Evolution of Pre-Jurassic basement beneath northern Gulf of Mexico coastal plain
Data from the northern Gulf Coast region reveal a late Paleozoic wrench fault system along which North America (NA) moved southeast (present directions) alongside the northeastern edge of future South America (SA), to where collision with that continent converted a broad continental embankment off the Southern Oklahoma aulacogen into the Ouachita thrust belt. At the same time, Africa farther east, to which protruding SA was firmly joined, was continuing to advance the Appalachian thrusts on the opposite side of these faults. This relationship left no space between the American continents for the conventional remnant ocean or microcontinents. By Late Triassic time, however, extension south of the Ouachita Mountains was forming the series of Interior rift basins, at both ends of which new wrench faults transferred the extension southward to the DeSoto Canyon and South Texas rift basins. Genetically, the Ouachita thrusts are part of the subduction zone along the front of a former SA forearc basin, which continued to receive marine sediments into middle Permian. The Wiggins arch southeast of it is a sliver of that continent, left with NA when the Interior basin rifting jumped from that forearc basin southward across bordering outer basement highs to begin opening the deep Gulf of Mexico (GOM) basin. The Late Triassic crustal extension resulted from right-lateral translation of NA around the bulge of northwestern Africa. About 200 mi of this placed Cape Hatteras against Africa's Cap Blanc, in the configuration from which the magnetic data indicate spreading began in the Central North Atlantic Ocean. The reality of this translation is confirmed by widespread rifting at the same time in western North Africa and between all three northern Atlantic continents; this drew the tip of the Tethys sea southward to Cape Hatteras and led to deposition of voluminous Late Triassic red beds and evaporites along it.
- OSTI ID:
- 6129760
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9010204--
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA), Journal Name: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (USA) Vol. 74:9; ISSN AABUD; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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020200* -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
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58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BASEMENT ROCK
CARIBBEAN SEA
DEPOSITION
EVAPORITES
FEDERAL REGION VI
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GULF COAST
GULF OF MEXICO
JURASSIC PERIOD
MESOZOIC ERA
NORTH AMERICA
PALEOZOIC ERA
PERMIAN PERIOD
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
RIFT ZONES
ROCKS
SALT DEPOSITS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEDIMENTS
SURFACE WATERS
TEXAS
TRIASSIC PERIOD
USA