Crustal structure and basin architecture, De Soto Canyon Salt basin, northeastern Gulf of Mexico
- Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Oceanography
- Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Geophysics
Evolution of sedimentary basins in the Gulf of Mexico can be explained by extensional processes associated with a rifted, passively subsiding continental margin. The De Soto Canyon Salt Basin in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico contains a thick sequence of Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments which have accumulated almost continuously since the Middle Jurassic, in a relatively stable, slowly subsiding tectonic environment. Simplified isostatic principles based on a lithosphere buoyancy model are used to quantify total tectonic subsidence, crust thickness, crustal extension and crust type. Regional gravity anomaly trends reflect the interpreted crustal configuration. Multifold seismic reflection data and well data are integrated with computed isostatic relations to establish the basic architecture of the basin. An average estimated crustal thickness of 25 km and Beta-values between 1.4 and 1.8 suggest the sedimentary succession is underlain by moderately stretched and attenuated continental crust. Linear east-west and NNW-SSE trends in Beta-value contours indicate major crustal discontinuities in the region of the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida (MAFLA) shelf and beneath the west Florida shelf, respectively. The geometry of dipping sub-salt reflectors defines a major graben extending east-west in the central part of the basin. These structural trends are thought to be in response to Late Triassic-Early Jurassic rifting. The present-day configuration of the basin was established by the Middle Jurassic.
- OSTI ID:
- 5930431
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-921058--
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Vol. 24:7; ISSN GAAPBC; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
580000* -- Geosciences
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
CONTINENTAL CRUST
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CONTINENTAL SHELF
DEPOSITION
DIMENSIONS
EARTH CRUST
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GRAVITY SURVEYS
GULF OF MEXICO
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
TECTONICS
THICKNESS