Browsing by Subject "Source-to-Sink"

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Southern Gulf of Mexico Wilcox source-to-sink : investigating siliciclastic sedimentation in Mexico deep-water
(2016-09-20) de la Rocha Bascon, Luciana; Snedden, John W. (John William); Tinker, Scott W. (Scott Wheeler); Fisher, William L
A source-to-sink system comprises all areas that contribute to erosion, transportation, and deposition of sediments. Therefore, a source-to-sink analysis in a continental-marine siliciclastic system requires data that extend from headwaters to the deep-marine basin-floor fans. The vast amount of data available from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Basin has allowed researchers to develop detailed source-to-sink reconstructions of numerous deep-water fan complexes and their corresponding onshore siliciclastic sources. Paleogeographic maps indicate that Wilcox siliciclastic deep-water systems resulted from erosion and extensive fluvial transport of sediments from the Laramide tectonic front belt into the GoM Basin. In contrast, less is known about sedimentation in the southern region of the GoM offshore Mexico. Indeed, there is no consensus regarding the influence of the southern Laramide upland sediment sources upon Mexican deep-water strata. To explain sedimentation in Mexico’s deep water, a three-phased approach was employed: 1) characterization of the deep-water depocenters; 2) determination and analysis of potential basinal entry points; and 3) semi-quantitative analysis of source to sink scaling relationships. Isochore and structural mapping of the Paleocene and Eocene Wilcox depocenters were constructed using well logs, biostratigraphic information, and marine seismic data. Potential entry points were identified by analysis of onshore data, including evaluation of Wilcox fluvial-deltaic systems rimming the GoM. Empirical scaling relationships between and within fluvial and deep-water source to sink segments highlights potential avenues of sediment flux into the basin. This project provides a new understanding of the Wilcox source-to-sink history of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. The paleogeography of the GoM Basin changed greatly from north to south. The U.S. sector and northern Mexico were a passive margin: continental-scale fluvial systems fed a broad, gently dipping shelf. Conversely, the southern Gulf of Mexico Basin was an active margin: small-scale fluvial systems sourced from the Hidalgoan uplands migrated directly into foreland Basins located in the Basin slope. Results presented here indicate that several systems rimming the southern GoM transported sediment from the mountain belt into the deep-water gulf. During the Paleocene, sediment was mostly routed through canyons in eastern Mexico and through long fan complexes extending from the U.S. into Mexican waters. During the early Eocene, accommodation in certain areas of the foreland were filled, and sediment transport was dominantly from eastern Mexico into deep-water areas. Deepwater depocenters documented in this study not only provide information about the history of siliciclastic sedimentation in the deep-basin, but also highlight the tectonic evolution of the North American craton. The development and extent of deep-water fans in the GoM basin appear to be significantly affected by the timing and location of tectonic uplift. Thus, we hypothesize that the stratigraphic record of deep-water fans in many other geologic systems could be used to illuminate information about the terrestrial record of the source area.