The influence of active salt tectonics on the development of Plio-Pleistocene deepwater slope channel and canyon systems, NE Gulf of Mexico.

本研究项目旨在评估盐变形如何影响(a)晚更新世密西西比峡谷的形成以及(b)上新世-更新世海底水道-堤坝系统在时间和空间上的分布，这些系统穿过或被活跃的盐底辟所扭曲。我们将开发改进的通道和盐结构相互作用模型，作为更具有经济意义的深层地下区域的类比，在那里发生类似的过程，但由于地震数据分辨率较低或位于广泛的盐层之下，可能成像较差。该目标将通过在墨西哥湾东北部广泛合并的三维地震数据集上绘制盐体、结构和沉积沉积环境来实现。通过三维构造重建和复原沉积相图的构建，通过空间和时间重构盐构造和沉积沉积的演化。该项目直接解决了理解沉积体系如何与构造过程相互作用的重要科学问题，迄今为止，在受盐构造影响的变形斜坡/深水被动边缘环境中，这一问题的研究很少。我们认为，利用地下数据在斜坡和深水沉积环境中研究这一普遍问题有许多优势。首先，高质量地震数据集的三维性质为构造和地层几何提供了三维空间分辨率，这是对露头研究的补充。其次，在斜坡/深水环境下，低幅度海平面上升波动对局部尺度上构造生长的沉积响应的直接控制作用较小。这与检查陆地和浅海系统时海平面引起的基准面变化的复杂性形成对比。该项目具有重要的经济意义，因为大陆边缘的深水勘探仍然是主要石油公司的主要关注点，其结果将直接适用于碳氢化合物行业，从而为英国工业创造财富。更具体地说，这些结果将有助于英国北海地区的油气活动，石油公司在那里寻求开采北海盐盆地的剩余储量。

This research project aims to evaluate how salt deformation has influenced (a) the formation the Late Pleistocene Mississippi canyon and (b) the distribution of Plio-Pleistocene submarine channel-levee systems in time and space which cross, or are deflected, by active salt diapirs. We will develop improved models for channel and salt structure interaction to serve as analogues for the more economically significant deeper subsurface areas, where similar processes occur, but may be more poorly imaged due to lower resolution seismic data or location beneath extensive salt canopies. The aims will be achieved by mapping salt bodies, structures and sedimentary depositional environments on an extensive merged 3-dimensional seismic dataset from the NE Gulf of Mexico. The evolution of the salt structures and sedimentary deposits will be reconstructed through space and time with 3D structural reconstructions and construction of palinspastically restored sedimentary facies maps. The project directly addresses the important scientific problem of understanding how sedimentary systems interact with tectonic processes, which to date has been little studied in deforming slope/deepwater passive margin environments affected by salt tectonics. We think that there are a number of advantages to investigating this general problem within a slope and deepwater sedimentary environment, using subsurface data. Firstly the 3-dimensional nature of the high quality seismic datasets offers a 3D spatial resolution of structural and stratigraphic geometries that is complementary to outcrop studies. Secondly low amplitude eustatic sea-level fluctuations have less direct control on the sedimentary response to structural growth at a local scale in slope/deepwater settings. This contrasts with the added complexity of sea-level induced base-level changes when examining terrestrial and shallow marine systems. The project has economic importance as deepwater exploration off the continental margins continues to be the main focus for the major oil companies and the results will have direct applicability within the hydrocarbon industry and thus contribute to wealth creation of UK industry. More specifically the results will be useful to hydrocarbon activity in the UK sector of the North Sea where the oil companies seek to exploit remaining reserves in the North Sea salt basins.