Basin Analysis with a Spreadsheet

Abstract

Using a spreadsheet, students can easily apply backstripping corrections to a sedimentary column to determine total and tectonic subsidence as a function of time, without programming. Because the spreadsheet performs calculations openly in a logically ordered series of tables, students learn more about the process of backstripping than if they use a “black-box” program which conceals the path from input to output. Creating high-quality plots of uncompacted stratigraphy versus time or basement subsidence versus time is simple with a spreadsheet, and inspection of such graphs can give students insight into the mechanisms that drive subsidence in different tectonic settings.