Post-Permian evolution of the Central North Sea: a numerical model

Abstract

A dynamic thermomechanical model is presented for the post-Permian evolution of the Central North Sea including the Central Graben. Permo-Carboniferous and Jurassic thermal events, as well as Triassic and Jurassic extensional phases and Late Cretaceous shortening, are considered. The equations of force balance for a continuum and the transient heat equation are solved using the finite element method. The lithosphere responds to applied forces by elastic deformation at low deviatoric stress levels, fracture at low temperature and pressure conditions and nonlinear viscous flow at high temperature and pressure. A first-order rheological strain softening is incorporated to simulate a transition from strong to soft material behaviour, such as a change from dislocation creep to diffusion creep. Seismic refraction and reflection data indicate crustal thinning below the Central Graben by a factor of ∼2. While the Triassic rifting appears to have been associated with a more distributed deformation pattern, the Upper Jurassic rifting is more localised. Pure shear extensional models have been advocated to explain this. However, dipping seismic reflectors in the upper mantle indicate that simple shear could be important. The strain softening of the present model allows for modelling of strain localisation during the Upper Jurassic rifting phase and detailed modelling of Moho structures. The present model accounts for the main structural and stratigraphic observations in the Central North Sea. Furthermore, the results indicate that in the part of the Central North Sea investigated in this paper, a pure shear regime in Triassic changed into a simple shear-dominated regime with mantle shear zones developing during Late Jurassic extension.