--> Abstract: Reinterpretation of the Origin of the Gulf of Mexico Based on Data from the Northwestern Florida Shelf, by B. K. Reitz; #91004 (1991)

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Reinterpretation of the Origin of the Gulf of Mexico Based on Data from the Northwestern Florida Shelf

REITZ, BRUCE K., Conoco Inc., Houston, TX

Sedimentary and structural and potential field relationships established on the Northwest Florida shelf are used to infer Triassic-Jurassic rift morphology throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regional Louann Salt distribution and gravity data define the location and gross morphology of the rift basins. The inferred distribution and geometries of Triassic-Jurassic basins are consistent with a counterclockwise departure of the Yucatan tectonic block during the initial opening of the gulf. Coincident with this rotation, the Florida tectonic block rotated 15 degrees counterclockwise to open the South Georgia-DeSoto Canyon rift basin complex. The Sabine and Wiggins uplifts were separated from the North American craton and moved along small circle flow lines of the departing Yucatan pla e. A detachment fault model best explains the asymmetry of the northern and southern Gulf of Mexico margins and the distribution of structural features. Alternating rift basins and uplifts along the northern gulf are interpreted to be the result of changes in the dip direction of the most northerly crustal detachment fault.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91004 © 1991 AAPG Annual Convention Dallas, Texas, April 7-10, 1991 (2009)