Thermal evolution of the Newark basin

Journal Article · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992 · Journal of Geology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/629609· OSTI ID:7159402

Huntoon, J E ^[1]; Furlong, K P ^[2]

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1. Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton (United States)
2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park (United States)

A one-dimensional conductive thermal model is used to calculate the transient thermal history of the Newark basin, a Triassic-Jurassic continental rift basin in the eastern United States that formed during the separation of North America and Africa. The model accounts for deposition, erosion, igneous activity, lithology-dependent variations in thermal conductivity, depth-dependent radiogenic heat production, and changes in heat flow through time. A burial and erosion history for the Newark basin is constructed for the modeling, including changes in heat flow through time, emplacement of Jurassic lava flows at the surface, and emplacement of the Palisades still at depth. Vitrinite-reflectance values and apatite and zircon fission-track ages, for units of both Triassic and Jurassic age, are used to constrain the models. Use of two different data sets greatly limits the number and types of models that can reproduce the observed data. Modeling results indicate that initial formation of the Newark basin is not coincident in time with a thermal event. Elevated heat flow (on the order of 130 mW/m[sup 2] in the models) did affect the basin during its evolution, however, and was associated with igneous activity (at approximately 201-199.5 Ma in the models). Results of the modeling also indicate that the original sedimentary package in the Newark basin was approximately 2.5 km thicker than today.

• OSTI ID: 7159402
• Journal Information: Journal of Geology; (United States), Vol. 100:5; ISSN 0022-1376
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
RIFT ZONES
GEOLOGIC MODELS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
HEAT FLOW
AGE ESTIMATION
FISSION TRACKS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOTHERMOMETRY
JURASSIC PERIOD
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
PLATE TECTONICS
THERMAL CONDUCTION
TRIASSIC PERIOD
ENERGY TRANSFER
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
HEAT TRANSFER
MESOZOIC ERA
PARTICLE TRACKS
TECTONICS
580000* - Geosciences