Thermal maturation of the Lower Palaeozoic strata of northern Greenland from conodont colour alteration index (CAI) data: implications for burial history and hydrocarbon exploration

Conodont colour alteration data for the Lower Palaeozoic strata of the North Greenland carbonate platform indicate a pattern of increased thermal maturity northwards within the Franklinian Basin. There is little variation in values through the Canadian-Llandovery (Lower Ordovician-Lower Silurian) interval at any given locality. A simplified thermal model for the platform suggests that the predominant control of conodont colour alteration and thermal maturation was maximum depth of burial, which occurred during the mid- to late Silurian. A preliminary integrated scheme for conodont and organic thermal maturity indicators can be compiled from the data now available from North Greenland.