Characteristics and evolution of a dynamic prograding continental margin: the late Neogene Giant Foresets Formation, northern Taranaki Basin, New Zealand
type: CreativeWork
description: The Pliocene-Pleistocene Giant Foresets Formation represents the progradation and development of the modem continental margin in northern Taranaki Basin. The dynamic evolution of this formation is fundamentally linked to a Pliocene-Pleistocene increase in sediment flux sourced from South Island, to extensional graben formation in northern Taranaki Basin, to flexural subsidence in Wanganui Basin, and to uplift and erosion in King Country Basin. The development of the Giant Foresets Formation is summarised in this thesis by a series of paleogeographic maps based on the interpretation of wireline data from hydrocarbon exploration holes, industry-acquired seismic reflection data, and the paleoenvironmental interpretation of foraminiferal data derived from well cuttings samples. Outbuilding of the modem continental shelf-slope margin began during the Early Miocene as the regressive phase of a 1ˢᵗ-order megacycle. Four 2ⁿᵈ-order cycles superimposed on this megacycle have been identified in Taranaki, Wanganui and King Country Basins. The evolution of the Giant Foresets Formation is closely linked to the youngest two megacycles: the Mid Miocene-earliest Pliocene Whangamomona Group/megacycle, and the mid Pliocene-Pleistocene Rangitikei Supergroup/megacycle. The Whangamomona Group includes the Otunui, Mount Messenger, Urenui and Kiore Formations. The continental margin associated with the Whangamomona Group had only limited extent in southern and eastern parts of Taranaki Basin. The Rangitikei Supergroup in Wanganui Basin includes the Tangahoe Mudstone and younger Plio-Pleistocene sediments. The Giant Foresets Formation represents the Rangitikei Supergroup in northern Taranaki Basin. Revision of the biostratigraphy of four well sections, and integration with biostratigraphic data from other well sections, has highlighted the development in northern Taranaki Basin of a region-wide unconformity between Miocene (Late Tongaporutuan to Late Kapitean) and Pliocene (Early to mid Opo…
abstract: The Pliocene-Pleistocene Giant Foresets Formation represents the progradation and development of the modem continental margin in northern Taranaki Basin. The dynamic evolution of this formation is fundamentally linked to a Pliocene-Pleistocene increase in sediment flux sourced from South Island, to extensional graben formation in northern Taranaki Basin, to flexural subsidence in Wanganui Basin, and to uplift and erosion in King Country Basin. The development of the Giant Foresets Formation is summarised in this thesis by a series of paleogeographic maps based on the interpretation of wireline data from hydrocarbon exploration holes, industry-acquired seismic reflection data, and the paleoenvironmental interpretation of foraminiferal data derived from well cuttings samples. Outbuilding of the modem continental shelf-slope margin began during the Early Miocene as the regressive phase of a 1ˢᵗ-order megacycle. Four 2ⁿᵈ-order cycles superimposed on this megacycle have been identified in Taranaki, Wanganui and King Country Basins. The evolution of the Giant Foresets Formation is closely linked to the youngest two megacycles: the Mid Miocene-earliest Pliocene Whangamomona Group/megacycle, and the mid Pliocene-Pleistocene Rangitikei Supergroup/megacycle. The Whangamomona Group includes the Otunui, Mount Messenger, Urenui and Kiore Formations. The continental margin associated with the Whangamomona Group had only limited extent in southern and eastern parts of Taranaki Basin. The Rangitikei Supergroup in Wanganui Basin includes the Tangahoe Mudstone and younger Plio-Pleistocene sediments. The Giant Foresets Formation represents the Rangitikei Supergroup in northern Taranaki Basin. Revision of the biostratigraphy of four well sections, and integration with biostratigraphic data from other well sections, has highlighted the development in northern Taranaki Basin of a region-wide unconformity between Miocene (Late Tongaporutuan to Late Kapitean) and Pliocene (Early to mid Opo…
author: Hansen, Rochelle J.
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/aea01cc7-8dd8-4c00-8285-66a426cd6566/download
date published: 2003
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:36Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato