Integral Analysis of the Opening of the Gulf of Mexico and its Relationship with the Sedimentary Basins Generation

Fault kinematics: A record of tectono-climatically controlled sedimentation along passive margins, an example from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Geological Society of America Bulletin ◽

10.1130/b35623.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Abah P. Omale ◽

Juan M. Lorenzo ◽

Ali AlDhamen ◽

Peter D. Clift ◽

A. Alexander G. Webb

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Kinematic Analysis ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Fault Scarp ◽

Sediment Deposition ◽

Fault Reactivation ◽

Early Miocene ◽

Passive Margins ◽

Fault Kinematics ◽

Uplift And Erosion

Faults offsetting sedimentary strata can record changes in sedimentation driven by tectonic and climatic forcing. Fault kinematic analysis is effective at evaluating changes in sediment volumes at salt/shale-bearing passive margins where sediment loading drives faulting. We explore these processes along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Incremental throw along 146 buried faults studied across onshore Louisiana revealed continual Cenozoic fault reactivation punctuated by inactive periods along a few faults. Fault scarp heights measured from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are interpreted to show that Cenozoic fault reactivation continued through the Pleistocene. The areas of highest fault throw and maximum sediment deposition shifted from southwest Louisiana in the early Miocene to southeast Louisiana in the middle−late Miocene. These changes in the locus of maximum fault reactivation and sediment deposition were controlled by changing tectonics and climate in the source areas. Early Miocene fault throw estimates indicate a depocenter farther east than previously mapped and support the idea that early Miocene Appalachian Mountain uplift and erosion routed sediment to southeast Louisiana. By correlating changes in fault throw with changes in sediment deposition, we suggest that (1) fault kinematic analysis can be used to evaluate missing sediment volumes because fault offsets can be preserved despite partial erosion, (2) fault throw estimates can be used to infer changes in past tectonic and climate-related processes driving sedimentation, and (3) these observations are applicable to other passive margins with mobile substrates and faulted strata within overfilled sedimentary basins.

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Estimating the thickness of shallow salt from seismic refractions

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1442287 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 52 (12) ◽

pp. 1708-1714 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joseph O. Ebeniro ◽

Yosio Nakamura ◽

Dale S. Sawyer

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

High Velocity ◽

Seismic Reflection ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Quaternary Sediments ◽

Lower Velocity ◽

Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Major Impediment

The presence of shallow, tectonized salt is a major impediment to exploration efforts in many sedimentary basins, including the northern Gulf of Mexico. The salt there forms a shallow tongue of high‐velocity material emplaced between lower‐velocity Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. Using conventional seismic reflection techniques, explorationists often have difficulty identifying the base of the salt tongue. Only in a very few instances (e.g., Buffler, 1983; Buffler et al., 1978; Watkins et al., 1978) have they been able to identify the base of the shallow salt. Interfaces below the salt are even more rarely observed.

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THE MAGNETOTELLURIC METHOD IN THE EXPLORATION OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1440255 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 98-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 333

Author(s):

Keeva Vozoff

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

South Texas ◽

Petroleum Exploration ◽

The South ◽

Anadarko Basin ◽

Routine Treatment ◽

The Past ◽

Magnetotelluric Method ◽

Induction Logs

The paper describes the theory of the magnetotelluric (MT) method, and some of the experimental, analytical, and interpretive techniques developed for its use in petroleum exploration in the past five years. Particular emphasis is placed on interpretation, since it is the area least amenable to routine treatment. Whereas present interpretation techniques are adequate, interpretation is the area of both the greatest progress and the greatest need for improvement. Field results are presented from traverses in South Texas bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and the Anadarko Basin of southwestern Oklahoma. Wide station spacings were used, such as might typify basin evaluations. The South Texas results are compared directly with smoothed induction logs. No useable logs could be found for Oklahoma. Comparisons with known and inferred geology show that the surveys mapped resistivity successfully in the known parts of these basins as well as in portions inaccessible seismically. The capabilities and economics of the MT method justify its consideration for evaluating large unexplored blocks and “no record” areas.

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INTEGRATED CHARACTERIZATION AND FAILURE MECHANISM FOR A MID PLEISTOCENE MTC DOMINANT INTERVAL IN THE MARS URSA BASIN, NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO, USA

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2019-0293.1 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-64

Author(s):

Mario Andres Gutierrez ◽

John W. Snedden

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Sedimentary Basins ◽

Extraction Methods ◽

Sediment Supply ◽

Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽

Seismic Survey ◽

Data Set ◽

Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Kinematic Indicators ◽

Lithological Composition

The economic and operational risks associated with Mass Transport Complexes (MTCs) in deepwater hydrocarbon exploration act as a principal motivation to investigate their depositional elements utilizing industry data. There is a lack of extensive seismic and well data coverage that limits the understanding of the processes associated with the evolution of MTCs within deepwater sedimentary basins. This study leverages a unique integrated dataset to evaluate the depositional character and potential failure mechanisms of seven identified MTCs preserved in a synkinematic mid-Pleistocene MTC-dominant interval that spans the hydrocarbon bearing Mars Ursa Basin in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Through seismic interpretation and attribute extraction methods using a 3D PDSM seismic survey, we describe kinematic indicators and preserved morphodomains geometries of the identified MTCs. The MTC-dominant interval covers an area of 631 km2, a volume of 392 km3, and a maximum thickness of 549 m in minibasin centers. The interval is penetrated by fifteen boreholes that provide stratigraphic and lithologic calibration of the morphometric analyses. The lithological composition of the MTC-rich interval is claystone/mudstone-dominant with a few interbedded, thin sandstones. The identified kinematic indicators and geometric extent of the identified MTCs are a function of both local salt tectonics extrabasinal controls. The stratigraphic framework presented in this study constrains the timing of failures to a period of high sediment deposition related to a major increase of glacial input into the Quaternary Mississippi Fan. This study offers borehole calibrated MTC morphometrics preserved in a MTC-dominant interval whose failure is triggered by local salt inflation, but ultimately is a consequence of loading following increased sediment supply into the basin. The results from this robust data set build upon past integrated seismic-well studies that strive to improve the understanding of MTC processes and their implications in hydrocarbon exploration across salt sedimentary basins.

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