Sediment Provenance Studies in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production
Sediment provenance studies concern the origin, composition, transportation and deposition of detritus and therefore are an important part of understanding the links between basinal sedimentation, and hinterland tectonics and unroofing. Such studies can add value at many stages of hydrocarbon exploitation, from identifying regional-scale crustal affinities and sediment dispersal patterns during the earliest stages of exploration, to detailed correlation in producing reservoirs and understanding the impact of mineralogy on reservoir diagenesis.
The volume showcases the wide variety of techniques available, using examples and applications from all aspects of sediment provenance research. The papers are organized into four sets around the following themes:
Overview: applications of provenance information in hydrocarbon reservoir sandstones
Provenance, diagenesis and reservoir quality
Provenance studies linking sediment to source
Looking forward: development of techniques and data handling
This book is dedicated to the memory of Maria Mange and Robert A. Scott.
Tracing provenance and pathways of late Holocene fluvio-deltaic sediments by heavy-metal spatial distribution (Po Plain–Northern Apennines system, Italy)
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Published:January 01, 2014
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CiteCitation
Alessandro Amorosi, Irene Sammartino, 2014. "Tracing provenance and pathways of late Holocene fluvio-deltaic sediments by heavy-metal spatial distribution (Po Plain–Northern Apennines system, Italy)", Sediment Provenance Studies in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production, R. A. Scott, H. R. Smyth, A. C. Morton, N. Richardson
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Abstract
The bulk geochemistry of 435 near-surface sediment samples from the southern Po Plain was used to identify the major sources of sediment delivered through distinct tracts of the routing system, from the Apenninic catchments to the Po Delta and the Adriatic coast. Sediment composition from the downstream reaches of the Po River and 23 Apenninic channel-levee river systems is fingerprinted by distinctive heavy metal (chromium and nickel) concentrations, which vary primarily as a function of the local ultramafic rock contribution. For any constant provenance domain, fine-grained (floodplain) sediments are invariably enriched in trace metals relative to their coarser-sized, channel-related counterparts, thus reflecting hydraulic sorting by crevasse and overbank processes. Once the geochemical signatures of fluvial endmembers are established, the relative contribution of the individual detrital sources to the downstream segments of the system can be assessed. Using an example from a multisourced supplied system, we outline the reconstruction of source-rock lithology and sediment pathways by combined sedimentological and geochemical studies as the basis for reliable estimates of sediment budgets in a source-to-sink context.