Soft-sediment remobilization and fluid flow processes and their products such as sand injectites, mud volcanoes, pipes, pockmarks and authigenic carbonates constitute a key, but under-appreciated component of sedimentary basins. The structures are evidence of and provide focused fluid pathways bypassing the stratigraphic and structural framework and thus have numerous implications for hydrocarbon exploration and production by influencing sediment and fluid distributions. Recent advances in subsurface imaging using high-resolution 3D seismic data, integrated with well data, geochemical data and outcrop data have greatly improved the understanding of subsurface sediment remobilization and fluid flow processes in sedimentary basins. This study presents substantial new results from the description, analysis and interpretation of products of subsurface remobilization processes and fluid flow based on all available data from the Northern North Sea and the Nigeria Transform Margin. The studied intervals, which encompass the entire Cenozoic and Cretaceous succession, have undergone repeated, large-scale remobilization and deformation of sediments through time. The North Sea is the archetype Giant Injected Sand Province (GISP) with kilometre-scale sandstone intrusions observed within multiple stratigraphic intervals, but this is the first time the northern North Sea has been systematically studied on a regional scale. Seismic-scale sandstone intrusions are well documented along the Atlantic Margin from the South Viking Graben, Outer Moray Firth, Norwegian-Danish Basin, Faroe-Shetland Basin and Barent Sea but primarily emplaced during one or two episodes. Results from the NNS show evidence for five major episodes of emplacement. These sandstones, believed to be sourced from different stratigraphic levels, have intruded thick polygonally-faulted, diatomaceous and smectite-rich mudstones; probably facilitated by hydrocarbons and diagenetically-released water in spatio-temporally varying proportions. The Cenozoic section of the Nigeria Transform Margin comprises up to 2 km of sediments, including recurrent mass transport deposits ranging between a few to tens of kilometres in length and constituting up to 25 % of the stratigraphic section. A series of fluid flow features such as pockmarks, pipes, bottom simulating reflections, polygonal faults and mound have been interpreted on the seabed and in the overburden; all of which provide evidence of focused fluid movement in the subsurface becoming more abundant towards the Niger Delta. Our study provides details on the geometries, scale, spatial distribution, potential causative mechanisms and implications of these soft-sediment remobilized and fluid flow products; as well as their relationships with other depositional and structural elements within the basin. It also reveals the extent by which sedimentary basins can be affected by these processes and therefore be incorporated into present stratigraphic frameworks and improve reservoir models.

Les marges transformantes, formées par le coulissage des plaques lors des premières étapes de l’ouverture océanique, ont été peu étudiées relativement aux marges divergentes. La marge de Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana fait figure d’exemple-type, et l’absence d’inventaire exhaustif ainsi que le peu d’étude de marges transformantes conjuguées entraîne une méconnaissance de la véritable diversité de ce type de marge. Deux approches ont été abordées dans ce mémoire. La première a consisté à les inventorier dans le monde à partir d’une méthodologie simple. Elles ont ensuite été comparées (physiographie et structure). La deuxième s’est concentrée sur l’étude tectono-sédimentaire des marges transformantes conjuguées des plateaux de Demerara et de Guinée. L’inventaire des marges transformantes a montré que les marges transformantes représentent 30% des marges passives. Leur distribution au sein de domaines océaniques ouverts de façon très oblique ou à l’intersection entre grands domaines reflète des conditions d’initiation spécifiques. 30% des marges transformantes se trouvent notamment en bordure d’un plateau marginal ; un type de bassin à l’histoire double nouvellement défini, qui semble associé à un fort amincissement crustal. Par ailleurs, on montre que les marges transformantes présentent des architectures diverses et sont souvent segmentées. L’étude des plateaux marginaux de Demerara et Guinée a permis de montrer qu’elles se mettent en place au niveau d’un domaine pré-aminci, sans doute guidées par des structures préexistantes. La nature du soubassement des plateaux est discutée : éventails sédimentaires ou volcaniques type SDR. La formation et l’évolution des marges transformantes en bordure des deux plateaux a été accompagnée de déformations intenses à l’approche des frontière océan-continents ainsi que de plusieurs épisodes de soulèvement et subsidence successifs de la bordure transformante, dont les origines et mécanismes sont discutés. / Transform margins form by transform motion between plates during early stages of oceanic spreading. They have been poorly studied in comparison with divergent margins, at least for the last 15 years. The Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana margin represents the best known example of a transform margin and is often considered as a model. However, the lack of a global complete inventory of such margins may lead to underestimate their diversity. Two approaches have been developed in this work. The first one consisted in a compiling world transform margins using a systematic and simple methodology. Those margins have then been compared (physiography, structure). In a second approach we analysed the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Demerara and Guinea conjugated transform-derived plateaus. The worldwide review of transform margins shows that those represent 30% of the existing passive margins. Their distribution inside very oblique oceanic domains, and at the intersection between oceanic domains of contrasted ages, reflects specific initiation conditions. 30% of those transform margins locate on the edge of marginal plateaus —newly defined type of basins— that seem to be associated with important crustal thinning. Furthermore, this inventory shows that transform margins display a great variety of architectures. The Demerara and Guinea marginal plateaus are bounded by transform margins that occur on an already thinned crust, probably along a preexisting structure. The nature of these plateaus basement is discussed: sedimentary or volcanic SDRs fan-shaped units? During the Equatorial Atlantic opening, the formation and evolution of Demerara and Guinea transform margins were accompanied by intense deformations close to the continent-ocean boundary and by several successive uplift and subsidence phases along the plateaus borders. Their origin and mechanisms are discussed.

The Brazilian Equatorial Margin is a transform passive margin with long fracture zones and several seamounts, including the Ceará Plateau, as the largest one. This is a very complex and poorly known area, with very few available research data. The geophysical approach was used to achieve a better understanding, and to guide further surveys. Gravity and magnetic data from the Equant I Project, seismic published lines and previous studies were applied to make several models and analyses. The gravity and the magnetic anomaly sources seemed to be the same, related to a denser and magnetized basement. It is estimated the basement surface between 800 and 6000 m and the Mohorovičić discontinuity, which is about 22-23 km below the Ceará Plateau. It is also presented and discussed the position of the continent-ocean boundary, recognized at approximately 40 km from the continental shelf, that locate the plateau at the oceanic crust. The area of the transitional crust, with an extension of 40-50 km, represents the altered continental crust, formed during the rift phase, previous to the Atlantic Ocean. The lack of data gives some limitation to the analysis, and add some uncertainties in the results, which are discussed along this thesis. / A Margem Equatorial Brasileira é uma margem passiva transformante com longas zonas de fratura e diversos montes submarinos, incluindo o Platô do Ceará, o maior deles. Essa é uma área muito complexa e pouco conhecida, com poucos dados disponíveis. A abordagem geofísica foi utilizada para alcançar uma melhor compreensão da área e para guiar próximas pesquisas. Dados gravimétricos e magnéticos do Projeto Equant I, linhas sísmicas publicadas e estudos prévios foram aplicados para desenvolver os modelos e as análises. A fonte das anomalias gravimétricas e magnéticas pareceram ser as mesmas, relacionadas a um embasamento mais denso e magnetizado. É estimada a superfície do embasamento entre 800 e 6000 m e a descontinuidade de Mohorovičić, aproximadamente a 22-23 km abaixo do Platô do Ceará. Foi também apresentada e discutida a posição do limite crosta continental-oceânica, aproximadamente a 40 km da plataforma continental, colocando o platô na crosta oceânica. A área da crosta transicional, com uma extensão de 40-50 km, demarca uma crosta continental mais alterada, formada durante a fase rifte, anterior à abertura do Oceano Atlântico. A falta de dados limitou as análises, e certamente implicou em diversas incertezas nos resultados, que são discutidas durante esta dissertação.

The Brazilian Equatorial Margin is a transform passive margin with long fracture zones and several seamounts, including the Ceará Plateau, as the largest one. This is a very complex and poorly known area, with very few available research data. The geophysical approach was used to achieve a better understanding, and to guide further surveys. Gravity and magnetic data from the Equant I Project, seismic published lines and previous studies were applied to make several models and analyses. The gravity and the magnetic anomaly sources seemed to be the same, related to a denser and magnetized basement. It is estimated the basement surface between 800 and 6000 m and the Mohorovičić discontinuity, which is about 22-23 km below the Ceará Plateau. It is also presented and discussed the position of the continent-ocean boundary, recognized at approximately 40 km from the continental shelf, that locate the plateau at the oceanic crust. The area of the transitional crust, with an extension of 40-50 km, represents the altered continental crust, formed during the rift phase, previous to the Atlantic Ocean. The lack of data gives some limitation to the analysis, and add some uncertainties in the results, which are discussed along this thesis. / A Margem Equatorial Brasileira é uma margem passiva transformante com longas zonas de fratura e diversos montes submarinos, incluindo o Platô do Ceará, o maior deles. Essa é uma área muito complexa e pouco conhecida, com poucos dados disponíveis. A abordagem geofísica foi utilizada para alcançar uma melhor compreensão da área e para guiar próximas pesquisas. Dados gravimétricos e magnéticos do Projeto Equant I, linhas sísmicas publicadas e estudos prévios foram aplicados para desenvolver os modelos e as análises. A fonte das anomalias gravimétricas e magnéticas pareceram ser as mesmas, relacionadas a um embasamento mais denso e magnetizado. É estimada a superfície do embasamento entre 800 e 6000 m e a descontinuidade de Mohorovičić, aproximadamente a 22-23 km abaixo do Platô do Ceará. Foi também apresentada e discutida a posição do limite crosta continental-oceânica, aproximadamente a 40 km da plataforma continental, colocando o platô na crosta oceânica. A área da crosta transicional, com uma extensão de 40-50 km, demarca uma crosta continental mais alterada, formada durante a fase rifte, anterior à abertura do Oceano Atlântico. A falta de dados limitou as análises, e certamente implicou em diversas incertezas nos resultados, que são discutidas durante esta dissertação.