ABSTRACT

The Gulf Coast is an important province for photogeologic applications even though much of it is of low dip and low relief and often covered by Pleistocene terrace deposits.

The Gulf Coast is a very active and dynamic province, characterized by clastic sediments that were laid down very rapidly. As a result the sediments are out of equilibrium and considerable compaction and settling has occured, which has formed many structures. It is this movement and adjustment, acting throughout geologic time, that allows a subsurface structure to continually propagate to the surface, where it can be detected by subtle photogeologic techniques.

Photogeologic or photo geomorphic techniques, including analyses of drainage, topography, vegetation, deposition, and lineation, can definitively locate surface structures. A large number of oil and gas fields throughout the Gulf Coast have surface expression. Fields with good expression include those located in areas of current exploration interest, such as Sunniland and Felda in South Florida, Flomaton and Blackjack Creek in the Alabama-Florida Jurassic play, Edgewood and Fruitvale in East Texas, and Big Wells and Los Tiendos in Southwest Texas. Many other fields have good expression including Citronelle, Blacklake, Neale, Reyes, Mathis and North Government Wells to name a few.

Normally, photogeologic interpretation must terminate at the coastlines, but a relatively new sonar-subsea mapping device now allows exploration to continue on into the shelf areas. The lnstitut Francais du Petrole, or IFP, has developed a wide-range scanning sonar that can provide sea-bottom sonar images that rival aerial photographs.

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