An Interactive 5-Day Training Course
Palaeoclimate, Palaeogeography & Stratigraphic Prediction
Reconstructing Ancient Climates to Predict Plays
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Duration
5 Days
Price
$ 3,500
Starting From
07 Jun 2027
Home Geology and Geoscience Palaeoclimate, Palaeogeography & Stratigraphic Prediction
Palaeoclimate, Palaeogeography & Stratigraphic Prediction
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Palaeoclimate, Palaeogeography & Stratigraphic Prediction - GG-PALEO-PEA27
| Code | Date | Time | Duration | Location | Currency | Early Bird Fee Per Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GG-PALEO-PEA27 | 07 - 11 Jun 2027 | 10 AM CST | 4 Hours Per Day |
Online |
USD |
3500 |
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Palaeoclimate, Palaeogeography & Stratigraphic Prediction
This training covers palaeoclimatic and palaeogeographic reconstruction as an exploration tool. It works through plate reconstruction and palaeolatitude determination, climate through geological time, ocean circulation upwelling and anoxia, the climatic control on source reservoir and seal facies, evaporite and carbonate distribution by climate belt, orbital forcing and cyclostratigraphy, and the prediction of play elements in frontier basins.
Description
Where a basin sat on the globe when its rocks were deposited determines a great deal about what is in it. Palaeolatitude controls climate, which controls whether carbonates or clastics dominate, whether evaporites formed, whether coals accumulated, whether aeolian systems developed and how intensely source rocks were deposited. Continental configuration controls ocean circulation, which controls upwelling, productivity and anoxia. For a frontier basin with little data, reconstructing this is one of the few routes to a defensible prediction about play elements.
This training develops the reconstruction and its application. Plate reconstruction is established first, covering the evidence base, reconstruction methods, reference frames, palaeolatitude determination and the uncertainty in each. Climate through geological time follows, covering greenhouse and icehouse states, the major climatic transitions, atmospheric composition and its effects, and the general circulation patterns that result from a given continental configuration. Ocean circulation is then developed: surface and deep circulation, upwelling systems and their controls, oxygen minimum zones, restricted basin circulation and the conditions that produce widespread anoxia. Facies distribution by climate belt follows, covering the latitudinal distribution of carbonate production, evaporite formation, coal accumulation, aeolian systems, glacial deposits and weathering regimes. Source rock development is then addressed in its climatic and oceanographic context, including the ocean anoxic events. Orbital forcing and cyclostratigraphy are covered as the high resolution expression of climatic control. The training closes with the application of reconstruction to frontier basin screening and play element prediction.
Latitude controls facies distribution in ways that are directly predictive. Carbonate production is concentrated in warm shallow water, which restricts major platform development to low latitudes in most of geological time. Evaporites require net evaporation, which concentrates them in the arid subtropical belts around twenty to thirty degrees of latitude. Coals require high precipitation and accumulate in the equatorial and temperate humid belts. Aeolian systems form in the arid belts, often adjacent to the evaporite belt. A reconstruction that places a basin at a given palaeolatitude therefore immediately indicates which of these to expect.
Source rock deposition is controlled by oceanography as much as by climate. Upwelling along the western margins of continents brings nutrient-rich water to the surface, driving high productivity and the development of oxygen minimum zones that preserve organic matter. Restricted basins with limited deep water exchange become anoxic regardless of productivity. The ocean anoxic events of the Mesozoic deposited organic-rich sediment across wide areas under conditions of warm climate, sluggish circulation and high sea level. Each of these mechanisms has a geographic expression that can be predicted from a reconstruction.
Climate state has changed fundamentally through geological time and the present is not a good analogue for most of it. For long intervals the Earth was in a greenhouse state with no permanent polar ice, high sea level, reduced equator to pole temperature gradients and sluggish ocean circulation, which produced very different sedimentary patterns from those of the icehouse world we observe today. Applying present-day climate belt positions and oceanographic patterns to a Cretaceous or Jurassic reconstruction produces predictions that are systematically wrong.
Finally, the prediction is a screening tool with real uncertainty and it should be presented that way. Plate reconstructions have positional uncertainty that increases with age, palaeolatitude is better constrained than palaeolongitude, and climate models for deep time are not precise. What the method delivers is a reasoned expectation about which play elements should be present and which should not, which is enough to rank basins and to focus more expensive work. It is not a substitute for data where data exists.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Apply plate reconstruction methods and determine palaeolatitude with its uncertainty
- Describe climate states through geological time and their sedimentary consequences
- Interpret ocean circulation patterns from continental configuration
- Assess upwelling, oxygen minimum zones and restricted basin anoxia
- Predict carbonate, evaporite, coal and aeolian distribution by climate belt
- Assess weathering regimes and their effect on sediment supply and composition
- Relate source rock development to climatic and oceanographic conditions
- Apply orbital forcing and cyclostratigraphic methods
- Construct palaeogeographic maps for a target interval
- Predict play elements in frontier basins from reconstruction evidence
The training works through reconstruction exercises for real basins, with participants determining palaeolatitude for target intervals, assessing the climate and oceanographic setting, and predicting which play elements should be present. Predictions are then compared against the known geology of those basins. Published palaeogeographic and climate model outputs are reviewed for what they constrain and where they disagree. Frontier acreage is screened using the method and the resulting ranking compared against subsequent drilling results where available.
Organisations sending participants to this training will:
- Screen frontier basins on reasoned palaeogeographic grounds
- Predict source, reservoir and seal presence before data acquisition
- Avoid applying present-day climate patterns to deep time reconstructions
- Improve regional and new ventures evaluation quality
- Identify analogue basins on sound palaeogeographic criteria
- Build regional geological capability across exploration teams
Participants will:
- Reconstruct palaeogeography and palaeolatitude for a target interval
- Predict facies distribution from climate belt position
- Assess source rock potential from oceanographic reasoning
- Apply cyclostratigraphy where high resolution is needed
- Screen frontier basins systematically
- Build regional and global geological perspective
- Exploration geoscientists working in frontier basins
- New ventures and regional evaluation staff
- Basin analysts and regional geologists
- Geochemists assessing source rock distribution
- Stratigraphers working on regional correlation
- Portfolio and licence round evaluation staff
- Experienced geoscientists requiring regional screening capability
Module 1 - Plate Reconstruction and Palaeolatitude
- Plate tectonic reconstruction principles
- Evidence: magnetic anomalies, fracture zones, hotspots
- Palaeomagnetic determination of palaeolatitude
- Apparent polar wander paths
- Reference frames and their differences
- Longitude uncertainty and its consequences
- Reconstruction software and published models
- Uncertainty growth with increasing age
- Terrane accretion and displaced blocks
- Reconstructing a specific basin position
- Presenting reconstruction uncertainty
Module 2 - Climate Through Geological Time
- Greenhouse and icehouse climate states
- Major climatic transitions in the Phanerozoic
- Atmospheric carbon dioxide through time
- Temperature proxies and their reliability
- Equator to pole temperature gradients
- Sea level and its climatic control
- Ice sheet development and glacial periods
- Climate model outputs for deep time
- Uncertainty in deep time climate reconstruction
- Why the present is a poor analogue for much of the past
- Climate state and its sedimentary consequences
Module 3 - Atmospheric and Ocean Circulation
- General atmospheric circulation and climate belts
- Hadley, Ferrel and polar cells
- Monsoonal circulation and its controls
- Continental configuration effects on circulation
- Surface ocean circulation and gyres
- Deep ocean circulation and its drivers
- Upwelling systems and their geography
- Oxygen minimum zones
- Restricted basin circulation and stagnation
- Seaway development and its circulation effects
- Palaeoceanographic reconstruction methods
- Circulation prediction from reconstruction
Module 4 - Climate Control on Facies Distribution
- Latitudinal distribution of carbonate production
- Carbonate platform development by climate belt
- Cool water carbonate systems
- Evaporite formation and the arid belts
- Evaporite basins and their palaeolatitude
- Coal accumulation and humid belts
- Coal distribution through geological time
- Aeolian systems and arid belt position
- Glacial deposits and polar positions
- Weathering regimes by climate
- Sediment supply and composition effects
- Predicting facies from reconstructed latitude
Module 5 - Source Rock Development in Context
- Conditions required for source rock accumulation
- Upwelling driven productivity
- Restricted basin anoxia
- Lacustrine source rock settings
- Ocean anoxic events and their extent
- Sea level control on source rock deposition
- Climate control on organic matter type
- Terrestrial organic input and its geography
- Source rock distribution through geological time
- Predicting source rock presence from reconstruction
- Source rock quality prediction
- Testing source predictions against known basins
Module 6 - Orbital Forcing and Cyclostratigraphy
- Orbital parameters: eccentricity, obliquity, precession
- Milankovitch periodicities and their stability
- Climatic response to orbital forcing
- Sedimentary expression of orbital cycles
- Cyclicity in carbonate successions
- Cyclicity in lacustrine and fine-grained successions
- Spectral analysis methods
- Time series analysis of log and core data
- Astronomical tuning and time scale calibration
- Resolution achievable from cyclostratigraphy
- Applications in correlation and sedimentation rate
- Limitations and common errors
Module 7 - Palaeogeographic Map Construction
- Data sources for palaeogeographic reconstruction
- Published global and regional compilations
- Well and outcrop control points
- Facies maps and their construction
- Shoreline and bathymetry reconstruction
- Drainage and sediment entry point mapping
- Structural restoration input
- Map scale and detail appropriate to data
- Time slice selection
- Uncertainty representation on maps
- Updating maps as data accumulates
- Presenting palaeogeographic interpretations
Module 8 - Application to Frontier Exploration
- Basin screening using reconstruction
- Predicting source rock presence and quality
- Predicting reservoir facies distribution
- Predicting seal presence: evaporites and shales
- Trap style prediction from tectonic setting
- Timing of charge relative to trap formation
- Analogue basin identification on palaeogeographic grounds
- Conjugate margin analogues
- Ranking frontier basins systematically
- Integrating reconstruction with source-to-sink reasoning
- Communicating predictions with their uncertainty
- Cases where reconstruction guided successful exploration
Upon successful completion of this training course, delegates will be awarded an official Certificate of Completion issued by the Petroleum Engineers Association (PEA), an ISO 9001:2015 certified training organization. The certificate carries 10 Credits and formally records the total learning hours completed.
Each certificate is signed by the Course Facilitator and the CEO of the Petroleum Engineers Association, and serves as verifiable proof of professional training that delegates can present to employers and professional bodies worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
All course bookings made through PEA are strictly non-refundable. By registering for a course, you acknowledge and accept that all fees are payable in full and are not subject to refund under any circumstances, including changes in personal or professional commitments or partial attendance.
PEA reserves the right to make reasonable adjustments to course content, trainers, or schedules where necessary, without entitling delegates to a refund. Comprehensive details of each course — including objectives, target audience, and content — are clearly outlined before enrolment, and it is the responsibility of the delegate to ensure the course's suitability prior to booking.
For any inquiries related to cancellations or bookings, please contact our support team, who will be happy to assist you.
