Transcript Seismic, Well, and Gravity Constraints on the Structure and

Area Balanced Gulf of Mexico Cross Section, Dennis L. Harry, Colorado
State University
Our goal is to use geophysical data to create transects that describe the structure of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
continental margin and to use geodynamic models to explain how that structure evolved. To date, we have
created palinspastic reconstructions of the margin prior to rifting, and are currently working to use these as initial
conditions for our geodynamic models.
Light Blue=Laurentia, Bright Blue=Black Warrior Basin Paleozoic Sedimentary Rocks, Dark Blue=Paleozoic Oceanic Crust,
Pale Yellow=Mesozoic Accreted Terranes, Bright Yellow=Extended Mesozoic Accreted Terranes
Ouachitas
N
Plateau
Black Warrior
Basin
Salt Wiggins
Basin
Arch
S
Gulf Coast Basin
0
250
500
750
A) Modern structure along profile trending south from Mississippi
Coastal Plain (from gravity, well-log, and seismic data)
1000
527 km
B) Transect broken into extensional provinces that include Laurentia, the Ouachita orogenic belt,
187 km
and the Gulf Coast Plain and offshore regions
340 km
C) Cross section restored to position prior to
Jurrasic extension
386 km
D) Cross section restored to position prior to onset of Mesozoic extension
(post-Ouachita configuration)
V.E. 1:1
1200 km