Kinematic subsidence modelling of the Lower Rhine Basin

Abstract

Kinematic geological models can greatly enhance our understanding of the interaction and timing of processes involved in the formation of sedimentary basins. The prototype tool for the calculation and visualisation of such models presented here is aimed at studying subsidence rates and patterns at basin scale: A backstripping algorithm is applied to a geometrical 3D-model consisting of prismatic volumes, constructed from an initial set of stacked triangulated surfaces. As a result, we obtain a collection of palinspastically restored volumes for each timestep of basin evolution. The backstripped volumes of each layer are then arranged within a timescene, and the set of timescenes collected as a hierarchical timetree. By interpolating between succeeding key-frames, the subsidence history of the basin can be viewed as an interactive, continuous animation. The approach is illustrated using a high-resolution dataset from the German part of the Cenozoic Lower Rhine Basin.