Deep seismic reflection profile DEKORP 1988-9N across the Northern Upper Rhine Graben, Southwest Germany

Abstract

The profile 9N was recorded in 1988 as part of the DEKORP project, the German deep seismic reflection program. The seismic survey of the ca. 92-km long line 9N was conducted to investigate the deep crustal structure of the northern Upper Rhine Graben with high-fold near-vertical incidence vibroseis acquisition. The objectives of the survey were to delineate the geometry of the major faults, which control the graben subsidence, to map the geometry of deep crustal reflection patterns and to reveal variations of the seismic signature of the lower crust in the context of rift formation. The first results were discussed by Wenzel et al. (1991), summarized by Brun et al. (1992) and supplemented by many other researches.

Since the Eocene the Upper Rhine Graben has represented an active rift system. It obliquely intersects the Saxothuringian and the Moldanubian domains, which are separated by the NW vergent and dextrally sheared Lalaye‐Lubine‐Baden‐Baden fault. In the northern Vosges and Black Forest massifs the shear zone is characterized by low-grade Devonian metasediments.

The profile starts in the crystalline Odenwald in the east, intersects the Tertiary and Quaternary fill of the Rhine Graben and ends in the late Palaeozoic sequences of the Saar-Nahe Basin in the west, where it crosses the Permian rhyolitic Donnersberg intrusion. The profile 1C creates a continuation of the survey to the west. The seismic section of 9N shows different crustal structures on both sides of the graben and some indications of dipping reflections in the mantle on the western side, which could refer to the genesis of the Upper Rhine Graben.

Additional Information

The German Continental Seismic Reflection Program DEKORP (DEutsches KOntinentales Reflexionsseismisches Programm) was carried out between 1984 – 1999 as the German national reflection seismic program funded by the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT), Bonn [now: the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)]. DEKORP was administrated by the former Geological Survey of Lower Saxony (NLfB), Hannover [now: the State Authority for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG)]. In 1994 the DEKORP management was taken over by the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.


The aim of DEKORP was to investigate the deep crustal structure of Germany with high-resolution near-vertical incidence (mostly vibro)seismic acquisition, supplemented by wide-angle seismic and other target-oriented piggy-back experiments, all complemented by optimized methods of data processing and interpretation. The DEKORP project was closely linked with the KTB (German continental deep-drilling program) and was an equivalent to many other deep-seismic programs world-wide such as COCORP, BIRPS, LITHOPROBE, ECORS, CROP, BELCORP, IBERSEIS and many more. The DEKORP-Atlas (Meissner & Bortfeld, 1990) gives a detailed overview about most of the different campaigns and results.

In sum, the resulting DEKORP database includes approximately 40 crustal-scale 2D-seismic reflection lines covering a total of ca. 4 700 km and one 3D-seismic reflection survey covering ca. 400 km². Each DEKORP survey is provided with all datasets that are necessary for either a re-processing (i.e. raw unstacked field records in SEGY) or a re-interpretation (i.e. finally processed sections in SEGY or PNG). The raw data are sorted by records or by CDPs. The final data are available as unmigrated or migrated stacks without or with coherency enhancement. Automatical line-drawings are also included. All data come with additional meta information for each domain (source, receiver, CDP) like coordinates, elevations, locations and static corrections combined in ASCII-tables for geometry assignment. Furthermore, all metadata originating from paper copies are made available as scanned files in PNG or PDF, e.g. field and observer reports, location maps in different scales, near-surface profile headers and others.

The DEKORP datasets provide unique and deep insights into the subsurface below Germany covering the earth’s crust from the surface to the upper mantle and are increasingly requested by academic institutions and commercial companies. Fields of applications are geothermal development, hazard analysis, hydrocarbon/shale gas exploration, underground gas storage, tunnel construction and much more.

Authors

• Stiller, Manfred;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Kaerger, Lauretta;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Agafonova, Tatiana;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Krawczyk, Charlotte;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Oncken, Onno;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Weber, Michael;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
• Former DEKORP Project Leaders
• Former DEKORP/ECORS Research Group
• Former DEKORP Processing Centre

Contact

• Stiller, Manfred; GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany; ➦

Contributors

Bortfeld, R.K.; Dohr, G.; Dürbaum, H.; Fertig, J.; Meissner, R.; Reichert, Ch.; Sadowiak, P.; Schmoll, J.; Wiederhold, H.; Albrecht, J.; Braukmueller, F.; Ehlers, M.; Horstmeyer, H.; Janoth, W.; Keller, F.; Körbe, M.; Leikam, T.; Pieper, F.; Prochnow, U.; Rehmann, V.; Thiele, T.; Thomas, R.; Weihrauch, U.; Blum, R.; Bois, C.; Burg, J.-P.; Coletta, B.; Durst, H.; Fuchs, K.; Grohmann, N.; Gutscher, M.-A.; Hübner, M.; Karcher, T.; Keßler, G.; Klöckner, M.; Lucazeau, F.; Lüschen, E.; Marthelot, J.-M.; Meier, L.; Ravat, M.; Vernassat, S.; Villemin, T.

Keywords

deep crustal structure, crustal-scale seismic survey, near-vertical incidence seismic reflection, Vibroseis acquisition, Northern Upper Rhine Graben, Variscan orogenic belts, Odenwald, Saar-Nahe Basin, rift system, Mohorovičić discontinuity, sedimentary graben fill, geothermal resources, seismic risks, DEKORP, Deutsches Kontinentales Reflexionsseismisches Programm, lithosphere > earth's crust

GCMD Science Keywords

• EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > EARTHQUAKES > SEISMIC PROFILE
• EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > TECTONICS > PLATE TECTONICS
• In Situ/Laboratory Instruments > Profilers/Sounders > SEISMIC REFLECTION PROFILERS