Isotope Chronostratigraphy: Theory and Methods covers the concept of isotope chronostratigraphy. The book discusses the principles of interpretation, the methodology, as well as the synthesis of the oxygen and carbon isotope records of the Tertiary. The text also describes the detailed studies of the tertiary delta 18O and delta 13 C records by epoch; the stable isotopic evidence for and against sea level changes during the cenozoic; and the prospects for applying isotope chronostratigraphy to exploration wells. The paleobathymetric models using the delta 18O of foraminifera; the empirical approaches to isotope chronostratigraphy; and the quantitative methods of analysis are also considered. The book further tackles the semblance methods; the filter and deconvolution techniques; the frequency domain methods; and the maximum entropy and Q-model methods. Petroleum geologists and stratigraphers will find the text invaluable.

C. Ian Lerche is the author of more than 500 papers and has received numerous awards, including the Levorsen Award of the AAPG, the Nordic Professorship inPetroleum Geology, and the French Academie des Sciences Professorship in Geology. He has been a professor of geology in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of South Carolina since 1984, and was associate chairman of the department 1985-1989. Between 1965-1981 he held positions of research associate, assistant professor, and associate professor at the University of Chicago. From 1981-1984 he worked as a senior scientist at Gulf Research and Development Co. He received a B.Sc. in physics in 1962 and a Ph.D. in astronomy in 1965 from the University of Manchester.

Preface

1. Introduction


I. Rationale for a New Chemical Stratigraphy


II. The Model of Isotope Chronostratigraphy


III. The Format of This Synthesis


2. Principles of Interpretation


I. An Empirical Approach for Establishing Interwell Correlations and Zonations


II. Integration of Isotope Chronostratigraphy and Biostratigraphy


III. Effects of Diagenesis on Isotope Records


IV. Species Effects


3. Methodology


I. Generation of the Stable Isotope Data


II. Preparation of Well Samples for Isotopic Analyses


A. Foraminifera or Calcareous Nannofossil Analyses


B. Analyses of Unspecific Carbonate Phases from Whole Rock (Bulk) Carbonate


C. Effects of Sample Handling on d Values


III. Cost Analysis and Turnaround Time


IV. New Technological Developments


4. The Tertiary Oxygen Isotope Record


I. Development of the Tertiary Isotope Record


II. Global d180 Isotopic Changes in Tertiary Marine Carbonates


III. Comparisons between the Nannofossil and Foraminiferal d18 Records


IV. Whole Rock (Bulk Sediment) Analyses and the Tertiary d18 Record


5. The Tertiary Carbon Isotope Record


I. The Foraminiferal d13C Record


II. Comparison of the Foraminiferal Nannofossil and Bulk Sediment d13C Records


6. Detailed Studies of the Tertiary d18O and d13C Records by Epoch


I. Pleistocene d18O Records


A. The Late Pleistocene d18O Record (0-1.0 MYBP)


B. Extension of d18O Stratigraphy into the Pliocene


C. Specific Application to the Gulf of Mexico


D. Summary


II. Pliocene Isotope Records


Pliocene Carbon Isotope Records


III. Miocene Isotope Records


Miocene Carbon Isotope Records


IV. Eocene and Oligocène Oxygen and Carbon Isotope Records


A. Eocene-Oligocene Boundary Event


B. Results from the Gulf of Mexico


V. Isotope Records for the Paleocene and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary


7. Stable Isotopic Evidence for and against Sea Level Changes during the Cenozoic


I. Introduction


II. Oxygen Isotopic Model for Cenozoic Sea Levels


A. Timing of Global d180 Events


B. Magnitude of d180 Inferred Sea Level Events


C. Rates of d180 and Sea Level Change


III. d180 Chronostratigraphy, Gulf Coast Regional Unconformities, and Eustatic Sea Levels of the Plio-Pleistocene of Offshore Gulf of Mexico


IV. Conclusions and Recommendations


8. Prospects for Applying Isotope Chronostratigraphy to Exploration Wells


I. Neogene Examples


A. The Gulf of Mexico


B. Offshore California-The Miocene Monterey Formation


II. Paleogene Examples


A. Offshore California


B. The Gulf of Mexico


III. Mesozoic and Paleozoic Examples


A. Cretaceous d13C Events and Black Shales


B. Correlation of Basinal Clastics in Permian Strata, Delaware Basin, West Texas


C. Summary


9. Paleobathymetric Models Using the d180 of Foraminifera


I. Basis of the Models


II. Distinguishing Eustatic from Tectonic Changes in Paleodepth


III. Distinguishing Uplift, Subsidence, and Progradation Changes in Paleodepth


IV. Summary


10. General Overview of the Empirical Approaches to Isotope Chronostratigraphy


11. Quantitative Methods of Analysis: Theoretical Considerations


12. Semblance Methods


13. Filter and Deconvolution Techniques


I. Least Squares Noise Minimization


II. The Common Signal Minimization Problem


III. The Location-Dependent Common Signal Problem


IV. The Magnitude of the Signal Problem


V. Maximum Likelihood


VI. Prediction Filters


A. The Fourier Transform of a Positive Function


B. Extrapolating the Fourier Transform


C. A Numerical Example


D. Relation to Maximum Entropy


VII. Relative Rates of Sedimentation


VIII. Matched Filters


14. Frequency Domain Methods


I. Noise Frequency Spectra


II. Autocorrelation and Cross-Correlation Spectral Methods


A. Autocorrelation Power Spectra


B. Cross-Correlation Power Spectra


C. Multiple Cross-Correlation Power Spectra


III. Spectral Ratio Methods


IV. Homomorphic Deconvolution


A. Mathematical Framework


B. Intrinsic Isotopic Signal Extraction Methods


V. Phase Sensitive Detection of Isotopic Signals


A. Basic Arguments


B. Data Analysis Algorithms


C. Discrete Time Model and Analysis


15. Maximum Entropy and Q-Model Methods


I. Unbiased MEM


II. Biased MEM


III. End Members and Linear Unmixing


IV. Q-Model Types of Analysis


A. QMODEL Family of Algorithms


B. Nonconstant Sum


V. Summary


16. Numerical Examples and Case Histories


17. Filter and Deconvolution Methods


I. A Filter Response


II. Mapping Function Deconvolution, Noise, and Nonlinearity


18. Frequency Domain Methods


I. Linear Interpolation and Power Spectra


II. Autocorrelation and Cross-Correlation in Time


III. Window Effects on Power Spectra


IV. Homomorphic Deconvolution


V. Multispectral Wiener Filtering


VI. Phase Sensitive Detection-Noise Analysis


VII. Predictive Wiener Filtering


19. Maximum Entropy Methods


I. Unbiased MEM