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Abstract
Abstract: Morphology and Stratigraphy of Middle to Late Pleistocene Shelf Submarine Canyons, Central Offshore Louisiana
Thomas M. Kirkpatrick
ABSTRACT
Five submarine canyons exist in the Pleistocene section of central offshore Louisiana. These large features have depths of as much as 800 m and widths between 5 and 17 km and were important sediment pathways to the Gulf basin. This study covers the shelf portion of the canyons and spans approximately 100 70 km, from the ancestral shelf margin to an onshore location in southern Louisiana. More than 3,000 line km of 2-D seismic data were interpreted for this study, as were data from 25 exploration wells consisting of digital well logs and information on lithology, biostratigraphy, and velocity. Canyon morphology was determined on the basis of unconformities between the canyon fill and the surrounding strata and was mapped in time and depth. The stratigraphic position of the canyons indicates that they become younger progressively eastward, toward the present-day Mississippi Canyon. The canyons represent a hybrid type of submarine canyon with a complex origin referred to as delta-front troughs. Modern analogs can be found associated with the Mississippi, Indus, and Ganges-Brahmaputra deltas. The Miocene Markley Canyon of northern California and the Paleocene Yoakum Canyon of South Texas are also similar in morphology and paleogeographic setting. Data in the study area support the theory that canyon initiation may take place on the slope, followed by headward erosion onto the shelf and the focusing of turbidity and longshore currents through the canyon. It appears likely that canyon filling did not start until well into the transgressive systems tract.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND ASSOCIATED FOOTNOTES
Exxon Exploration Co., 233 Benmar, Houston, TX 77060
Copyright © 1999 by The Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies