ProfessorChris Jackson
Visiting Professor
Department of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
Orcid identifier0000-0002-8592-9032 (opens in a new tab)
- Visiting ProfessorDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
- 1.46A, Royal School of Mines, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
RESEARCH
Research
My current research is focused in three main areas; (i) the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins; (ii) salt tectonics; and (iii) deep-water sedimentology and stratigraphy.
Tectono-Stratigraphic Evolution of RIft Basins
I use fieldwork and subsurface (i.e. seismic reflection and borehole) research the way in which evolving fault segments, arrays and fault-related folds impact accommodation development in rift basin and, as a result, facies variations in and the sequence stratigraphy of, coeval syn-rift strata. Conversely, because syn-rift facies distributions vary in response to the evolving structural template, I also study how we can 'read' the sedimentological and stratigraphic record to constrain the growth of rift-related structures.
Image above: Time-structure map of the top Oxfordian seismic horizon along the Stavanger Fault Zone, Egersund Basin, offshore Norway. A thick-skinned (i.e. salt-breaching), surface-breaking, SW-dipping fault in the NW loses displacement and passes to the SE, along-strike, into a forced-fold. The footwall of the structure is deformed by a series of thin-skinned (i.e. salt-detached) faults and a salt diapir. For more information see Lewis et al. (2013).
Salt tectonics
I am interested in a range of issues related to the stratigraphic and structural development of salt basins. Current research is focused on: (i) the stratigraphic development of so-called 'saline giants' (e.g. Aptian salts of the Brazilian margin, Messinian salts of the eastern Mediterranean); and (ii) the kinematics and mechanics of salt tectonics.
Image above: 3D perspective of a time-structure map of the top Ariri Fm (top salt), Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. A series of high-relief (>500 m) salt walls are developed that are arranged in a crudely polygonal pattern. Intervening minibasins contain a thick succession of carbonates and clastics. The Ariri Fm in the Santos Basin is unusual because the upper part of this salt-bearing succession is dominated by strongly-layered evaporites. For more information see PhD project of Clara Rodriguez.
Dynamic Subsurface Processes
The movement of fluids (including magma) in sedimentary basins is controlled by and can influence the physical properties and structure of the host rock. Seismic data can aid in determining the interaction between fluids, stratigraphy and structure from a local to a regional scale.
These data, when integrated with well data, allow analysis of the architecture of magmatic systems and clastic remobilisation and injection, as well as the causes and consequences of fluid release following diagenesis. Understanding fluid migration is therefore important in terms of understanding basin evolution and petroleum systems development.
Image above: Seismic section across a series of sills (right and centre) and a laccolith (left) in the Bight Basin, offshore southern Australia. For more information see Jackson (2012) and Jackson et al. (in press). See also research of Craig Magee.
CURRENT Sponsoring/Supporting Companies
Statoil
Norsk Forskningsrad (Research Council of Norway)
Schlumberger-Western Geco
Petronas
Petroleum Technology Development Fund of Nigeria (PTDF)
London Petrophysical Society
iRock Technologies
PEMEX/CONACYT
PGS
CGG
Indonesian Education Scholarship (BPI)
My current research is focused in three main areas; (i) the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of rift basins; (ii) salt tectonics; and (iii) deep-water sedimentology and stratigraphy.
Tectono-Stratigraphic Evolution of RIft Basins
I use fieldwork and subsurface (i.e. seismic reflection and borehole) research the way in which evolving fault segments, arrays and fault-related folds impact accommodation development in rift basin and, as a result, facies variations in and the sequence stratigraphy of, coeval syn-rift strata. Conversely, because syn-rift facies distributions vary in response to the evolving structural template, I also study how we can 'read' the sedimentological and stratigraphic record to constrain the growth of rift-related structures.
Image above: Time-structure map of the top Oxfordian seismic horizon along the Stavanger Fault Zone, Egersund Basin, offshore Norway. A thick-skinned (i.e. salt-breaching), surface-breaking, SW-dipping fault in the NW loses displacement and passes to the SE, along-strike, into a forced-fold. The footwall of the structure is deformed by a series of thin-skinned (i.e. salt-detached) faults and a salt diapir. For more information see Lewis et al. (2013).
Salt tectonics
I am interested in a range of issues related to the stratigraphic and structural development of salt basins. Current research is focused on: (i) the stratigraphic development of so-called 'saline giants' (e.g. Aptian salts of the Brazilian margin, Messinian salts of the eastern Mediterranean); and (ii) the kinematics and mechanics of salt tectonics.
Image above: 3D perspective of a time-structure map of the top Ariri Fm (top salt), Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. A series of high-relief (>500 m) salt walls are developed that are arranged in a crudely polygonal pattern. Intervening minibasins contain a thick succession of carbonates and clastics. The Ariri Fm in the Santos Basin is unusual because the upper part of this salt-bearing succession is dominated by strongly-layered evaporites. For more information see PhD project of Clara Rodriguez.
Dynamic Subsurface Processes
The movement of fluids (including magma) in sedimentary basins is controlled by and can influence the physical properties and structure of the host rock. Seismic data can aid in determining the interaction between fluids, stratigraphy and structure from a local to a regional scale.
These data, when integrated with well data, allow analysis of the architecture of magmatic systems and clastic remobilisation and injection, as well as the causes and consequences of fluid release following diagenesis. Understanding fluid migration is therefore important in terms of understanding basin evolution and petroleum systems development.
Image above: Seismic section across a series of sills (right and centre) and a laccolith (left) in the Bight Basin, offshore southern Australia. For more information see Jackson (2012) and Jackson et al. (in press). See also research of Craig Magee.
CURRENT Sponsoring/Supporting Companies
Statoil
Norsk Forskningsrad (Research Council of Norway)
Schlumberger-Western Geco
Petronas
Petroleum Technology Development Fund of Nigeria (PTDF)
London Petrophysical Society
iRock Technologies
PEMEX/CONACYT
PGS
CGG
Indonesian Education Scholarship (BPI)