Evolution of sedimentary systems tracts in the Tarfaya Basin (Moroccan Atlantic Margin) from the Cretaceous to the Present: Influence of structural evolution and eustasy

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Thomas Aigner
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2007 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 41919248

Mixed carbonate/siliciclastic systems are most sensible to baselevel variations governed by the structural evolution of the basin and eustatic sealevel. We aim to quantify the reaction of such a sedimentary system in response to the structural evolution of the passive continental margin of southern Morocco (Tarfaya). This passive margin has served as a cornerstone in the development of the first seismic and sequence stratigraphic concepts and the establishment of eustatic curves. However, the area is more complex and exhibits a unique transition between a relative undisturbed passive continental margin to the South, governed mostly by the thermal subsidence from the rifting phase and a broad, structurally complex continental margin to the North, reactivated by alpine movements. Paralleling this structural trend to the North, more complex erosional and depositional patterns can be observed that developed since the late Cretaceous. In analyzing these patterns, and balancing the structural evolution, we can study the influence of syn-sedimentary tectonics on sedimentary systems and stratigraphic sequences. We base our study on industry reflection data and will apply 2D structural restoration techniques to palinspastically reconstruct the depositional environments and study the interplay between developing structural evolution, eustasy and sedimentation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Morocco
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Nadia Mhammdi; Privatdozent Dr. Michael Peter Süss