Denudation and uplift history of the Jameson Land basin, East Greenland - Constrained from maturity and apatite fission track data

The Jameson Land basin in East Greenland comprises a well exposed succession of Upper Paleozoic-Mesozoic sediments. During Middle Devonian-Early Permian rifting, ~ 13 km of continental clastics were deposited. In latest Paleozoic to Mesozoic times, ~ 4 km of sediments accumulated during regional subsidence. In the Early Paleocene, during North Atlantic break-up, the basin was covered by a thick volcanic pile. Subsequently, uplift and erosion took place over the whole region. The volcanic cover was completely removed from Jameson Land and erosion cut deeply into the underlying sediments. To assess the exploration potential of Jameson Land, a basin modelling study with 21 1D pseudo-wells was carried out based on all seismic and surface data available. In addition to the calculation of hydrocarbon generation in space and time, the basin modelling provided an opportunity to study the magnitude and timing of uplift and erosion. Basin modelling constrained by apatite fission track data has made it possible to determine a consistent uplift and erosion history of the area. Tectonic backstripping based on a simple Airy type isostatic model has been used to separate the tectonic uplift from the actual uplift. The combined basin modelling and backstripping study has led to the following conclusions: (1) the thickness of the Cretaceous succession varied from 1.3 km in the south to 0.3 km in the north; (2) the volcanic rocks formed a wedge with a thickness of > 2 km in the south thinning to < 0.1 km in the north; (3) the subsequent erosion of 2-3 km is in response to tectonic uplift with a magnitude of ~ 1 km, and the calculated tectonic uplift shows increasing values to the north. The erosion rate generally accelerated from Late Paleocene up to the present time. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.