Petroleum geology of the north European margin / Геология углеводородов северной границы Европы

Two hundred years of mapping and drilling have given us a reasonable model of the continents, and nearly two decades of deep sea drilling have shown at least a cartoon of the oceanic crust. The transition between continent and ocean remains, however, almost unknown, the 'new frontier' of geological exploration. Much current research in earth science is based on applying the plate tectonic model to problems as diverse as continental orogeny, palaeooceanography, and metallogeny. Plate tectonics, developed in large part from geophysical and geological information gathered from the world's oceans, is now playing a key role in explaining the geological events and processes that shaped the continents. The continental margins play key roles in the plate tectonic model. Moreover, they represent the largest unexplored area where we might find gas and oil. 
We speak of two types of continental margin, active and passive. A third type, transform margins, of which the San Andreas fault system is an example, may occur in conjunction with either active or passive margins. An active margin is occasioned by the collision or the convergence of two crustal plates, one of which carries a continent at its edge. The active margin along the Pacific coast of South America is formed by the Nazca Plate being subducted or drawn down beneath the American plate, upon which rides the continent of South America <...>