The BASAN Group (Basin Analyses, XM-3: University of Vigo) is a multidisciplinary group formally constituted in 2007. This is a stable, multidisciplinary research group, but with common objectives and lines of work, capable of promoting collaboration with other lines and complementary research groups, both from the University of Vigo, the Galician University System and other national or foreign institutions.
The research developed by the BASAN Group during the last years ranges from the integral study of the basins to the high-resolution characterization of their sedimentary infill. Therefore, the scientific and technical methods we use are diverse: large-scale geophysical studies, use of different sediment sampling techniques, and application of methodological approaches of different nature (geological, geochemical, biological), including edaphic and microscopic analysis of the biological content.
The comprehensive basin studies we carry out include the analysis of various proxies of the sedimentary record (elemental analysis, granulometry, organic matter content, pollen, dinoflagellate cysts, other non-pollen palynomorphs, environmental DNA, etc.), within the context of tectonic evolution, relative sea level changes and climate change. This analysis involves the identification of the most relevant seismic reflectors, which indicate the most significant changes in the sedimentary history of the basin. Besides, it pretends the identification and delimitation of seismic anomalies (related to gas reservoirs). Moreover, the dating and characterization of sedimentary environments; and the study of the nature of the organic component of the sediment, as well as the processes of biogenic gas formation and the factors that control its genesis or condition its net balance, including climatic changes, hydrographic and hydrologic changes, and relative variations in sea level.
The basic objectives of basin analyses are to:
1. The definition and description of the sedimentary basin.
2. The analysis of the sediments of its fill.
3. The analysis of the controlling factors, i.e. the input (source) of sediment to the basin, subsidence/uplift of the basin floor and sea level variations (climate). The relationships between these factors are more important than their magnitude.