Depositional and diagenetic relationships between Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) and Mesozoic of United States East Coast Offshore

Journal Article · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6987938

Epstein, S A; Friedman, G M

The tectonic setting and depositional environments along the ancient margin during the Mesozoic of the East Coast of the United States may have been similar to those in the present Gulf of Elat (Aqaba). The Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) is the northern continuation of the Red Sea rift zone, where carbonates are accumulating contemporaneously with clastics under arid conditions. Clastics are deposited primarily in alluvial-fan complexes which spill out onto a narrow shelf. Carbonate deposits, including reef complexes, occur along the shelf break. In comparison, along the United States East Coast margin, Triassic to Early Jurassic rifting coincided with carbonate and clastic deposition. The Middle Jurassic and Cretaceous strata reflect the transition from synrift to postrift stages of tectonic evolution. Seismic and well data of the Jurassic and Cretaceous sections show an increase in the carbonate content approaching the United States East Coast shelf break. A discontinuous belt of carbonate buildups is inferred along the United States East Coast shelf and slope. The Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) represents an analogous model for the Early Jurassic East Coast margin of the United States. Beginning in the Middle Jurassic, the East Coast shelf-edge carbonate sequences were being deposited on a passive margin. Carbonate growth may have outpaced subsidence and may be similar stratigraphically to the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) where carbonate deposits are prograding seaward.

• Research Organization: Getty Oil Co., Offshore District, Bellaire, TX
• OSTI ID: 6987938
• Journal Information: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 67:6; ISSN AAPGB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
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03 NATURAL GAS
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Geology
& Exploration
CARBONATE ROCKS
COASTAL WATERS
CONTINENTAL MARGIN
CORRELATIONS
DIAGENESIS
EAST COAST
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
MESOZOIC ERA
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RED SEA
RESOURCES
RIFT ZONES
ROCKS
SEAS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEDIMENTATION
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
TECTONICS
USA