This proposal requests funds for a detailed study of the tectonic evolution and depositional history of Permian sedimentary rocks on the Central Basin Platform, Permian Basin. The Central Basin Platform (CBP) is similar to other foreland uplifts. The results from an integrated study of Permian sequence stratigraphic relationships across the platform, geophysical data, and quantitative subsidence analyses will provide important information about the tectonic origin and depositional history of this complex structure. This study also will present an unique intrabasinal test of sequence stratigraphic concepts. The objectives of the proposed research are: 1) to determine the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the CBP through detailed analysis of pre-Leonardian structures and uplift history of the CBP; 2) to better constrain tectonic models for the origin of the Permian Basin area; 3) to integrate structural analyses of the CBP into larger-scale models of the tectonic evolution of the Marathon- Ouachita foreland and the Ancestral Rocky Mountains; 4) to determine the Permian subsidence history along several east-west transects across the CBP and adjacent parts of the Midland and Delaware Basins; 5) to determine the relative effects of subsidence, eustasy, sedimentation rate, and paleogeographic position of the evolution of Permian depositional facies from the platform interior and across platform-to-basin transitions around the CBP; 6) to identify the controls that pre-Premian structures of the CBP have on Permian subsidence history and facies architecture; 7) to develop a better understanding of the origin of foreland uplifts and their response to convergence events; and 8) to relate all the of the above objectives to future hydrocarbon exploration and production strategies on the CBP.
