2. Fluid and Tectonic Deformation in an Active Transform Margin
Ivano W. Aiello, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing CA
Neogene, authigenic carbonates and oil-saturated sandstones exposed in the Monterey Bay coast ranges represent the ‘plumbing systems’ of fossil hydrocarbon seepages. The seep precipitates are characterized by strong asymmetries, and by fluid conduits that parallel the local NE-trending fracture and fault fields. Our reconstructions suggest that cross-faults intersecting offshore strands of the SAFS could have acted as conduits for hydrocarbon-rich fluids from the basin depocenters (sources) to the seep localities (sinks).
Basement
Ridges
Sedimentary basins
(fluid sources)
Santa Cruz
San Andreas Fault System (SAFS)
Cross-faults (pathways of fluid migration)
Monterey
Paleo-seeps
(fluid sinks)