Publication Date
5-2024
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
M. Royhan Gani, Michael May, Xingang Fan
Degree Program
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences
Degree Type
Master of Science
Abstract
Although the northern Gulf of Mexico basin is one of the most studied basins in the world for both hydrocarbon potential and investigation of a myriad of geologic structures and processes, the basin is often excluded in studies that seek to understand the deposition of deepwater sediment waves. Recent release of a vast amount of seismic and well-log data by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) calls for a basin-wide identification of the sediment waves in the Gulf of Mexico.
Integrating seismic, well-log, and high-resolution bathymetric data, this study identified sediment waves on the seafloor as well as in the stratigraphic record. On the present-day seafloor, they are only located on the northwestern continental slope and eastward of the Bryant Fan area (around the Green Knoll). However, this bedform structure was found to be a common feature of the Neogene to Recent stratigraphy of the northwestern continental slope, northeastern continental slope, and abyssal plain. All of these sediment waves are upslope migratory with crests that are perpendicular to the basin-slope (i.e., parallel to the bathymetric contours). Thus, they are interpreted as cyclic-steps bedform produced by supercritical sediment gravity flow processes. Sediment waves have important implications in many fields, including petroleum geology, oceanography, hydrodynamics, paleoclimate, and coastal engineering.
Disciplines
Earth Sciences | Geology | Geophysics and Seismology | Sedimentology
Recommended Citation
Towoju, Victor, "SPATIOTEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF SEDIMENT WAVES IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO BASIN, USA" (2024). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 3701.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3701