The Wessex Basin is a petroleum-bearing geological area located along the southern coast of England and extending into the English Channel.[1] The onshore part of the basin covers approximately 20,000 km2 and the area that encompasses the English Channel is of similar size.[2] The basin is a rift basin that was created during the Permian to early Cretaceous in response to movement of the African plate relative to the Eurasian plate.[3] In the late Cretaceous, and again in the Cenozoic, the basin was inverted as a distant effect of the Alpine orogeny.[3] The basin is usually divided into 3 main sub-basins including the Winterborne-Kingston Trough, Channel Basin, and Vale of Pewsey Basin.[3] The area is also rich in hydrocarbons with several offshore wells in the area.[4] With the large interest in the hydrocarbon exploration of the area, data became more readily available, which improved the understanding of the type of inversion tectonics that characterize this basin.[3][5]
- ^ Stoneley, R (January 1982). "The Structural Development of the Wessex Basin". Journal of the Geological Society. 139 (4): 543–554. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.139.4.0543.
- ^ Chadwick, R.A (January 1993). "Aspects of Basin Inversion in Southern Britain". Journal of the Geological Society. 150 (2): 311–322. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.150.2.0311.
- ^ a b c d Lake, Stuart; Karner, Garry D. (1987). "The Structure and evolution of the Wessex Basin, Southern England: An Example of Inversion Tectonics". Tectonophysics. 137 (1–4): 347–378. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(87)90328-3.
- ^ Underhill, J.R; Paterson, S. (January 1998). "Genesis of Tectonic Inversion Structures: Seismic Evidence for the Development of Key Structures along the Purbeck-Isle of Wight Disturbance". Journal of the Geological Society. 155 (6): 975–992. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.155.6.0975.
- ^ Worden, R.H; Benshatwan, M.S; Potts, G.J; Elgarmadi, S.M (2016). "Basin Scale Fluid Movement Patterns Revealed by Veins Wessex Basin U.K". Geofluids. 16: 149–174. doi:10.1111/gfl.12141.