefore a need to reconcile our understanding of
|Permo-Triassic palaeogeography in the light of a robust structural
|framework. Integration with the sedimentological model will evaluate
|structural influence on sedimentation and the sedimentary nature of the
|syn-rift basin depocentres; a key objective of the whole study should be to
|determine whether the basin centres are characterised by channel dominated
|sand facies or mud-prone lacustrine sediments.
|
|Therefore, the studies are designed to resolve the following key issues:
|
|- Reconstruction of the Permo-Triassic to Early Jurassic structural setting
|and develop a fault system hierarchy and chronology;
|
|- Determine the extent to which sedimentary patterns have been influenced
|or controlled by the development and growth of the key faults, particularly
|in relation to:
|- Sediment input points
|- Local palaeoslopes
|- Preferential channelling of sand or loci of mud-rich lacustrine
sediments;
|
|- Producing a robust Depositional Model, particularly with regard to:
|- Sediment input points and sediment provenance
|- Facies patterns
|- Lateral extent of fluvio-lacustrine systems, pinch-out of terminal fan
|complexes and more local geometrical relationships/dimensions of sand-prone
|facies;
|
|-Determining the Relationship between, and impact of, the overprint of
|later Jurassic faults on the location of Permo-Triassic sand-prone sediment
|fairways and areas of potential reservoir targets.
|
|
|EDINBURGH'S 3-D SEISMIC FACILITIES AND DATABASE
|
|The University of Edinburgh has an extensive seismic workstation capability
|with six Sclumberger-Geco-Prakla GeoQuest GeoFrame software mounted on
|dedicated Sun workstations and supported by a computer officer. The
|research group currently holds 3D seismic for a large part of the North
|Viking Graben to the north of the Alwyn Area and extending to the Tampen
|Spur (Snorre) in Norway. This covers fields such as Strathspey/South Brent,
|Brent, Statfjord/Statfjord East and Vigdis/Tordis as well as Snorre.  Most
|of this data has been released (combination of NPD, Oil companies and CGG)
|for academic research only and there are therefore some restrictions on its
|use for commercial purposes. However, it is expected that the results will
|be published on completion of the studies.
|
|
|FIELD ANALOGUE STUDIES
|
|Inclusion of outcrop data from field studies will form an important part of
|the depositional modelling study and integrated into the main project to
|make the results as complete as possible. Data collected from the field
|will be as follows:
|
|Sequence stratigraphic make-up of the particular basin analogue and
|relationships between the depositional units;
|
|Vertical and lateral facies variation within the studied basin together
|with the relationships to the location of key structural elements;
|
|Sandbody geometry relationships and dimensions;
|
|
|Possible field outcrop analogues to the Northern North Sea Traissic basin
|include the following areas:
|
|Skye/Raasay, Inner Hebrides - Triassic, "New Red Sandstone" (basin margin
|alluvial fan sediments);
|
|SE Utah, USA -  Triassic Moenkopi and Chinle Formations (lacustrine and
|ephemeral fluvial sediments deposited as terminal fan systems);
|
|Utah/Wyoming, USA -  Eocene Green River Formation (lacustrine and
|fluvio-lacustrine sediments);
|
|Newark Basin, E USA - Early Mesozoic Newark Supergroup (cyclical lacustrine
|and fluvio-lacustrine sediments);
|
|Ebro Basin, Spanish Pyrenees - Oligo-Miocene (fluvio-lacustrine and
|terminal fan sediments).
|
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|
|**Further details are available by direct contact with John Underhill at
|Edinburgh. Please note, however, that he will be away from the office until
|Tuesday July 25th**
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|John R. Underhill
|Professor of Stratigraphy
|
|
|Dept. of Geology & Geophysics,
|The University of Edinburgh
|Grant Institute,
|King's Buildings
|West Mains Road,
|Edinburgh
|Scotland, U.K.
|EH9 3JW
|
|Tel: 0131-650-8518
|Fax: 0131-668-3184
|
|



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