Turkey

Breaking News

As of 1st April 2008 NPA are proud to announce that they are now part of the
Fugro Group

NPA fund restoration of William Smith map

Press Release: Manchester is rising

New 2008 Seepage Studies

NPA Exhibitions/events

More Spotlights

TURKEY: The Tuz Golu Basin, Satellite image interpretation and data integration in an extensively cultivated plain

Client:

Independent oil company

Location:

N/A

Terrain and Climate:

The Central Anatolia plain shows little relief, has been extensively cultivated and has virtually no outcrop.

Area - km²:

Regional; 58,000 km2 Detailed; 10,000 km2

Objectives:

Regional;		To develop a tectonic framework for the formation of the basin, ultimately sectioning the region into distinct structural domains. As the concession is devoid of outcrop it was necessary to identify the structural style evident at its margins and extrapolate these into the concession.
Detailed;		To integrate several data sets, thus enabling the delineation of topographic anomalies which may be related to diapiric activity. As the main structural style is associated with transtensive tectonics the formation of pull-aparts maybe accompanied by diapiric intrusions.

Geology and Prospectivity:

The Tuz Golu basin is a fore-arc basin related to the Late Cretaceous-Palaeocene emplacement of the Kirschehir magnetic arc. Structural development of the basin is related to initial transpression associated with oblique collision. This was followed by transtension during the Eocene, leading to the development of pull-apart basins and the activation of a major Eocene evaporite horizon. The main play is related to the diapiric structures.

Data available for integration:

Detailed topographic, Bouguer gravity, residual Bouguer gravity and magnetic surveys at 1:50,000 scale. Several representative seismic lines were also supplied.

Methods and Products:

Elevation heights and drainage patterns were digitised from the topographic maps and then co-registered to the imagery. The integration of the two data sets enabled subtle topographic anomalies to be outlined revealing the presence of structured topographic and aligned basins. Many of the lows corresponded to gravity lows and seismic defined structures. The lack of a magnetic signature suggests that the lows maybe related to evaporitic activity.

A mosaic of the structural interpretations was used as a base map with overlays of each of the data sets being produced. A final composite map was also produced which outlined all the zones of transtension, residual gravity lows, and seismic derived intrusives structures, thus enabling a focused and coherent seismic programme to be planned.

Benefits and Results:

NPA brought together and successfully digitized, interpreted and integrated several data sets of varying vintage which had previously been used only in isolation. The results show that seismic data alone are not adequate for exploration in this area since previous drilling on a seismically defined diapiric structure encountered an intrusive stock

The final interpretation map shows a number of structural leads which can now be followed up on the existing seismic data and further investigated with ground potential field methods at low cost to distinguish salt diapirism from igneous activity. It is also recommended that surface geochemistry be investigated as a means of grading the targets after geophysical validation.

Innovation:

The combination of satellite imagery and topographic maps provided valuable information which was not obvious from one data set alone and led to the formation of a detailed geological map in an area where the only structural map was at 1:1,000,000 scale. This programme of data integration also enabled the identification of structural style, structure delineation, the formation of a coherent tectonic model and ultimately the targeting of follow-up structures. This was achieved in a flat lying, featureless (apart from cultivation) area where satellite interpretation might not previously have been thought to be appropriate.

Cost:

N/A

Future Developments:

N/A