Stratigraphic relationships between the Colombian, Sinú Offshore and Sinú-San Jacinto basins based on seismic stratigraphy

Relações estratigráficas entre as bacias Colômbia, Sinú Offshore e Sinú-San Jacinto baseadas em estratigrafia sísmica

There are diverse controversial and contradictory models about the geological history of the Caribbean region. Some issues such as the origin of the Caribbean plate, the nature of basement of the Caribbean basins and the regional tectonics, have been in discussion during decades. There are disperse and punctual studies across the Caribbean. Application of seismic stratigraphy in regional seismic lines across the Colombian, Sinú Offshore and Sinú-San Jacinto basins suggests a stratigraphic continuity between these regions. A chronostratigraphic chart of the Colombian and Sinú Offshore basins based on stratal terminations and seismic facies was proposed. Seven stratigraphic stages were identified in the Colombian, Sinú Offshore and Sinú-San Jacinto basins, which, also, have been recognized across the Caribbean region. First stratigraphic stage was characterized by continental to restricted marine deposition during a Triassic/Jurassic rifting. Second, third and fourth stages correspond with deposition of a wide carbonate platform in the Cretaceous, sandy carbonate platform during the Paleocene and carbonate and coarse-grained fluvial sedimentation during the Eocene, respectively. Another stage was characterized by rising of base level and deep-water deposition (turbidites and pelagic/hemipelagic sediments) during the Oligocene. The Early to Middle Miocene was characterized by shallow marine to fluvial sedimentation during falling base level, which was controlled by episodic events of tectonic inversion. During the Late Miocene to recent, the sedimentation consisted of terrigenous coarse-grained deposits. Stratigraphic relationships between these zones, suggest a shared geological history between the Caribbean and northern South America. The geologic continuity founded in this study is easily explained by the model of an in situ origin for the Caribbean plate.

Caribbean; rifting; sequence; seismic stratigraphy