A Synopsis of the Circulation in the Gulf of Mexico and on its Continental Margins

2013 ◽  
pp. 11-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. J. Schmitz ◽  
D. C. Biggs ◽  
A. Lugo-Fernandez ◽  
L.-Y. Oey ◽  
W. Sturges
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Continental Margins

Continental Margins of the Gulf of Mexico

1974 ◽  
pp. 683-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Antoine ◽  
Ray G. Martin ◽  
T. G. Pyle ◽  
William R. Bryant
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Continental Margins

Crustal and lithospheric architecture of the Gulf of Mexico and its continental margins from ambient noise Rayleigh wave tomography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luan C. Nguyen ◽  
Alan Levander ◽  
Fenglin Niu ◽  
Guoliang Li
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Shear Wave ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Shear Wave Velocity ◽  
Ambient Noise ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Continental Lithosphere ◽  
Short Period

<p>The Gulf of Mexico formed as a result of continental breakup between the North and SouthAmerican plates and a short period of seafloor spreading in the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. This small ocean basin offers an opportunity to further our understanding of continental rifting processes and the geologic evolution of continental margins during and after rifting. However, previous knowledge of lithospheric structure has been limited to crustal investigations. We constructed a 3D shear-wave velocity model for the Gulf of Mexico region using cross-correlations of the ambient noise field and measurement of vertical component Rayleigh wave phase velocities in the period band 15 to 95 s. We employed continuous data recorded by more than 500 stations in seismic networks in the US, Mexico and Cuba. Our model shows distinct variation in lithospheric structures that reliably identify and constrain the properties of extended continental and oceanic domains. We estimate the depth of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary to be in the range of 85-100 km with the thinnest lithosphere under the oceanic region. A low velocity zone is observed below the lithosphere centered at ~150 km depth with a minimum shear-wave velocity of ~4.45 km/s. Lithospheric mantle underlying the offshore Texas Gulf Coast between oceanic lithosphere and unextended continental lithosphere is characterized by reduced shear-wave velocity. This might indicate that extension resulted in permanent deformation of the continental lithosphere. The differential thinning between the crystalline crust and mantle lithosphere suggests that the extended continental lithosphere has cooled and thickened by approximately 30 km since breakup.</p>

Quantifying sediment supply to continental margins: Application to the Paleogene Wilcox Group, Gulf of Mexico

AAPG Bulletin ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (09) ◽  
pp. 1685-1702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinyu Zhang ◽  
Jacob Covault ◽  
Michael Pyrcz ◽  
Glenn Sharman ◽  
Cristian Carvajal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Continental Margins

scholarly journals From gravity cores to overpressure history: the importance of measured sediment physical properties in hydrogeological models

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Mencaroni ◽  
Jaume Llopart ◽  
Roger Urgeles ◽  
Sara Lafuerza ◽  
Eulàlia Gràcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Slope Instability ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Submarine Slope ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Depositional Settings ◽  
Direct Measurements ◽  
Facies Characterization

AbstractThe development of overpressure in continental margins is typically evaluated with hydrogeological models. Such approaches are used to both identify fluid flow patterns and to evaluate the development of high pore pressures within layers with particular physical properties that may promote slope instability. In some instances, these models are defined with sediment properties based on facies characterization and proxy values of porosity; permeability or compressibility are derived from the existing literature as direct measurements are rarely available. This study uses finite-element models to quantify the differences in computed overpressure generated by fine-grained hemipelagic sediments from the Gulf of Cadiz, offshore Martinique and the Gulf of Mexico, and their consequences in terms of submarine slope stability. By comparing our simulation results with in situ pore pressure data measured in the Gulf of Mexico, we demonstrate that physical properties measured on volcanic-influenced hemipelagic sediments underestimate the computed stability of a submarine slope. Physical properties measured on sediments from the study area are key to improving the reliability and accuracy of overpressure models, and when that information is unavailable, literature data from samples with similar lithologies, composition and depositional settings enable better assessment of the overpressure role as a pre-conditioning factor in submarine landslide initiation.

scholarly journals Extreme warming, photic zone euxinia and sea level rise during the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum on the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain; connecting marginal marine biotic signals, nutrient cycling and ocean deoxygenation

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 6459-6494 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sluijs ◽  
L. van Roij ◽  
G. J. Harrington ◽  
S. Schouten ◽  
J. A. Sessa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Photic Zone ◽  
Thermal Maximum ◽  
Phosphorus Regeneration ◽  
Relative Abundances

Abstract. The Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Ma) was a ~200 kyr episode of global warming, associated with massive injections of 13C-depleted carbon into the ocean-atmosphere system. Although climate change during the PETM is relatively well constrained, effects on marine oxygen and nutrient cycling remain largely unclear. We identify the PETM in a sediment core from the US margin of the Gulf of Mexico. Biomarker-based paleotemperature proxies (MBT/CBT and TEX86) indicate that continental air and sea surface temperatures warmed from 27–29 °C to ~35 °C, although variations in the relative abundances of terrestrial and marine biomarkers may have influenced the record. Vegetation changes as recorded from pollen assemblages supports profound warming. Lithology, relative abundances of terrestrial vs. marine palynomorphs as well as dinoflagellate cyst and biomarker assemblages indicate sea level rise during the PETM, consistent with previously recognized eustatic rise. The recognition of a maximum flooding surface during the PETM changes regional sequence stratigraphic interpretations, which allows us to exclude the previously posed hypothesis that a nearby fossil found in PETM-deposits represents the first North American primate. Within the PETM we record the biomarker isorenieratane, diagnostic of euxinic photic zone conditions. A global data compilation indicates that deoxygenation occurred in large regions of the global ocean in response to warming, hydrological change, and carbon cycle feedbacks, particularly along continental margins, analogous to modern trends. Seafloor deoxygenation and widespread anoxia likely caused phosphorus regeneration from suboxic and anoxic sediments. We argue that this fuelled shelf eutrophication, as widely recorded from microfossil studies, increasing organic carbon burial along continental margins as a negative feedback to carbon input and global warming. If properly quantified with future work, the PETM offers the opportunity to assess the biogeochemical effects of enhanced phosphorus regeneration, as well as the time-scales on which this feedback operates in view of modern and future ocean deoxygenation.

scholarly journals Massive asphalt deposits, oil seepage, and gas venting support abundant chemosynthetic communities at the Campeche Knolls, southern Gulf of Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 4491-4512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Sahling ◽  
Christian Borowski ◽  
Elva Escobar-Briones ◽  
Adriana Gaytán-Caballero ◽  
Chieh-Wei Hsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Gas Hydrates ◽  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Associated Gas ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
Tube Worms ◽  
Southern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Gaseous Hydrocarbons ◽  
Multibeam Mapping

Abstract. Hydrocarbon seepage is a widespread process at the continental margins of the Gulf of Mexico. We used a multidisciplinary approach, including multibeam mapping and visual seafloor observations with different underwater vehicles to study the extent and character of complex hydrocarbon seepage in the Bay of Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico. Our observations showed that seafloor asphalt deposits previously only known from the Chapopote Knoll also occur at numerous other knolls and ridges in water depths from 1230 to 3150 m. In particular the deeper sites (Chapopopte and Mictlan knolls) were characterized by asphalt deposits accompanied by extrusion of liquid oil in form of whips or sheets, and in some places (Tsanyao Yang, Mictlan, and Chapopote knolls) by gas emission and the presence of gas hydrates in addition. Molecular and stable carbon isotopic compositions of gaseous hydrocarbons suggest their primarily thermogenic origin. Relatively fresh asphalt structures were settled by chemosynthetic communities including bacterial mats and vestimentiferan tube worms, whereas older flows appeared largely inert and devoid of corals and anemones at the deep sites. The gas hydrates at Tsanyao Yang and Mictlan Knolls were covered by a 5-to-10 cm-thick reaction zone composed of authigenic carbonates, detritus, and microbial mats, and were densely colonized by 1–2 m-long tube worms, bivalves, snails, and shrimps. This study increased knowledge on the occurrences and dimensions of asphalt fields and associated gas hydrates at the Campeche Knolls. The extent of all discovered seepage structure areas indicates that emission of complex hydrocarbons is a widespread, thus important feature of the southern Gulf of Mexico.

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