Getech Globe 2022 paleogeographic maps provide a useful starting point to predict processes that natural carbon sequestered from the biosphere into the lithosphere. The predicted facies distributions (sand, mud, and carbonate from basin margin to center) are broadly consistent with end-member calibration points of rocks collected from different locations in the basin. For instance, siliciclastic muddy facies were predicted within the fore deep of Western Interior Basin on a storm dominated ramp, in Alberta (Canada) where sediment was being supplied by fluvial systems draining a widespread floodplain. While limestone (calcareous biogenic detritus rich mudstones) deposition was predicted in regions deposited on the fore bulge in Colorado (USA), in settings bypassed by clastic sediment supply. Regions of predicted upwelling are located in relatively close proximity to the organic carbon carbon-rich facies of the Eagle Ford, in West Texas and to a lesser extent in the fore deep of Alberta. Across the basin the predicted shallow bathymetries are also consistent with the widespread evidence of deposition within storm wave base. Reduced rates of sedimentation, and availability of both reductants and oxidants resulted in respiratory processes being responsible for significant organic carbon degradation across the fore bulge and precipitation of widespread pre-compaction carbonate cements close to the sediment–water interface in the basin center. While carbon sequestration was dominated by organic carbon burial over much of the muddy reaches within the basin, a carbonate and organic carbon path through the carbon cycle is predicted in basin center. The predictions that the water column was neither salinity nor temperature stratified is backed up by the observation of rock fabrics that contain little evidence of classic suspensionsettling fabric motifs (such as varves and undisturbed lamination).

The Cenomanian–Turonian (C–T) (~100.5–89.8 Ma) is traditionally viewed as marking the ‘peak’ of the Mesozoic ‘hot-house’ world and the beginning of the long transition to the present-day Earth system. The Cenomanian–Turonian was a time of high global sea levels (eustasy), high global surface temperatures, and poles free of major ice sheets. Tectonically, the continents were dispersed as Gondwana continued to break apart, which, coupled with high sea levels resulted in the development of new shallow seaways and oceans and in resource exploration, more margins to explore. The coincidence with the burial of large volumes of organic carbon has resulted in numerous theories about causality. c. 41,000 GtC may have been buried during OAE 2 near the Cenomanian–Turonian (C–T) boundary. In this paper, we provide an overview of the global tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatological context of the Cenomanian–Turonian within which the organic-rich rocks were deposited and preserved. By knowing this context, we may better understand the relationship of large-scale surface processes and land–sea geometries on depositional systems and learn to what extent the organic-rich rocks of OAE 2 reflect a coincidence of processes, geography, and tectonics, or something unique that requires a specific explanation. This, in turn, may provide insights into the behavior of the carbon cycle with ramifications for present-day and future change.

Faults and folds are the clearest expressions of deformation we can observe directly in the rock record. This is visualized on 2D maps through the geometry of outcrop patterns and lines or polygons with marker symbols indicating different kinematics. But the record of deformation is 4D, and faults and folds represent only the products of deformation, not the processes responsible. Understanding the evolution of the 3D structural framework through time is fundamental for all forms of subsurface exploration across the energy transition. The aim of this paper is to show how 2D geospatial databases can represent the 4D deformational record. This is by capturing the three components of deformation: the initial state of the crustal architecture to be deformed (the pre-deformational crustal facies and structural framework), the processes responsible for the deformation (geodynamics), and the products of the deformation (folds, faults, magmatism and crustal facies). Deformation is not limited to a single tectonic cycle. Within each cycle, it is time-transgressive and highly variable spatially. By evolving these 2D geospatial databases through time using restoration and plate modelling, we can better understand the 4D complexity of deformation and how this impacts exploration.

Abstract The record of igneous activity (magmatism and volcanism) can significantly affect natural resource exploration and exploitation, including the search for hydrocarbons, critical minerals, natural hydrogen, and geothermal energy sources, as well as using mafic igneous rocks as storage sites for CO 2 . These effects will vary depending on the nature and timing of the activity, the structural framework, and the crustal architecture of the affected country-rock. To understand these effects and the interplay with other factors, we must first know the igneous record's distribution, timing, and petrology. In this paper, we describe a new geospatial database of the igneous rock record designed to provide a baseline digital resource that is application-agnostic and can be applied across the broadest range of research and resource exploration activities. We discuss the challenges we have faced and solved at each of the three main stages of geospatial mapping: database design, database population, and database visualisation. This includes the importance of a comprehensive audit trail so that users can differentiate between well and poorly-constrained interpretations, helping identify areas requiring additional work and data acquisition. The result is a geospatial database that will facilitate a better understanding of the Earth system and natural resource exploration.

The crocodiles and their close relatives, the alligators and gharials, have a compelling evolutionary history. They are a clade of great antiquity, with their most recent common ancestor emerging within the Mesozoic. However, unlike many groups of such a great age, the crocodilians have an extensive crown-group, with around two dozen extant examples. They have a limited ecomorphology, which has varied little since their inception, and their biogeography has been shown to interact closely with climate. The biogeography of crocodilians in deep time remains an outstanding question, which is complicated further by the limitations of the fossil record. The fossil record is fundamentally incomplete yet represents the most common method used to infer biogeography of organisms. The scarcity of fossil remains makes apparent absences difficult to confirm. Preservation bias will promote fossil occurrences in areas with a high sedimentation rate, which may not be the true ecological niche for a given taxon. This study uses species distribution models of extant crocodilians to infer the ecological niche of related taxa in the Maastrichtian and Danian. Models indicate a much wider latitudinal range than is observed among extant examples, and the invasion of new ecospace following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. In addition, we find that while temperature is of significance to crocodilian biogeography, it is precipitation that is the most influential climatic variable.

Abstract The Diaz Marginal Ridge (DMR), on the southern transform margin of South Africa, is a bathymetric feature parallel to the Agulhas Falkland Fracture Zone (AFFZ) that has long been considered an archetype marginal ridge; and yet its origin and evolution remains unconstrained. Using recently acquired seismic data we present a new structural interpretation of the DMR and its association with the evolution of both the AFFZ and the Southern Outeniqua Basin. In contrast to previous scenarios invoking thermo-mechanical explanations for its evolution, we observe a more straightforward structural model in which the genesis of the DMR results from the structural inversion of a Jurassic rift basin. This inversion resulted in the progressive onlap of latest Valanginian–Hauterivian-aged stratigraphic units, important for the formation of stratigraphic plays of the recent Brulpadda discovery. Paradoxically, this contraction is contemporaneous with renewed extension observed in the inboard normal faults. The orientation of the DMR and inboard structures have been demonstrated to be controlled by the underlying Cape Fold Belt (CFB) fabric. The onset of motion across the AFFZ shear system led to east–west-orientated maximum stress and north–south-orientated minimum stress. We propose this stress re-orientation resulted in strain partitioning across existing structures whereby in addition to strike-slip on the AFFZ there was coeval extension and contraction, the nature of which was determined by fault orientation. The fault orientation in turn was controlled by a change in orientation of the underlying CFB. Our model provides new insights into the interplay of changes in regional stress orientation with basement fabric and localized magmatism along an evolving transform. The application of horizontal strain partitioning can provide an explanation of similar features observed on other transform margins.

Abstract Transform margins are a function of the pre-existing crustal architecture (pre-transform) and the interplay of syn- and post-transform geodynamic processes. We use a suite of geospatial databases to investigate four transform margins: East Africa (Davie Deformational Zone, DDZ), Equatorial Africa, and the South African and Falkland (Malvinas) margins (Agulhas–Falkland Fracture Zone, AFFZ). The East African margin is the most complex of the four. This is a consequence of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous transform motion affecting highly heterogeneous crust, and post-transform deformation that varies along the margin. Equatorial Africa most closely adheres to traditional definitions of ‘transform margins’, but actually comprises two principal transform systems – the Romanche and St Pauls, dictated by the pre-transform distribution of mobile belts and West African craton. All four margins are spatially associated with volcanism, and each exhibits narrow uplifts associated with transpression or transtension. But the causal relationship of these features with transform processes differ. Volcanism along the East African margin is pre- and post-transform. Syn-transform volcanism on the AFFZ is spatially limited, with the AFFZ possibly acting as a conduit for magmatism rather than as a causal driver. Transform margins are varied and complex and require an understanding of pre-, syn- and post-transform geodynamics.

Abstract The open availability of global scientific databases is key to advancing research of the Earth system and facilitating cross‐disciplinary studies. There are numerous data sets available for investigating tectonics, but none that provide an internally consistent representation of the structural framework, crustal architecture, and geodynamics. We present Reclus, a suite of global, integrated databases that fill this gap, thereby providing the community with the key components for investigating the Earth system. Reclus includes databases of the following: (a) structural elements, which define the three‐dimensional geometry of the rock volume, including folds and faults; (b) “crustal” facies describing the geometry and composition/rheology of the lithosphere; (c) igneous features; and (d) geodynamics, representing the dominant thermo‐mechanical processes acting on the lithosphere. These databases and workflows are applied to East Africa to investigate the geometry and heterogeneity of the margin and its hinterland. This margin is often summarized in the literature as a “transform margin,” represented by a single structural feature, the “Davie Fracture Zone,” but it is much more complicated. We show how the pre‐existing structure, the superimposition of successive tectonic cycles, and crustal heterogeneity dictate the complexity observed.

Abstract Climate sensitivity is a key metric used to assess the magnitude of global warming given increased CO2 concentrations. The geological past can provide insights into climate sensitivity; however, on timescales of millions of years, factors other than CO2 can drive climate, including paleogeographic forcing and solar luminosity. Here, through an ensemble of climate model simulations covering the period 150–35 million years ago, we show that climate sensitivity to CO2 doubling varies between ∼3.5 and 5.5 °C through this time. These variations can be explained as a nonlinear response to solar luminosity, evolving surface albedo due to changes in ocean area, and changes in ocean circulation. The work shows that the modern climate sensitivity is relatively low in the context of the geological record, as a result of relatively weak feedbacks due to a relatively low CO2 baseline, and the presence of ice and relatively small ocean area in the modern continental configuration.

The monsoon has been ever present for ~56 Ma with the evolution controlled by paleogeography and is insensitive to changing CO 2 .

Climate plays a significant role in determining the styles of depositional processes at different latitudes, which in turn influence the locations of hydrocarbon systems. Results of climate modeling may therefore provide important information for predicting the presence or absence of suitable hydrocarbon plays. To determine whether the models provide realistic results, the critical step is to validate the model results against proxy data where they are available. Paleoclimate proxy data are most often derived from more accessible low- to midlatitude regions and are biased towards warm climate states. However, general circulation models (GCMs) have traditionally been biased to colder temperatures, in particular at high-latitudes, struggling to maintain the high-latitude regions warm enough to sustain forests that were present during greenhouse periods, such as the mid-Cretaceous (~130–89 Ma), without exaggerated warming of the equatorial regions. To improve this approach, the HadCM3L coupled atmosphere–ocean GCM, a state-of-the-art model for the long simulations required to reach an equilibrium climate, was run for each stage of the Cretaceous using new paleogeographic base maps. Here, we compare the results for the Aptian (118.5 Ma) and Albian (105.8 Ma) with paleoclimate proxy data from the high northern latitudes in order to determine if the model produces viable results for this region. Paleoclimate analysis of fossil wood from conifer forests from Svalbard of Aptian–Albian age suggests that they grew in moist cool upland areas adjacent to warmer temperate lowland regions, probably with rivers and/or swamps present. Studies of conifers from the Canadian Arctic islands indicate that they grew under slightly cooler conditions than on Svalbard, similar to northern Canada today. The HadCM3L GCM results for Svalbard show that the dominant biome was evergreen taiga/montane forest with lowland temperate vegetation present during the Albian Stage, possibly with an element of deciduous taiga/montane forest in the Aptian (both cold boreal forests with short hot summers according to the Köppen–Geiger classification). The modeled mean annual temperature was ~−3.7° C at the sample sites, with summer temperatures rising to a mean of ~18° C during the Albian. Mean annual precipitation was ~571 mm. In the Canadian Arctic, the model results indicate that the biomes were more mixed than on Svalbard. The Aptian biome was dominantly deciduous taiga/montane forest with temperate vegetation in low-lying areas. The Albian landscape was dominated by evergreen taiga/montane forest, with some elements of deciduous taiga. Both stages were classified as cold boreal forest with short hot summers under the Köppen-Geiger classification scheme. Mean annual temperature was modeled to be ~−6.5° C at the sample sites, with summer temperatures reaching a mean of ~13° C, and mean annual precipitation was ~406 mm. These results suggest that the HadCM3L GCM, coupled with updated paleogeographic maps, can produce a good match to the climate proxy data in these difficult-to-model high-latitude areas.

Palaeogeography is the representation of the past surface of the Earth. It provides the spatial context for investigating how the Earth evolves through time, how complex processes interact and the juxtaposition of spatial information. In hydrocarbon exploration, palaeogeographies have been used to map and investigate the juxtaposition, distribution and quality of play elements (source, reservoir, seal and trap), as boundary conditions for source-to-sink analysis, climate modelling and lithofacies retrodiction, but most commonly as the backdrop for presentations and montages. This paper demonstrates how palaeogeography has been and can be used within an exploration workflow to help mitigate exploration risk. A comprehensive workflow for building palaeogeographies is described which is designed to provide a standard approach that can be applied to a range of tasks in exploration and academia. This is drawn from an analysis of the history of palaeogeography and how it has been applied to exploration in the past and why. Map applications, resolution and content depend on where in the exploration and production (E&P) cycle the map is used. This is illustrated here through three case studies, from the strategic decisions of global new ventures exploration to the more detailed basin and petroleum analyses of regional asset teams evaluating basins and plays. Through this, the paper also addresses three commonly asked questions: (1) How can I use palaeogeography in my workflow? (2) How reliable are the maps? (3) How do I build a palaeogeography?

The East Asian monsoon plays an integral role in human society, yet its geological history and controlling processes are poorly understood. Using a general circulation model and geological data, we explore the drivers controlling the evolution of the monsoon system over the past 150 million years. In contrast to previous work, we find that the monsoon is controlled primarily by changes in paleogeography, with little influence from atmospheric CO2. We associate increased precipitation since the Late Cretaceous with the gradual uplift of the Himalayan-Tibetan region, transitioning from an ITCZ-dominated monsoon to a sea breeze-dominated monsoon. The rising region acted as a mechanical barrier to cold and dry continental air advecting into the region, leading to increasing influence of moist air from the Indian Ocean/South China Sea. We show that, apart from a dry period in the middle Cretaceous, a monsoon system has existed in East Asia since at least the Early Cretaceous.

Current facies models, produced from decades of research on temperate and tropical systems, are heavily biased towards low latitude analogs. These have been successfully applied in both mature and frontier basin exploration settings. However, with increasing exploration interest in high latitudes, especially the Arctic, it is timely to examine in more detail process variability at different latitudes, and determine how facies models should be modified (or not) to include that variability. Inherent to facies models are a series of processes built on our overall understanding of sedimentary systems. By ignoring that certain processes gain or diminish in importance with changing latitude, these models, and our application of them introduce a hidden bias towards low latitude systems. As a result, using these familiar concepts and models in high latitude systems can introduce errors that are often not accounted for. Numerous processes have been shown to be amplified and/or diminished at higher latitudes, producing variances in stratigraphic architecture from more familiar depositional “norms”. For example, Coriolis effects are stronger at high latitudes, whereas tidal forces are weaker. Extremes of seasonality at higher latitudes result in temperature and insolation effects on fauna and flora, as well as short runoff seasons and strong fluvial discharge seasonality. Some important high latitudes processes such as ice melt algal blooms have no temperate or tropical equivalent and are thus unaccounted for in established models. These differences can and do impact numerous play elements including reservoir, source, and seal quality and distribution. The main goal of this presentation is to outline the depositional variability between high and lower latitude systems, demonstrate how such variability affects hydrocarbon play elements, and provide the needed basis for refining the established stratigraphic and sedimentary concepts, methods, and tools for use in high latitude basins. Latitudinal Controls on Stratigraphic Models and Sedimentary Concepts ABSTRACT Current facies models, produced from decades of research on temperate & tropical systems are heavily biased towards low latitude analogs. These have been successfully applied in both mature and frontier basin exploration settings. However, with increasing exploration interest in high latitudes, especially the Arctic, it is timely to examine in more detail process variability at different latitudes, and determine how facies models should be modified (or not) to include that variability. Inherent to facies models are a series of processes built on our overall understanding of sedimentary systems. By ignoring that certain processes gain or diminish in importance with changing latitude, these models, and our application of them introduce a hidden bias towards low latitude systems. As a result, using these familiar concepts and models in high latitude systems can introduce errors that are often not accounted for. Numerous processes have been shown to be amplified and/or diminished at higher latitudes, producing variances in stratigraphic architecture from more familiar depositional “norms”. For example, Coriolis effects are stronger at high latitudes, whereas tidal forces are weaker. Extremes of seasonality at higher latitudes result in temperature and insolation effects on fauna and flora, as well as short runoff seasons and strong fluvial discharge seasonality. Some important high latitudes processes such as ice melt algal blooms have no temperate or tropical equivalent and are thus unaccounted for in established models. These differences can and do impact numerous play elements including reservoir, source, and seal quality & distribution. The main goal of this presentation is to outline the depositional variability between high and lower latitude systems, demonstrate how such variability affects hydrocarbon play elements, and provide the needed basis for refining the established stratigraphic and sedimentary concepts, methods, and tools for use in high latitude basins.Current facies models, produced from decades of research on temperate & tropical systems are heavily biased towards low latitude analogs. These have been successfully applied in both mature and frontier basin exploration settings. However, with increasing exploration interest in high latitudes, especially the Arctic, it is timely to examine in more detail process variability at different latitudes, and determine how facies models should be modified (or not) to include that variability. Inherent to facies models are a series of processes built on our overall understanding of sedimentary systems. By ignoring that certain processes gain or diminish in importance with changing latitude, these models, and our application of them introduce a hidden bias towards low latitude systems. As a result, using these familiar concepts and models in high latitude systems can introduce errors that are often not accounted for. Numerous processes have been shown to be amplified and/or diminished at higher latitudes, producing variances in stratigraphic architecture from more familiar depositional “norms”. For example, Coriolis effects are stronger at high latitudes, whereas tidal forces are weaker. Extremes of seasonality at higher latitudes result in temperature and insolation effects on fauna and flora, as well as short runoff seasons and strong fluvial discharge seasonality. Some important high latitudes processes such as ice melt algal blooms have no temperate or tropical equivalent and are thus unaccounted for in established models. These differences can and do impact numerous play elements including reservoir, source, and seal quality & distribution. The main goal of this presentation is to outline the depositional variability between high and lower latitude systems, demonstrate how such variability affects hydrocarbon play elements, and provide the needed basis for refining the established stratigraphic and sedimentary concepts, methods, and tools for use in high latitude basins. PROBLEM STATEMENT • Better understanding of depositional systems and analogs leads to better inputs for geological models and more accurate assessment of risk for plays and prospects in hydrocarbon exploration • Most familiar facies models derive from temperate and, to a lesser extent, tropical examples. By comparison, depositional analogs from higher latitudes are sparser in number and more poorly understood. • Numerous processes are amplified and/or diminished at higher latitudes, producing variations in stratigraphic architecture from more familiar depositional “norms” OBJECTIVES • Examine some latitudinal variations in sedimentary processes and environments • Highlight departures from depositional “norms” • Search for insights that may be useful in subsurface interpretations; or at least some “health warnings” • Introduce Hedberg Conference “Latitudinal Controls on Stratigraphic Models and Sedimentary Concepts” Regardless of the global climatic state (i.e. icehouse vs greenhouse), some processes are enhanced or diminished at higher latitudes, and some are only present at certain latitudes (high or low). An non-exhaustive list would include: • Extremes of seasonality • Temperature and insolation effects on flora and fauna • Types, occurrences, and effects of storms • Wind types and patterns • Enhanced Coriolis effect and impact on geostrophic currents • Reduced tidal effects • Direct and indirect effects of seasonal ice Some processes are only present/significant at high latitudes during icehouse or icehouse to greenhouse transitional climate states: A non-exhaustive list would include: • “Direct” glacial deposits, e.g., • Glacial loading and rebound • Tunnel valleys • Glacial outbursts • Thermokarst (pingos, tabular ground ice, etc.) • Permafrost • Ice jam flooding • Extensive sea ice • Deltaic overflow and underflow • Ice-break-up Statoil, Inc. Calgary, AB Canada Allard W. Martinius Getech Group PLC Leeds, UK Paul Markwick Carmen M. Fraticelli Noble Energy, Inc., Houston, TX John. R. Suter ConocoPhillips, Inc. Houston, TX

The distributions of fossil crocodiiians are used to examine North American continentai paieociimates for four time periods in the Cenozoic. Control groups are used to provide a qualitative means of examining the completeness of the record and thus the validity of crocodilian patterns. By analogy with the range of the extant American alligator, Alligator mississippiensisy the patterns imply that midto high-latitude continental interiors during the Eocene and Miocene did not undergo seasonal temperature extremes as great as those observed in such areas today. This is compatible with the paleobotanical data. During both the Late Oligocene 1. The chapter has been modified from its published form (Markwick, 1994b) in order to make it consistent with the rest of the dissertation. 283 284 and the Pleistocene (times of major glaciation), crocodilians were restricted to more maritime localities.

Past warm periods provide an opportunity to evaluate climate models under extreme forcing scenarios, in particular high ( >  800 ppmv) atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Although a post hoc intercomparison of Eocene ( ∼  50  Ma) climate model simulations and geological data has been carried out previously, models of past high-CO2 periods have never been evaluated in a consistent framework. Here, we present an experimental design for climate model simulations of three warm periods within the early Eocene and the latest Paleocene (the EECO, PETM, and pre-PETM). Together with the CMIP6 pre-industrial control and abrupt 4 ×  CO2 simulations, and additional sensitivity studies, these form the first phase of DeepMIP – the Deep-time Model Intercomparison Project, itself a group within the wider Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP). The experimental design specifies and provides guidance on boundary conditions associated with palaeogeography, greenhouse gases, astronomical configuration, solar constant, land surface processes, and aerosols. Initial conditions, simulation length, and output variables are also specified. Finally, we explain how the geological data sets, which will be used to evaluate the simulations, will be developed.

Past warm periods provide an opportunity to evaluate climate models under extreme forcing scenarios, in particular high (> 800 ppmv) atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Although a post hoc intercomparison of Eocene (∼ 50 Ma) climate model simulations and geological data has been carried out previously, models of past high-CO2 periods have never been evaluated in a consistent framework. Here, we present an experimental design for climate model simulations of three warm periods within the early Eocene and the latest Paleocene (the EECO, PETM, and pre-PETM). Together with the CMIP6 pre-industrial control and abrupt 4×CO2 simulations, and additional sensitivity studies, these form the first phase of DeepMIP – the Deep-time Model Intercomparison Project, itself a group within the wider Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP). The experimental design specifies and provides guidance on boundary conditions associated with palaeogeography, greenhouse gases, astronomical configuration, solar constant, land surface processes, and aerosols. Initial conditions, simulation length, and output variables are also specified. Finally, we explain how the geological data sets, which will be used to evaluate the simulations, will be developed.