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SSF-Svalbard Science Forum

Basin fill history of the Lower Carboniferous Billefjorden Gp, Central Spitsbergen Allogenic and autogenic controls on fluvial sedimentation

Awarded: NOK 72,996

Lower Carboniferous strata can be found in outcrops across Svalbard, and their equivalent sub-cropping strata are mapped in the Barents Sea where they form potential hydrocarbon exploration and/or CO2-injection targets. Improved constraints on depositional dynamics of onshore strata will shed light on the Barents Sea and Svalbard depositional and structural history, with significant consequences to current models for distribution of reservoir zones. In Central Spitsbergen, the Billefjorden Group is divided into the Hørbybreen and Mumien Formations, which are further subdivided into four lithostratigraphic members. The Billefjorden Group is segmented by younger faults that were mainly active in Mid-Late Carboniferous. Previous studies have established that the Lower Carboniferous basin fill was deposited during tectonic quiescence, in contrast to results that suggest syn-depositional faulting happened along segments in a restricted graben in the Triungen area. The debate is anchored to thickness variations within the Billefjorden Group members in Central Spitsbergen and uneven distribution patterns in each member. Further research will indicate whether deposition was or was not influenced by tectonic activity and thus establish the basin fill history of this geological time interval in the region.

Funding scheme:

SSF-Svalbard Science Forum