Continental rifting and sediment infill in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

Research Article| July 01, 2015 Continental rifting and sediment infill in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Harm J.A. Van Avendonk; Harm J.A. Van Avendonk University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gail L. Christeson; Gail L. Christeson University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ian O. Norton; Ian O. Norton University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Drew R. Eddy Drew R. Eddy University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA *Current address: BHP Billiton, 1360 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77056, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Harm J.A. Van Avendonk University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Gail L. Christeson University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Ian O. Norton University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Drew R. Eddy *Current address: BHP Billiton, 1360 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77056, USA University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 19 Mar 2015 Revision Received: 06 May 2015 Accepted: 08 May 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (7): 631–634. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36798.1 Article history Received: 19 Mar 2015 Revision Received: 06 May 2015 Accepted: 08 May 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Harm J.A. Van Avendonk, Gail L. Christeson, Ian O. Norton, Drew R. Eddy; Continental rifting and sediment infill in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Geology 2015;; 43 (7): 631–634. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36798.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The opening of the Gulf of Mexico was an important Mesozoic tectonic event that provides new insight in the role of magmatism and lithospheric stresses in the initiation of continental rifting. A new seismic velocity profile based on seismic refraction data in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico offshore Texas, where the basin started opening in the Early Jurassic, shows a rifted margin with strong lateral heterogeneity beneath the shelf and slope. The structure of the thinned crust is consistent with large-scale extensional faulting and moderate amounts of synrift magmatism before continental breakup. These new seismic constraints do not indicate the presence of a volcanic margin along the Texas coast, as has sometimes been proposed based on magnetic data. The Laurentian continental lithosphere of central Texas may have been too thick at the onset of rifting (>100 km) to let magmatic diking control the extension. In contrast, the continental lithosphere of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico may have been thinner, such that magma-assisted rifting formed a volcanic margin there later in the Jurassic. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.