During the past decade, the size of 3D seismic data volumes and the number of seismic attributes have increased to the extent that it is difficult, if not impossible, for interpreters to examine every seismic line and time slice. To address this problem, several seismic facies classification algorithms including k-means, self-organizing maps, generative topographic mapping, support vector machines, Gaussian mixture models, and artificial neural networks have been successfully used to extract features of geologic interest from multiple volumes. Although well documented in the literature, the terminology and complexity of these algorithms may bewilder the average seismic interpreter, and few papers have applied these competing methods to the same data volume. We have reviewed six commonly used algorithms and applied them to a single 3D seismic data volume acquired over the Canterbury Basin, offshore New Zealand, where one of the main objectives was to differentiate the architectural elements of a tu...

A comparison of classification techniques for seismic facies recognition

The break-up of Gondwana resulted in extension of New Zealand continental crust during the Cretaceous–Paleocene. Offshore the geometry and rift history are well imaged by new regional mapping of a large seismic reflection dataset, tied to wells, used here to document the Cretaceous–Paleocene ( c . 105 – 55 Ma) evolution of the greater Taranaki Basin region. Two temporally distinct phases of rifting have been recognized in the region, and record Gondwana break-up. The first (Zealandia rift phase) produced half-grabens trending NW to WNW during the mid-Cretaceous ( c . 105 – 83 Ma). These rift basins predate, and are parallel to, Tasman Sea spreading centres. They record distributed stretching of northern Zealandia prior to the onset of seafloor spreading in the Tasman Sea. A short period ( c . 83 – 80 Ma) of uplift and erosion followed, possibly representing a break-up unconformity, with erosion in southern Taranaki Basin and deposition of the ‘Taranaki Delta’ sequence in Deepwater Taranaki. The second, West Coast–Taranaki rift phase produced north- to NE-trending extensional half-grabens in the shelfal Taranaki Basin during the latest Cretaceous–Paleocene ( c . 80 – 55 Ma). This rift was narrow ( Supplementary material: A full set of eight palaeogeographical maps as well as expanded versions of the seismic figures, with both uninterpreted and interpreted versions, are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3772175

Two-phase Cretaceous–Paleocene rifting in the Taranaki Basin region, New Zealand; implications for Gondwana break-up

The stratigraphic architecture of a thick (c. 9000 m) Albian–Recent sedimentary succession within the Pegasus Basin is presented here, based primarily on interpretation of the New Zealand Government's ‘PEG09’ 2D reconnaissance seismic survey. The basin lies immediately east and outboard of the Hikurangi subduction zone, and formed mainly because of Neogene downwarping of the underlying Pacific Plate near the transition from subduction to oblique-slip faulting. The basin fill is little deformed by the Neogene–Recent convergent margin tectonics that pervasively deform the adjacent East Coast Basin. Four large-scale tectonostratigraphic units are differentiated: (1) metasedimentary ‘basement’ rocks, deposited and accreted within the Gondwana Mesozoic accretionary wedge; (2) Early Cretaceous Large Igneous Province crust of the Hikurangi Plateau; (3) non-accreted ‘cover’ strata, incorporating rocks age-equivalent to the youngest parts of the Gondwana accretionary wedge, plus the overlying Late Cretaceous and P...

Pegasus Basin, eastern New Zealand: A stratigraphic record of subsidence and subduction, ancient and modern

Recent developments in seismic attributes and seismic facies classification techniques have greatly enhanced the capability of interpreters to delineate and characterize features that are not prominent in conventional 3D seismic amplitude volumes. The use of appropriate seismic attributes that quantify the characteristics of different geologic facies can accelerate and partially automate the interpretation process. Self-organizing maps (SOMs) are a popular seismic facies classification tool that extract similar patterns embedded with multiple seismic attribute volumes. By preserving the distance in the input data space into the SOM latent space, the internal relation among data vectors on an SOM facies map is better presented, resulting in a more reliable classification. We have determined the effectiveness of the modified algorithm by applying it to a turbidite system in Canterbury Basin, offshore New Zealand. By incorporating seismic attributes and distance-preserving SOM classification, we were able to observe architectural elements that are overlooked when using a conventional seismic amplitude volume for interpretation.

Characterizing a turbidite system in Canterbury Basin, New Zealand, using seismic attributes and distance-preserving self-organizing maps

Active margins host more than half of submarine canyons worldwide. Understanding the coupling between active tectonics and canyon processes is required to improve modeling of canyon evolution and derive tectonic information from canyon morphology. In this paper we analyze high-resolution geophysical data and imagery from the Cook Strait canyon system (CS), offshore New Zealand, to characterize the influence of active tectonics on the morphology, processes, and evolution of submarine canyons, and to deduce tectonic activity from canyon morphology. Canyon location and morphology bear the clearest evidence of tectonic activity, with major faults and structural ridges giving rise to sinuosity, steep and linear longitudinal profiles, cross-sectional asymmetry, and breaks in slope gradient, relief, and slope-area plots. Faults are also associated with stronger and more frequent sedimentary flows, steep canyon walls that promote gully erosion, and seismicity that is considered the most likely trigger of failure of canyon walls. Tectonic activity gives rise to two types of knickpoints in the CS. Gentle, rounded and diffusive knickpoints form due to short-wavelength folds or fault breakouts. The more widespread steep and angular knickpoints have migrated through canyon-floor slope failures and localized quarrying and/or plucking. Migration is driven by base-level lowering due to regional margin uplift and deepening of the lower Cook Strait Canyon, and is likely faster in larger canyons because of higher sedimentary flow throughput. The knickpoints, nonadherence to Playfair’s Law, linear longitudinal profiles, and lack of canyon-wide, inverse power law slope-area relationships indicate that the CS is in a transient state, adjusting to perturbations associated with tectonic displacements and changes in base level and sediment fluxes. We conclude by inferring unmapped faults and regions of more pronounced uplift, and proposing a generalized model for canyon geomorphic evolution in tectonically active margins.

/pdf/geomorphic-response-of-submarine-canyons-to-tectonic-17r3zt7000.pdf

Geomorphic response of submarine canyons to tectonic activity: Insights from the Cook Strait canyon system, New Zealand

The islands of New Zealand cover an area of approximately 250,000 km 2 , but the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends to around 4 million km 2 and recent confirmation of New Zealand's Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) has added a further 1.7 million km 2 to the country's marine estate. Within the 5.7 million km 2 of New Zealand's marine territory, approximately 1.2 million km 2 are underlain by sedimentary accumulations which may be thick enough to expel petroleum.

Deepwater frontier basins: New Zealand

The New Zealand government has recognised that the 5.7 million km2 of its marine estate may contain valuable petroleum reserves. To investigate this possibility and to encourage development of those potential reserves, a series of reconnaissance 2D seismic surveys across virtually unknown sedimentary basins is in train. So far, every survey has indicated thick sedimentary successions, the basic ingredient for petroleum generation. Each basin targeted by new data is at a different stage of development; the Great South Basin is licenced to groups led by ExxonMobil and OMV. Deepwater Canterbury is being explored by Anadarko and Origin. Deepwater Taranaki is licenced to Anadarko, Hyundai, AWE, Global and RCT. A licence round closed recently on the Raukumara Basin, while the Reinga and Northland basin round will close in mid-2010. The latest survey was across the Pegasus Sub-basin of the East Coast Basin. It, too shows extensive thick sediments and a licencing round is expected to be announced in early 2011. The Pegasus sub-basin lies at the southern end of the 800 km long East Coast Basin of North Island, New Zealand. It currently occupies the transition zone between subduction of the Pacific plate below the Australian plate along North Island and the strike-slip boundary through South Island. An early seismic line across the region showed a thick succession of relatively undeformed sediments occupying this sub-basin. In early 2010, the Crown Minerals unit of New Zealand?s Ministry of Economic Development commissioned a 3,000 km 2D survey across the region. This paper describes the initial results of that survey

Breaking new ground ? again! The Pegasus sub-basin of the East Coast Basin, North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand's deepwater frontier

Numerous igneous bodies within the Deepwater Taranaki Basin are recognised mainly from seismic data and range from Early Cretaceous to Pliocene in age. They were all emplaced within an intra-plate ...

Seismic recognition of igneous rocks of the Deepwater Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, and their distribution

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