| Description |
This GIS overlay is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center's, Gulf of Mexico GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata. A two week cruise aboard the R/V GYRE focused on mapping surficial sedimentary processes and their connection to the subsurface geology. The study area was on the upper continental slope in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico; an area of active hydrocarbon exploration. Active salt movement, hydrocarbon movement up faults, the presence of gas hydrates associated with biogenic and thermogenic methane, and overpressured sand deposits all present hazards to oil exploration in this area. This study used sidescan sonar and high-resolution chirp subbottom profiling techniques to map the surficial and shallow subsurface expression of these processes in two areas roughly 15 by 25 km in size. High-resolution multi-channel seismic-reflection data were collected simultaneously with the sidescan imagery to provide a link to the deeper subsurface. Additional multi-channel and Huntec seismic data were collected along regional lines between the detailed study areas to tie these studies to other areas of known hydrates and to wells where shallow overpressured sands have been drilled. The detailed studies attempted to map entire geological systems in this upper slope environment to provide a broader perspective than can be seen from studying a single lease block. One study area focused on two adjacent salt withdrawal basins to assess the processes that are shaping the flanks of the basins, the processes affecting sedimentation in the basin floors, and to compare the deeper structures and surficial processes between the basins. The second study area focused on three salt domes, the processes associated with them, and how they affect the shallow subsurface stratigraphy. Initial observations suggest that most of the surface and shallow subsurface geohazards are associated with the flanks of salt structures. Here active salt movement generates faults along which hydrocarbons can escape to the seafloor, and tectonic oversteepenning generates slope failures. [More]
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