Reinterpretation of the origin of the Gulf of Mexico based on data from the northwestern Florida shelf

Conference · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:7259774

Reitz, B K ^[1]

---

1. Conoco Inc., Houston, TX (United States)

Sedimentary and structural and potential field relationships established on the Northwest Florida shelf are used to infer Triassic-Jurassic rift morphology throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regional Louann Salt distribution and gravity data define the location and gross morphology of the rift basins. The inferred distribution and geometries of Triassic-Jurassic basins are consistent with a counterclockwise departure of the Yucatan tectonic block during the initial opening of the gulf. Coincident with this rotation, the Florida tectonic block rotated 15{degree} counterclockwise to open the South Georgia-DeSoto Canyon rift basin complex. The Sabine and Wiggins uplifts were separated from the North American craton and moved along small circle flow lines of the departing Yucatan plate. A detachment fault model best explains the asymmetry of the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico margins and the distribution of structural features. Alternating rift basins and uplifts along the northern gulf are interpreted to be the result of changes in the dip direction of the most northerly crustal detachment fault.

• OSTI ID: 7259774
• Report Number(s): CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
CONTINENTAL SHELF
STRATIGRAPHY
FLORIDA
GULF OF MEXICO
ORIGIN
RIFT ZONES
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOMETRY
JURASSIC PERIOD
ORIENTATION
PLATE TECTONICS
TRIASSIC PERIOD
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
MATHEMATICS
MESOZOIC ERA
NORTH AMERICA
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
TECTONICS
USA
580000* - Geosciences