Compaction of diagenetically altered mudstones - Part 1: Mechanical and chemical contributions

Goulty, N.R.; Sargent, C.; Andras, P.; Aplin, A.C.

doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.07.015

Compaction of diagenetically altered mudstones - Part 1: Mechanical and chemical contributions

Goulty, N.R.; Sargent, C.; Andras, P.; Aplin, A.C.

Authors

N.R. Goulty

C. Sargent

P. Andras

Professor Andrew Aplin a.c.aplin@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Professor

Abstract

At low temperatures, siliciclastic mudstones compact mechanically. Above 70C, where the smectite-to-illite transformation dominates clay diagenesis, they also compact chemically, provided that excess pore water can escape. There are two prevailing conceptual models for the compaction of siliciclastic mudstones at higher temperatures, above ~100C. One holds that precipitation of minerals during diagenesis cements the mudstones such that mechanical compaction no longer occurs even if the mudstones can drain freely. According to the other model, diagenetically altered mudstones continue to compact mechanically in response to increasing effective stress. We found that wireline-log and pressure data from Cretaceous mudstones at Haltenbanken are consistent with ongoing mechanical compaction accompanying chemical compaction up to at least 130C. We suggest that mechanical compaction continues because grain contacts in siliciclastic mudstones following smectite-to-illite transformation are still mostly between clay grains.

Citation

Goulty, N., Sargent, C., Andras, P., & Aplin, A. (2016). Compaction of diagenetically altered mudstones - Part 1: Mechanical and chemical contributions. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 77, 703-713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.07.015

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 18, 2016
Online Publication Date	Jul 19, 2016
Publication Date	Nov 1, 2016
Deposit Date	Aug 1, 2016
Publicly Available Date	Jul 19, 2017
Journal	Marine and Petroleum Geology
Print ISSN	0264-8172
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	77
Pages	703-713
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2016.07.015

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© 2016 This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/