Thermal evolution of coastal California with implications for hydrocarbon maturation
Thesis/Dissertation
·
OSTI ID:6275747
The thermal constraints imposed by plate subduction, cooling oceanic lithosphere, and the migration of a fault-fault-trench triple junction are numerically modeled using finite differences in order to better understand the thermal evolution of coastal California. Numerical solutions for steady state heat transfer are used to estimate the effect of plate subduction in lowering temperatures in coastal California. Numerical solutions for time dependent heat transfer estimate the thermal effect of the passage of the Mendocino triple junction with consequent upwelling of asthenosphere. Calculated heat flow values from the models result in a heat flow distribution similar to measured values from north of Cape Mendocino to the Garlock fault zone. When the calculated paleotemperatures are applied to the Pismo Basin, the basal 300 meters of source rocks are predicted to have entered or be near the liquid oil window. Trends suggested by the thermal models indicate that the more southern basins and basins closer to the North American plate Pacific plate boundary have experienced higher paleotemperatures. Consequently, these basins potentially contain a greater amount of generated hydrocarbons.
- Research Organization:
- Wyoming Univ., Laramie (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6275747
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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