4.1.1. Geological Setting

Our modelling work focuses on a few stratigraphic sequences of siliciclastic deposition. It aims at representing the sedimentary dynamics classically observed in a passive margin, notably the morphology of stratigraphic system tracks, with gradating deposition, discordant stratification, and lateral facies' variations. These geological features are commonly integrated in operational basin models of the petroleum industry, but more rarely in published hydro-mechanical simulations, as they often involve a higher level of idealization.

Among other inspirations, the modeled sequences can be related to the sediments of Eocene age in the Brazilian oil-bearing Santos basin, as described in [80]. In this example, they were deposited in a relatively short amount of space and time (30 km and 12 My). More generally, the modeled sequences represent common sedimentation patterns, but the accumulations in passive margin basins usually consists in their repetition through longer time periods and deposited volumes. Consequently, the structural evolution of passive margins at large time or space scales (i.e., hundreds of km and My) is beyond the scope of this work.
