ABSTRACT

Geological and geophysical data from the Gulf of Mexico flexure trend are used to interpret the depositional processes and sediment distribution of a slope fan system on the Louisiana slope. A schematic model developed from detailed subsurface study of one slope fan system is compared and contrasted to published descriptions of deep sea fan systems. These slope fan to deep sea fan comparisons allow a better understanding of the sediment transport mechanisms, depositional processes, external geometry, and internal facies variations possible in the slope environment.

Results suggest that slope sediments in the Gulf of Mexico can originate from turbidity current processes. The external geometry of the resulting deposit may be adequately described using existing submarine fan terminology, including proximal and distal deposits that fit the morphological criteria of upper, middle, and lower fan systems. Internal facies characteristics, however, are found to vary significantly from existing descriptions of submarine fan systems.