Prof. Anthony B. Watts

WORKSHOP Guidelines

1. Overall Purpose :

to develop a new, European-led, programme to study passive continental margins.

2. Workshop organisation :

the workshop will be organised along three scientific themes : rifting processes and deep structure, sedimentary processes and deposits, and fluid flow processes.

Particular emphasis should be given to conjugate margin settings and the following outstanding scientific problems :

• the deep structure and rifting processes of conjugate passive margins
• the along-strike "segmentation" of passive margins and the structure, rheology and tectonic and magmatic styles of rifted continental crust and upper mantle
• the symmetry/assymetry of sedimentary systems and processes such as deep-sea depositional systems and slope failures
• the relative role of factors such as tectonic setting, climate, sea-level and magmatism in controlling the architecture of stratigraphic sequences in rift-type basins
• the relative role of factors such as tectonic setting and stratigraphic architecture in the control of the flow of fluids in passive margin systems
• the societal importance of continental slopes and rises, especially as they relate to hydrocarbon exploration and production, the economic potential of gas hydrates, the development of deep-water biological communities and, occurence of natural hazards.

3. Focus

Passive continental margins are an important feature of the world's main ocean basins. They are also a prominent feature of the rock record and remnents of passive margin systems are now recognised in the orogenic belts.

The workshop should focus, however, on certain "target" conjugate pairs in which the above scientific problems can be addressed and where high-quality geological and geophysical data already exist on at least one margin. Examples of such conjugate areas include :

• the NW African margin and its conjugate East Coast, USA margin
• the region of the intersection of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone with the margin of southern Rockall Bank and Porcupine Bank and its conjugate offshore E Canada
• the SW Greenland margin and its conjugate margin offshore NE Canada
• the Voring-Lofoten margin and its conjugate off NE Greenland
• the South Atlantic margins, especially the conjugate "pairs" of Brazil and Angola and, Argentina and Namibia.

4. Activities

The workshop will comprise of "keynote" speakers and working group discussions. One of the main activities of the working group will be to synthesise the results of a "statements of interest" which will be solicited from the European-wide community. Individual statements may concern target areas, data acquisition and modelling and will be evaluated according to :

• scientific relevance
• the degree of readiness (e.g. with regard to existing data or available equipment)
• the additional work that is needed

5. Main Outcome :

We envisage that the main outcome of the workshop will be a prioritised list of possible programmes which the Network co-ordination Committee, in consultation with the scientific and industrial community, might put forward as a possible programme to the ESF for support by the national funding agencies, the EU, and other sources.