ABSTRACT: The Contribution of an Integrated Analysis of Satellite Imagery, Gravity, and Magnetic Data to the Recognition of Structural/Stratigraphic Traps in the Alberta Basin, Canada

Z. Berger, H. W. Posamentier

Cretaceous fluvial channels and shoreline sand bodies constitute significant reservoirs in the Alberta basin, Canada. These sandstones form statigraphic traps that appear to be localized in relatively short linear or arcuate segments of incised valleys and other paleotopographic depressions. These types of hydrocarbon traps are difficult to detect on seismic data; furthermore, in many instances the spatial distribution of these traps appears to be random and unpredictable.

An integrated analysis of Landsat imagery, gravity, and aeromagnetic data was conducted to test the hypothesis that the location of these sand bodies was controlled by syndepositional topographic features related to deep-seated structures. The results of this study show that the location of several producing fields in the Alberta basin was influenced by the presence of subtle topographic features that developed in response to basement structures as well as buried Devonian reefs. This effect on sedimentation was particularly evident during the deposition of Mannville Group (lower Cretaceous) sandstones. Several of the producing sandstones appear to be localized in incised valleys and other topographic depressions that developed around deeper domal structures as well as around buried De onian reefs, all detectable through Landsat imagery, gravity, and magnetic data. Furthermore, the influence of these structures on sedimentation can be predicted using stratigraphic/structural models derived from experimental and modern analogs.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990