Continental Margin Mapping Project, U.S. Atlantic Margin: A Synthesis of Geologic and Geophysical Data and Interpretations

Kim D. Klitgord, Gary H. Hill

Syntheses of geologic and geophysical studies on the U.S. Atlantic continental margin are being compiled in a series of maps and digital data bases to facilitate use of extensive information acquired by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on the U.S. continental margins. The maps, which are at a scale of 1:1,000,000, are on an Albers Conic Equal Area Projection, with standard parallels at 29.5°N and 45.5°N, and are compatible with the U.S. National Atlas and the USGS geologic and tectonic maps of the United States. For this project, the Atlantic margin has been divided into four regions: Georges Bank basin and Gulf of Maine, Baltimore Canyon Trough, Carolina Trough, and Blake Plateau basin. Each region extends from the seaward edge of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Z ne to the coastal plain onlap (fall line). Primary data sets for this series were derived from multichannel seismic reflection profiles and magnetic and gravity surveys, as well as from drill-hole and bottom-sample data. Individual maps in the series include topography and bathymetry, tectonic features, isopachs of various sedimentary units, depth contours of basement and various sedimentary surfaces, paleoenvironment, magnetic anomaly contours, gravity-anomaly contours, earthquake epicenters, drill-hole locations, seismic-line navigation, and offshore leases. A summary of the geologic, geophysical, and tectonic features compiled in this map series will be used to discuss the geologic evolution of the Baltimore Canyon Trough.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91043©1986 AAPG Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, June 15-18, 1986.