Projects

On October 31st, Sean Kyne TD, Minister of State for Natural Resources, witnessed the signature of the “Joint Research Cooperation Agreement Renewal” document between Nalcor Energy and Ireland’s Petroleum Infrastructure Programme (PIP)regarding research collaboration under the North Atlantic Petroleum Systems Assessment (NAPSA). The agreement was further welcomed by His Excellency Kevin Michael Vickers, Ambassador of Canada to Ireland. The objective of NAPSA is to foster research collaboration between Irish and Atlantic Canadian researchers that will lead to the establishment of funded scientific projects to enhance our understanding of the petroleum geology of the North Atlantic basins. The long-term goal is to promote research that leads to increased petroleum exploration and development, with projects also fostering basic research to enhance the growth of scientific knowledge. NAPSA’s membership comprises a number of research institutions and public agencies from both Ireland and Canada, including Geological Survey Ireland.

In a study on deformable plate tectonic models, researchers Michael T. King and J. Kim Welford present new methods for reconstructing the movement and deformation of continental plates over time using the software GPlates and its programming library, pyGPlates. This research is a companion to another article by King and Welford. Key points of their research include: A new method for modeling deformable plates was developed using GPlates and pyGPlates. The study investigates how deformation changes over time within continental blocks in the North Atlantic. The models created in this study provide insight into the crustal thickness of the southern North Atlantic prior to the Jurassic period (200 million years ago). These models also show how continental blocks evolved during rift-related deformation. The study examines the potential impact of ancient mountain belts (orogenic terranes) on subsequent rifting in the North Atlantic. The authors address common assumptions in previous studies, such as the idea that continental blocks are rigid and have a uniform crustal thickness at the beginning of a model's timeframe. Their new approach allows for the creation of deformable continental blocks and the reconstruction of present-day crustal thickness estimates back through time. The methodology was tested using a previously published model of the southern North Atlantic. The study found that including and properly designing continental blocks is crucial for accurately reconstructing pre-Jurassic crustal thicknesses. The authors recommend reconstructing present-day crustal thickness estimates as a first step in building deformable plate models, as it requires fewer assumptions and can help mitigate "edge effects" caused by rigid features in the model.

Abstract The offshore rifted margins of the North Atlantic have a spatially complex crustal structure comprised of variable crustal morphologies, continental blocks, and inherited structures. Recently, deformable plate tectonic models have permitted the interplay of plate kinematics and deformation to be assessed throughout the North Atlantic, and elsewhere. In particular, the ability to calculate temporal variations in crustal thickness has provided insight into the kinematic role of continental blocks and their interplay with large and micro-tectonic plates during the formation of the North Atlantic offshore rifted margins. In this study, the deformable plate modeling workflow introduced in the companion contribution of this study (Part 1) is used to investigate previously published and newly presented deformable plate models of the Newfoundland, Irish, and West Iberian margins. This approach permits the deformation and subsequent crustal thickness evolution within previously recognized continental blocks and sedimentary basins throughout the southern North Atlantic Ocean to be visualized and assessed from 200 Ma to present day. The segmentation of early rift crustal thicknesses calculated by deformable plate models demonstrate strong correlations with the offshore extension of Appalachian and Caledonian terrane boundaries. Thus, our observations suggest that inherited orogenic boundaries potentially play a key role in the early rift crustal structure of sedimentary basins and the partitioning of deformation around and within continental blocks. Plain Language Summary The Earth is made up of large and small tectonic plates that are actively moving and can have variable thicknesses and morphologies. Over the last 200 million years, the gradual separation between the North American and Eurasian plates has led to the formation of the southern North Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, its present day form represents a natural playground for geoscientists to study the formation of oceans and plate tectonic processes through the interplay of data acquisition, interpretation, and modelling studies. In this work, we use an innovative and open-source modelling workflow to study the evolution of large and small tectonic plates by reconstructing their present day template and thicknesses back through time. The results of our study reveal the influential role of smaller tectonic plates and their necessity for accurately restoring the southern North Atlantic Ocean back through time. In addition, this study highlights the potential impact of approximately 300–500 million year old geological structures that are inherited from the closure of earlier oceans that were re-activated during the creation of the southern North Atlantic Ocean.

Published plate reconstructions have provided insights regarding the formation of the North Atlantic, in which the motion of the Porcupine Bank, on the Irish Atlantic margin, underlain by orogenic pre-rift crustal basement terranes, is investigated and restored. Previous reconstructions of the Porcupine Bank mainly relied on potential field data rather than seismic constraints and failed to reveal the role of inherited crustal terranes during rifting and subsequent crustal deformation. In this study, five deformable plate tectonic models with distinct structural inheritance trends are established in GPlates by adjusting a previously published restoration model for the North Atlantic. For each model, driving factors such as the inclusion of the Orphan Knoll, the Flemish Cap poles of rotation, and the motion of the eastern border of the Porcupine Basin are also considered. To assess the validity of deformable plate models, crustal thickness estimates obtained from gravity inversion and seismic data modeling are compared with those calculated via deformable plate models. The preferred deformable plate model proposes the subdivision of the Porcupine Bank into four blocks with each block experiencing poly-phased rotation and shearing prior to the final continental breakup, implying strong inheritance and segmentation of the Porcupine Bank and Porcupine Basin. The reconstructed paleo-positions of the Flemish Cap and Porcupine Bank within deformable regions reveal evolving conjugate relationships during rifting, which are assessed using regional seismic transects from both margins. Finally, extensional obliquity between both margins is quantitatively restored, showing time-variant orientations due to the rotation and shearing of associated continental blocks.

The kinematic evolution of the West Iberian margin during the opening of the southern North Atlantic has been of interest for several decades and provides a well-constrained environment to study and develop new concepts related to the formation of non-volcanic (magma poor) passive margins. Building upon previous rigid and deformable plate tectonic modelling studies, the aim of this work is to create deformable plate tectonic models of the West Iberian margin using previously published constraints in GPlates to investigate the role of the Galicia Bank as an independent continental ribbon during deformation of the West Iberian margin from 200 Ma to present day. A comparison of present day crustal thickness results calculated from deformable plate tectonic reconstructions with those obtained from gravity inversion has allowed the plate kinematics of the Galicia Bank relative to the Flemish Cap to be investigated. Additionally, this comparison provided detailed insights into the most probable kinematic scenarios for the Galicia Bank continental ribbon, including its impact on the deformation experienced within the Galicia Interior Basin. Two preferred kinematic models for the Galicia Bank are proposed. One that implies synchronous motion with the Flemish Cap until ~160 Ma after which the Galicia Bank begins to move southward, causing crustal thinning within the Galicia Interior Basin. The other preferred model, despite its discrepancies with gravity inversion results, implies synchronous motion of the Galicia Bank and southeastern Flemish Cap until breakup between the southeastern Newfoundland and Iberian margins initiating ~140 Ma. In addition to the deformation induced by the motion of the Galicia Bank, this study demonstrates the influence of inherited Variscan structures and their impact on rift segmentation experienced within the Galicia Interior Basin. This is inferred through attempts to discretize triangular meshes within regions of deformation in areas where inherited structures have been previously interpreted.

To date, kinematic plate reconstruction models have struggled to restore the tectonic evolution of the Goban Spur, offshore Ireland. Specifically, crustal thicknesses calculated for the Goban Spur from existing plate models show a discrepancy with those derived from independent geophysical methods like gravity inversion and seismic refraction modelling. This study seeks to resolve this discrepancy by locally updating an existing plate model of the southern North Atlantic by incorporating constraints from four newly-presented seismic reflection profiles. The new long-offset seismic reflection data reveal the complex architecture of the Goban Spur basins, which are f illed with highly variable sediment thicknesses, suggestive of a protracted and polyphased rifting history. More importantly, the seismic reflection data show zones of focused faulting, which are incorporated into the plate model as inherited weakness zones. In addition, the seismic reflection data are used to assist in adjusting the geometry of the modelled zone of deformation on the Goban Spur. The present-day crustal thicknesses on the Goban Spur from the locally updated plate model agree with those derived from gravity inversion, providing a possible remedy for the crustal thickness discrepancy generated by existing models. The final locally updated plate model supports the hypothesis of compartmentalization of the continental region of the Goban Spur margin, highlights the significant role of inherited structures, and renews linkages between the Goban Spur and its potential conjugates during oblique rifting.

To date, kinematic plate reconstruction models have struggled to restore the tectonic evolution of the Goban Spur, offshore Ireland. Specifically, crustal thicknesses calculated for the Goban Spur from existing plate models show a discrepancy with those derived from independent geophysical methods like gravity inversion and seismic refraction modelling. This study seeks to resolve this discrepancy by locally updating an existing plate model of the southern North Atlantic by incorporating constraints from four newly-presented seismic reflection profiles. The new long-offset seismic reflection data reveal the complex architecture of the Goban Spur basins, which are filled with highly variable sediment thicknesses, suggestive of a protracted and polyphased rifting history. More importantly, the seismic reflection data show zones of focused faulting, which are incorporated into the plate model as inherited weakness zones. In addition, the seismic reflection data are used to assist in adjusting the geometry of the modelled zone of deformation on the Goban Spur. The present-day crustal thicknesses on the Goban Spur from the locally updated plate model agree with those derived from gravity inversion, providing a possible remedy for the crustal thickness discrepancy generated by existing models. The final locally updated plate model supports the hypothesis of compartmentalization of the continental region of the Goban Spur margin, highlights the significant role of inherited structures, and renews linkages between the Goban Spur and its potential conjugates during oblique rifting.

Magma-poor rifted margins, and their correspond ing potential zones of exhumed serpentinized mantle, rep resent a unique class of tectonic boundaries with enormous promise for advancing the energy transition, such as with hy drogen production and carbon sequestration and in the search for critical minerals. In this study, a synthesis of the results from seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection (RWAR) profiling and resulting velocity models across the continent ocean transitions of the southern North Atlantic Ocean is presented. The models are assessed and compared to un derstand characteristic basement types and upper mantle be haviour across the region and between conjugate margin pairs and to calibrate how their continent–ocean transition zones (COTZs) are defined. Ultimately, this work highlights the variable nature of continent–ocean transition zones, even within the magma-poor rifted margin end-member case, and points to avenues for future research to fill the knowledge gaps that will accelerate the energy transition.

Magma-poor rifted margins, and their correspond ing potential zones of exhumed serpentinized mantle, rep resent a unique class of tectonic boundaries with enormous promise for advancing the energy transition, such as with hy drogen production and carbon sequestration and in the search for critical minerals. In this study, a synthesis of the results from seismic refraction and wide-angle reflection (RWAR) profiling and resulting velocity models across the continent ocean transitions of the southern North Atlantic Ocean is presented. The models are assessed and compared to un derstand characteristic basement types and upper mantle be haviour across the region and between conjugate margin pairs and to calibrate how their continent–ocean transition zones (COTZs) are defined. Ultimately, this work highlights the variable nature of continent–ocean transition zones, even within the magma-poor rifted margin end-member case, and points to avenues for future research to fill the knowledge gaps that will accelerate the energy transition.

Plate kinematic models of the Pyrenees have been extensively debated due to discrepancies between plate ki nematic constraints for the Iberian plate and Atlantic/Tethyan related plate motions. Recently, the morphology of the Iberian plate and its partitioning into several continental blocks has been proposed as a solution towards reconciling discrepancies between previously published reconstructions that treat Iberia as a single, rigid, tec tonic plate. Herein, the first deformable plate tectonic modeling study of the Pyrenean realm is presented using previously published and newly presented reconstructions of Iberia. Special emphasis is given to the kinematics of the Ebro Block, a continental block situated between the Pyrenees and Iberian Ranges, whose kinematics are considered to play a key role in the extensional deformation experienced within the Pyrenean realm. Temporal variations in strain rate and crustal thickness calculated by deformable plate models provide insights regarding the pre-orogenic template of the Pyrenees and the variability in regional stress directions along the Iberia-Eurasia plate boundary from the Triassic to Cenomanian. Models that propose transtensional rift phases within the Pyrenean realm induced by the Landes High and Ebro Block kinematics since the Triassic are successful in deriving crustal thicknesses indicative of a pre-orogenic hyperextended rifted margin within the Pyrenean realm. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of continental block kinematics during rift-related defor mation and their impact on the evolution and partitioning of rift domains. Furthermore, this study also highlights potential avenues to consider for improving future plate kinematic models of Iberia, and regions elsewhere.

While the offshore Irish Atlantic margin and related rift basins have been intensively studied for several decades, the Porcupine Bank, straddling between the well-studied Porcupine and Rockall basins, is a poorly understood region due to lacking sufficient geophysical data coverage. In this study, ten newly acquired long-offset multi channel seismic profiles extending across the western Porcupine Bank margin, combined with potential field data, are used to investigate the crustal architecture, tectonic history, and rift-related magmatism along the margin. Significant margin-parallel and margin-perpendicular structural variations are observed and these are used to map the crustal architecture in terms of rifted margin domains. In the transitional zone between con tinental and oceanic crust, both peridotite ridges with shallow reflective basement and exhumed serpentinized mantle with deeper and smoother basement are interpreted, similar to the conjugate Iberian and Newfoundland margins, as well as further south at the Goban Spur margin. In addition to inferred variations in extension rate during poly-phased rifting episodes, the reactivation of pre-existing inherited Caledonian and Variscan structural fabrics are proposed to have influenced the variable geometries and distributions of the crustal domains along the Porcupine Atlantic margin. Northwestward increasing volcanism and related reflectivity patterns support the transition from magma-poor rifting in the southeast to magma-rich rifting in the northwest. Rigid plate re constructions of the Irish Atlantic and the Newfoundland margins, particularly involving the Flemish Cap, back to the Early Campanian period, show asymmetric rifting and final continental breakup migrating toward the Porcupine Bank region. This asymmetry is possibly due to oblique extension between the two margins, and/or oblique deformation on the Porcupine Bank side due to its rotation during the opening of the Porcupine Basin.

he Newfoundland - Irish Atlantic conjugate margin pair hosts more continental ribbons, failed rifts, and unusually sized and oriented sedimentary basins than anywhere else in the modern Atlantic Ocean. These margins also happen to have formed through rifting and breakup of the lithosphere that was involved in Appalachian-Caledonide orogenesis in the Paleozoic, with the Mesozoic propagating rift having impinged on the orogenic structures at an oblique angle. Here we combine results from 3D numerical modelling of oppositely propagating rifts, which are superimposed on deformable plate reconstructions of the southern North Atlantic. We propose that the rift oddities of the Newfoundland - Irish Atlantic conjugate margin pair resulted from the northward propagating rift responsible for the breakup of Pangea reactivating Appalachian-Caledonide inherited structures under extension, effectively turning them into a southward propagating rift. The interaction of the two rifts caused the formation and clockwise rotation of a large continental microplate, which was ultimately split by a transform fault into two smaller clockwise-rotated mirrored continental ribbons, namely the Flemish Cap and the Porcupine Bank. The rotations of these continental microplates, which created the Orphan and Porcupine sedimentary basins and failed rifts therein, show the influence of inherited orogenic structures on subsequent rifting.

The PIPCO Research Studies Group (RSG) supports technical work programmes including broad regional geological and geophysical projects. The work includes, where appropriate, new data acquisition (e.g., shallow drilling, seabed sampling, shallow/deep seismic, sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profiling), research cruise sponsorship and scholarship funding. Agreed projects have regard for the need to avoid duplication with projects carried out elsewhere. The principal activity of the company is the administration of contributory funds received from members and technical support to research contracts, including the orderly completion of any work still in progress, agreed by members, subject to available funding. To maximise the amount of work that PIPCO undertakes, every effort is made to forge links with other like-minded JIP groups active in the Atlantic region as well as local groups and Government agencies. The company also trades in research data, and this generates additional funds to support and extend the research program. Any requests for access to reports or associated data should contact Oonagh O'Loughlin at Oonagh.O'Loughlin@decc.gov.ie. Following publication of the Government’s Climate Action Plan in June 2019, members of the Irish Shelf Studies Group recognised that more focused evidence based scientific research was required to navigate Ireland through a socially just transition to the decarbonised energy system of the future. A new four-year strategy was developed and launched in January 2020. The overarching aim is to facilitate research activities in areas relevant to the goals of energy transition in Ireland. PIPCO provides a forum for collaboration and cooperation between Irish, European, and other international researchers and support innovation to create an Irish based energy transition service sector. It focuses on creating job opportunities in Ireland for Irish researchers and redundant Irish employees of oil and gas exploration companies using the data and skills generated by PIP over the last twenty years. To secure future funding for PIPCo to implement the new energy transition strategy, and in line with the current Programme for Government, the Secretariat sought and obtained instruction from the ISPSG management committee to enter negotiation with potential partners to develop relevant project proposals and seek co-funding from other funding agencies.