Our perception of continental margin bathymetry and stratigraphy is strongly influenced by the fact that we are looking at continental margins that underwent extensive, geologically abrupt, eustatic transgresion that ended only a few thousand years ago. Because of this eustatic rise in sea level, totaling more than 400 ft (120 m), depositional basin margins, such as the northern Gulf of Mexico, now have broad, low-relief continental shelves. The modern shelf edge typically lies (or is picked) at the 600 ft (180 m) bathymetric contour.
However, the active growth of modern continental margins occurred during the extensive periods of low sea level throughout the Quaternary. The continental shelves are largely transgressed coastal plains composed of fluvial, deltaic, shore-zone, and narrow shelf deposits (fig. 1). Stripping away the transgressive Holocene veneer reveals a depositional platform consisting of:
Narrow prodelta shelves
Interdeltaic shore-zones and relatively steep shelves morphologically similar to the carbonate ramp
Fronting continental slopes
Figures & Tables
Structural and Depositional Styles of Gulf Coast Tertiary Continental Margins: Application to Hydrocarbon Exploration
The structure and genetic stratigraphy of the Gulf of Mexico continental margin are inextricably intertwined. As hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation advance into the deeply buried Tertiary basin fill, interpretation of the complex depositional and structural styles of the outer shelf and upper slope setting will increasingly challenge the interpreter. This publication provides a coherent summary of the key concepts, models, and tools that are needed to meet this exploration challenge, and includes chapters on: basic principles, submarine slope systems, models of growth faults, mechanics of diapir growth, petroleum traps, and techniques on analyzing normal faults and balancing cross sections with extended strata.