Lithospheric structure of the south-central United States
- Southwest Missouri State Univ., Springfield (United States)
- Univ. of Texas, El Paso (United States)
Recent seismic data in the Ouachita Mountains area and the Gulf of Mexico make it possible to construct a lithospheric-scale cross section (transect) from the midcontinent region to the gulf. The authors constructed a transect in the form of a gravity model, but it incorporates all available seismic, drill hole, and geologic data as constraints. The thrust sheets of the Ouachita orogenic belt appear as a thin veneer covering the southern part of the Arkoma basin and the preserved Paleozoic continental margin. Mesozoic rifting is evident in three areas: (1) southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana where extension was minor, (2) the vicinity of the Texas-Louisiana coastline where modification of the lithosphere and subsidence were considerable, and (3) the deep Gulf of Mexico where rifting was successful. A significant variation in the average density of the mantle, which could delineate the North American craton as a lithospheric feature, was detected near the Paleozoic continental margin.
- OSTI ID:
- 7004227
- Journal Information:
- Geology; (United States), Vol. 20:4; ISSN 0091-7613
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ARKANSAS
RIFT ZONES
LOUISIANA
OKLAHOMA
GEOLOGIC MODELS
TEXAS
EARTH CRUST
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GULF OF MEXICO
MAPPING
PLATE TECTONICS
SEISMIC SURVEYS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FEDERAL REGION VI
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
NORTH AMERICA
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
SURVEYS
TECTONICS
USA
580000* - Geosciences