Small-Scale Mantle Convection Produces Stratigraphic Sequences in Sedimentary Basins

Petersen, K.D.; Nielsen, S.B.; Clausen, O.R.; Stephenson, R.; Gerya, T.

Small-Scale Mantle Convection Produces Stratigraphic Sequences in Sedimentary Basins

2010

Petersen, K.D. | Nielsen, S.B. | Clausen, O.R. | Stephenson, R. | Gerya, T.

Cyclic sedimentary deposits link stratigraphic sequences that are now geographically distant but were once part of the same depositional environment. Some of these sequences occur at periods of 2 to 20 million years, and eustatic sea-level variations or regional tectonic events are likely causes of their formation. Using numerical modeling, we demonstrate that small-scale mantle convection can also cause the development of stratigraphic sequences through recurrent local and regional vertical surface movements. Small-scale convection-driven stratigraphic sequences occur at periods of 2 to 20 million years and correlate only at distances up to a few hundred kilometers. These results suggest that previous sequence stratigraphic analyses may contain erroneous conclusions regarding eustatic sea-level variations.

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