Paleomagnetic Studies of Carboniferous and Permian in the U.K. Southern North Sea: Core Orientation, Paleocurrent Analysis, and Diagenetic Application

Abstract

The U.K. southern North Sea is a major gas province with production from Carboniferous and Permian reservoirs. It was a foreland basin in Carboniferous times uplifted to form a Lower Permian desert basin and subsequently deeply buried during the Mesozoic. Paleomagnetic methods have been used for burial analysis, core orientation, and paleocurrent studies. VRM is shown to be of only limited value for core orientation; problems relating to drilling effects and deflection by ChRM will be discussed. Detailed thermal demagnetization studies are most valuable. Blocking temperature spectra can be related to burial history curves, and ChRM directions isolated and compared with Carboniferous and Permian reference directions. ChRM is a valuable parameter for core orientation and thus paleocurrent studies. Examples will be shown from the Carboniferous and Lower Permian.