________________________________________ o~C~E=A~N~O~L~O~G~'~C~A_A~C~T_A~. _,_98~,~._N_.

~S~P_1~--------
Gulf of M c:o:lco
Seismic data
Rifling phase

A model for the early evolution Su bsidence

Drif!
Golfe du Me"iqu('
Don nées s is mique s
r hase de dis (en~ion
of the Gulf of Mexico basin Subsidence
W placcmenl

R. T . Buffler ". F. J. Shaub ", R. Huerta ' , A. Il . K. Ibra him ", J . S. Walkins ~
• Univers it y of Te'las Marine Science InstiWle. 700 The Strand , Galveston . Te:< ••5 77550.
USA .
b Gulf Science and Technology Company . Explonttion llnd Production Di vis ion ,
1'.0 . 80x 20]8, Pins burgh . Pennsylvania 15230. USA .

ABSTRAC T Se ismic rdlcelion and refraClio" data fro m the deep G ulf of Mexico basin conslra in the early
geologic evolution o f the b<ts in . Ma jor observations involving distributio n of the crust. nature
a nd d islribution of t he carly sediments, and s ubs idence histor y a re as fo llo ws ; 1) infe rred
oceanic c rust in the deep central Gulf (5 to 6 km th ick : 6JI to 7. 1 km/sec.) is rla nkcd
symmc triçally o n the nOrl h and south by inferred transitional crus t (8 to 15 km thick ; 6.4 to
6.8 kmfsec.); 2) acollstic basement see n on the rdleçtion d,lia in the central Gulf is an
irregular rcf[cctor a nd probably represe nt s the to p of an oceanic vo1ca nic (basal tic) laye r
(laye r 2) ; 3) no rth of the: Campec he Escarpmcnt thc top of transitÎonal crust is re presented by
a s trong. smoot h reflec torfunconformity tha t truncates rift bllsins and is o nlappcd by a thick
salt and sedimentary section ; 4) in the sout heas tern Gulf tra nsitional crus t consists of tilted
basemen t blocks probably represe nti ng a thinned and rifted conti nen ta l c rust ; lo ws between
the blocks a re filled with s yn rift sediments; 5) t hick salt symmetrically fl a nks the no nh and
south s ides of the oceanic cr ust : 6) seismic s tra tigraphie a nal ysis s uggests thll t earl y sedi men ts
in the Gulf in areas o f transitional c rust represe nt a n upwa rd grada tion from volcanics ,tnd
nonmarine sedime nts induding ev.. porilcs to s hallow marine and then to deep marine ; o nl y
deep marine sedime nts OCCllr in the central Gulf overl ying oceanic c rust.
These da ta s ugges l the fo llowing evolulionary sequence . The early Gulf of Mellico bas in
evolved as a di ve rgent (passive) continental margin at the same time a nd by the same
mec haniSmS a!> the Nort h-A tlan tic m:;rgin. induding the fo rmation of ncw occanic crus t. We
s pecula te that a rifl p/ra se during the Triassic-Juntssic was accompanied by widespread
doming. rifting. a nd filling of rift basins with vo1ca nics and nonmarine rocks as Nor th Ame rica
bega n separating from Africa-Sout h Ame rica. Formation o f t he thi nned transitio na l crust
occurred dud ng this period. During the latter P,tTl o f this phase (Middle-Lule J unlssic) the Gul f
a rea hro ke up into a series of separa te su bsidi ng basins; in sorne o f thcsc basins thic k S;tlt Wlt S
depos itcd in shaltow marine en vironments. A drifl lInd .J/lbside'lee pill/se began in La te
J urassic lime (approximalely 150 my B. P.) wi th major rifting of the central Gulf and form ation
of new ocea n c rus t. The Yuclllan block probably mOI/cd awa )' from No rth Ame rica ,llo ng
NW·S E trcnding flow lines parullel to the No rth-A tla ntic fracture z.o nes. separating the salt
basin on e ither s ide o f the new c rus t. S preading ap P;irently was brie!. but the bas in contin ued
to subside rapidl y due to thermal çooling of the lithos phere. Subsidence was accompa nicd by
gnlVity flowage of salt in to the bas in and Ihc exte ns ive buildup of carbon[l\e ma rgins alo ng a
tec lonic hinge zo ne near the peripher y of the basin. S hallow- to decp-w;ttcr sediments we re
depos itcd .. Jong the margins of the basin , while o nl y deep-wa ter sediments were de posited in
the ncwly-fo r med ocea n basin. The carl y c volulio n of thc basin cnded with a majo r middre
Cret,tceous cvent that produc ed ,1prominenl G urf-wid!! unconformil Y. Total s ubsidence o f the
bas in s ince formation of t he ocean c rust has been up 10 10 km. partl y due 10 sedimentloading
a nd partl y duc to cooling of Ihe lithosphere .

Oeel/lloi. Acw. 1981. '>roceedings 26,h Interna tional Geologklll Congre!>s. Gcolog )' of
continental margins sympos ium . Paris. luly 7- 17. 19HO. 129-136.

129
A T. BUFFlER el si.

RESUME Modèle de ré volution init iale du bassin du Golfe du Mexique

Les données do: si~ mique réneClion el réfraclion du bassin profond d u GoJf~ du ~fcxique
fourni~senl des guides po ur le modè le d 'évolmio n géologique initiale du bassi n. Le ~
princi pa lcs observatio ns. incluant ];1 géométrie dc la croûte . la nature el la répartition de ~
séd ime nts inil iaux sont les suivanlelo: 1) la crOÛle océanique supposée dans la partie cenlmle
profonde du Golfe (5 à 6 km d·épai ~~c ur : 6.8 à 7,1 kl1tls) est bordée ~ymét riq ucmcn t au Nord
el a u Sud par unc c roûle supposée de transition (8 à 15 km d ·épai~~eur : 6.4 à 6.8 kmfs) : 21 le
s ubstratum aco us liquc visible s ur les do nnées de s i ~ miquc réflection dans le Gol(e eenlral eSI
un réflecteur irrégulier représenwnt probablemen t le toit d·un niveau volcaniq ue (basaltiq ue )
correspondant à la couche 2 : 3) au nord de rescar pcmenl de Campêche. le toil de la croûle
tran~ilionnelle est représenté par un fort réflecteurldi locontinuilé régulier qu i limite le~ bassins
du rift ct cst s urmo nté Ù·llne é pai s~e couc he de sel et de séd iments: 4) dan~ Ic Gol fe
mé ridional. la c rOU le de Ira n'iilion cs l constituée de blocs de substratu m basculé~ corrcspon-
da nt probilblement li une croûte continenlale a mincie et effondrée: Ics c rcu x enlre les blocs
sont comblés par les sédiments ~y n - rift : 5) rhorizon salifè rc borde symétriquement le~
cx trémités nord CI sud de III c roûte océanique : 6) la s lratigraphie sismique montre que 'e~
sédiments du Golfe duns les zoncs de croûte transitionnelle rcprés entent une évolution
ver tiC.tle depu is Ics volca nÎtes el les sédiment s continentllux, y compris le.c; évaporites. ve rs
des faciès marins de faible profondc ur . pui ~ de~ ~éd imcn u à grande profondeur de dépôt. ces
dcrniers reposant directement s ur la c roûte océanique dans le Golfe central.
Ces do nnées s uggè rcn t le schéma d ·évolution sui vlln t : le balo~ in initial currespondant au Golfe
du Mexique a é volué comme une marge continenHlle di vergente (passivc). il la même é poque et
~ ui vant Ics mêmes m écanis me ~ que la marge nord-atlantique. y compris la formation de c roûte
océanique. Nous s uppoMlns qu·une "hase d~ distension ("·rif" ·) Trillssico-J urassiquc a élé
accomp:lgnée d·un bombement généralisé. une distcnsion e l un comblemcnt de bassins de rift
par dc ~ volcaniles CI des roches d·origine terre ~ lre lor~que I"Amérique du No rd s·esl séparée
de I"enscmblc Afrique-Amérique d u Sud. La formaI ion de la croûtc de transition amincie a eu
lieu ~ndanc celle période.
Pendan t rultime ét,lpc de celle phase (Jurassiq ue moyen-supérie ur) le Golfe ~ ·cs t morcelé cn
une sérÎe de bassins subsidencs séparés: dans ce rlain~ d·entre eux. un épaiS horizon de sel
s·e,t déposé dans un environnement ma rin de faib le profondeur. Une phase dt s'Ibsidence el
de dlpfacemeJ/l C·drif"" IL débuté a u Jurassique supérieur . iJ y a enviro n 150 millions d·an nécs
avec une di~ten s ion majeure du Golfe ce ntral et la formation d'une c roûle océanique nou velle.
Le bloc Vuca tnn 5·eu pro bablement déplH cé " c ("Illi, rAmériq ue du Nord suivant une dircction
NO-S É parallèle aux failles trllnsformantes de l' Atlantiquc Nord. en séparant le ba s~in salifère
de chaque côté de la nouvelle croûtC océaniquc . L·accrétion fut aplXlremmenl brèvc. mais le
bassin a continué à s ubs ider rapidcment du fait du refro id i~~emcnl de la lit hosphère . La
s ub~idenee IL été accompagnée d ·un fluage par gr:t\'ilé du sel daM le bassin et de la mise en
place d·une marge carbonatée toul le long d·une Lo nc tectonique charnière à la périphérie du
bassin. Des sédiments d ·eau peu profonde il profonde sc sonl dépo~és le long des margcs du
bassin . landis que seuls des sédiments de grande profondeur se son t déposés dans le bassin
océa nique nou vcllcmcnl créé. L ·évolution initiale du ba~s in s·cst tc rm inée au Créweé moye n.
°lur, d·un ,hénement dïmport;;nce majeu re ~ouligné par unc forte discont inuité à I"échelle du
Golfe lout entier. L3 sub~idence 101:'llc du bassin depuis la formai ion de la croÎlle océanique a
été supérieure à 10 km. cn partie à cause de la charge ~é dimenl;tire et en pilrlic à cause du
refroidissement de ln lithosphère .

Ocea nol. A ("((j, t981 . Acles 26'COnllrès Jnternation'II de Géologie. colloque GéOlogie des
marge ~ conlÎnentalcs. Paris. 7-17 juil. 19S0. 120,1·136 .

INTRODU CT ION
The Univers ily of Tc xa~ Marine Scicnce Instilute-
GalveMon Geo("lhys ics La boratory - (UTMS I-GGL) began
in 1974 a Jong-Ierm projec t 10 stud y the geologic hi ~ t ory of
the dee p Gulf o f Mexicu basin a nd adjacent margins using
new seismic rdleClio n and refraction tec hniquclo. Since
then . UTM S I-GGL has collec ted nearly 30.000 km of multi-
fold (t2·fold and 24·(0Id) ~ebmic rdlection data and
12 ocea n bottom sc i~mograph (OBS) reversed refraction
profile s ( Fig. 1). These new dal:! '1llow additional insight~
into Ihe deep structure and slnttigraph Y of Ihc re.'don .
Reccnt plaie re eons truç .ion ~ ba~ed o n paleomagnctic data
suggest various Triassic-Early Jurassic ovcrlap~ o f South
America with ccntral Mexico. Vuca",". and portion~ o f Ihe
G ulf (Ladd , 1976 ; Va n der Voo el al. . 1976 : Pilger. 1978 :
Gosc et ai .. 19S0). These reconstructio ns pl us o lher strue lU-
rai and stratigraphie data, mainly from the periphery of the
G ulf. ha ve led va ri ou~ a Ulhor~ 10 propose models for the
origin of the Gulf that involvc mo\·ement of Ihe Vucalan
block away from North Amerie;1 wilh an alo~oc i <l l ed gene ra-
lion of new oceanic c rust sometime during thc Tri as~ic­
Juras~ i c (Humphri~. 1978; lluffJer et af .. 1980; Dic kinson.
Coney. 1980 : Salvador. 1980 : \Valpe r. 1980). These move-

130
 A MODEL FOR THE EARL Y EVOLUTION OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BASIN

menlS look pl<lce a nd were caused by the same mechanisms explosive charges to be lle r dcfine the deep cruslal struc-
involved wi th the early rifting a nd opening of the North- ture. The profiles were located along multifold seismic lines
Atlantic as Africa-South America besan moving away from (Fig. 1). Thesc data see m to corroborate the idei! tha l two
North Americ<l. Yucatan cou ld have moved eithcr indcpen- types of c rust, oceanic and transition.tl, d o underlie the deep
dently or as pari of South AmericlI. G ull. These te rms. therefore. as defined generally above by
The UTMSI-GGL seismic re fJ ect Îon and refnlct ion data thick ness and velocity. are ado pted for use in this discus·
provide sorne new physical conSlraÎnls thal have 10 be s ion , ahhoug h we realize the origin of the crus i is still
considered in any mode] for the evo]utÎon of the Gulf. controvers ial .
Major (ea tures include: 1) the seÎsm Îc c h,lracter and d is tri- The new O BS data Ilelp OUlline better the general d Îstribu-
bution of Înferred oceanic vs. lra nsilional c rust in the tion o f the two types of crus t in the deep Gulf. Two
central Gulf: 2) the nature and distribution of early sedi· s truct ure sections s ummarizing some of the data a re presen-
ments overlyi ng the crust, especially the symmelrÎcal distri- ted in Figure 2. The long E-W section s uggests that the
bution of sal t on eithe r side of oceanic c rus i : and 3) the oceanic-IYpe c rust extends the enlire length of the basin
inferred subsidence his tory of the basin. T hcse data tend to from beneat h the Mississippi Fan tO t he soulhwestern Gulr.
corroborate the bas ic model that the present G ulf fir st The N-S section s uggests tha t occllnic crus t benell lh the
evolved as a d ive rgent (passive) continental ma rgin a t the easter n Gulf Ihickens bot h no rth and south into sorne kind
sa mc time and by the samc mec hanism as the c arly of Irll nsitional c rus t ( Fig. 2). A more detailed summa ry of
cvolution of the Nort h-A tlantic marg;n. l n conlnlst to Ihe the new refract ion da ta is prcsented by Ibrahim el al . (in
Atlantic margin , however. formation of ocean c rust in the press).
Gul f aborted early. ahhough the basin continued to subside
as the lithosphere cooled and was loaded by sediments.
E.'\ch of the Ihree major featu res are discussed in more wIL _ ,..r • •• n I. ' ..... .... .. • 1 E
,. IL
detail below. This is folJ o wed by a brier discussion of sorne
of the demils of the model as based on the new seismic data.
• -
.. '. "t
- ~ : ::rr: "_ ~"---
- - __ 'W _ __n,
y- _-
'.
_ --=- -""-
-
'1 '. ,.
- ---=
--- --'To ---$
.. " ..

.... '0" '0 ..

-'!-=:.:.:.".,_.
"' · __ __ - - - .0 _-.. - - --- - -" - -10 ...
DISTRIBUTION OF C RU ST - ~ _ !!.. _ --- - --_.~ - - - - -
"'0"
-----•• -
Pre vio usly published re fract ion data first suggesled thm
... Ir

M. -
.-;::-.. =- =:<~_ ~",,!'_ -.:..7c: --;; - - - --.. -
" "' 01
-
-0&

part of the soulhern deep Gull north of the Campeche 000 ... ..·M 10 _10

Escarpment is unde rla in by a relati vely thin "transitional "

crus t (8 to 15 km thick with velocilies 6.4 to 6.8 km/sec.)
which thins nOrlhward to an "oceanic" c rustallayer in the
northern deep Gulf 5 to 6 km thick wÎt h velOCÎties 6.8 to
S li...~ " ~ ~" "~ "O ~ N

. ."----.. - --- -_-----

L
7.1 km/sec. (Ewing et al .. 1960: 1962 : Antoine, Ewing.

..- ....
,. ~ '. Il
1963). A similar crustal structure was Imer ident ilied in the --1
-0-"- - :~
sout hwestern G ulf (Swolrs, 1967). - -.
-or - :l.l

----'0 _-_. . -
.' l,O.o H
ln 1978. UTMSI-GGL shot 12 reversed rcfraclion profiles ... IO-I - !.:.. _ ... - -;: - •• '::-- '10 '"
in the G ulf using ocean bottom seismograph s (OBS) and ,.-".......
=-vs' _ _ c-uo, ........
totM./I, •

"-1 .. - - - - - ~ I
_;, ...... ' cl , _ ........
fi
"-
. ..

'0- .. .. Il . _'0
vroro

Fisure 2
Crll slOl SUI;OIlS IICroSS tlle Grllf <1/ MtXiCfJ boscd rI" UT.WS I D IJS
N'fractiOIl profiles. Sto/lo" 12 S W ' om1 21 W ' aN' from e,..illget al.
(1960. 19(2). VII/oeities are i/l km/ue. SrI' Figllfl! 1 fo r /ocalio" of
ons profiles.

A nmp s howing the general ized dis tri but ion of infcrrcd
ocea nic vs. transitÎonal I;rus t i:. incl udcd as Figure 3. This
map is b.1sed both o n the publis hed and O OS refraction datlt
(1x1TS on Fig. 3) as weil as the scis mic reflcction data
(Fig. 1). This dil\tribution is l.tirly weil controlled over most
ol the basin excepl in the norlhern part benellt h the
Figure 1 Tc:xas-LouisÎana s lope. Hc re li t hic k dcformed salt and
sedime nHtr y sectio n mas ks a ny deep se is mic rcflection and
Mllp of Oulf of Mexico IIfeo slrol<'ing /ocMimr uf UTMSI·GGL
mrllt/fuld sei.mric Un es IInd O HS refroeliQlr profiles. Hea~y lirre rcfrac tion da ta. The presence and distribution of transit io·
alurr g Line G1'2-/O is foell/i/r (If Figure j. l. e/t ers A· /J IlIdleou nul c rus t, the refore. is highly tcntollivc. It is based ma inly on
co"rro/ poillts used ill Figure 7. the assumptio n that the salt underlying the s lo pe is

13 1
A T. BUFFLEA 6/ al.
somewhat lIutochthonous and was clepos ited on transitional
crus!. The form e r assumption is Slillsomcwhal spec ulathe.
while the latter is ba~ed on analogy with the deep southe rn
Gulf (discussed below). If these assumptio ns a re close to
corrcct. there a ppears to be a fair degree of symmetry in Ihe
di ~ tribul io n of transitional c r u~t on either side of the oceanic
crust (Fig. 3).
An acoustic basemenl seen on the multifold seismic data
over most of the c enlral and eas tern deep Gulf is interpreted
to represent the top of the c rust or basement. Il has
diHerent charactcristics in diHerent areas. which provides
da ta to better define the di~ tributio n of the c rus t (Fig. J).
... ; ' ''''. '"
1 ~.-
' .. '
Figure 3
Map shu ...ing gtlleralized dislribl.l/;Qn of octmlic "S. IrU/Isil iOllul
c,usl in Ih .. ,..nlml f1..lf of Mtxico basilr bastd on stismic rtlltc/ion
dala and nlrac/io n da/u. Bars ...·;Ih dork ô rclt s rtprtSt/lt pllblislrtd
ftfroc/ ion da/a. Hta.,y dashtd /int;'1 SO lllhtasltrn Gillf rtprtstnu
rnnd ul ma jo r slruc/llfal bounda,y. Lcng doshtd Unn rtprlStnl
Irtnd of N o rth Allan/le Iracturt ~onts (FZ). }V indicalts orta of
}urossic- ..olca nies in tht slIbsurfact OI .fI! lIlhtrn Frorida I)'ing sO llth
01 Palt<lwic rocks (PAL). Dol/td lillt rtp rUflt/S rrtlld of lIliddlt
CrftU<:fOIlS ,'arbolralt margin uroU/rd p~ rip htf}' 01 Grllf bm·ill.
ln area~ undcrlain by the oceanic c rustal layer defined by
refmction data . acous tic basement is characterized by a
very irregular. high-ampliwde reflec tor. In the central Gulf
the refleclor has considerable relief (up 10 1 km). An
example is d isc ussed by Buffler e/lil. (1980). In the ea~lern
G ulf the rel ief i ~ much more ~ubd ucd . a!though loclii high
relief fealu res occur. An example of li seism ic line in the
eas lern Gulf a long OB5-9 is shown in Figure 4. No te that
Ihe acous tic basement occu r~ beneath the 4.8 km/sec.
refrac tion la yer and that the top of the oceanic crustal layer
(6.8 km/sec .) occurs below the acouslic bascment. Compari-
son of refractio n data and reflcc tion dllla ind iclltes thatthi~
relationship holds true for most of the region.
The ~e i s m ic c h3racteristics of thi s acoustÎc basement in the
deep Gulf lire somcwhat similar 10 the top of oceanic
voicanic layer (laye r 2) in other ba s in ~. Wc interpretthe tup
of this acoustic basement. therefore . to be the top of a
volcanic (basal tic) la yer and the 6.8 km/se c. laye r 10 repre-
sent oceanic layer 3 in Iypical oce an basins (e.g., Worzel.
1974). Evidentl y. the volcanic layer is too thin and tooclo... e
in velocity 10 the overlying sed iments to he dis tinguis hed as
a separale layer on the refraction da la. Aiso. the to p of the
6.8 km/sec . layer docs nO I ftppea r 10 produce a reflector o n
the refleclion data.
132
w E
0- 10 Km
M100lf UoSE Of
CRETACEOUS 08S-9 PlEISTOCENE
6 :_-~_~-~_=~'~·S!'~_::~w~_~_...~__----"""
iii~,~~~:-!.;;:?,-~ô~
. . __
-
~ _
-
...... "-
--~ " ..., -_..-~ '- 1
~--- ~~
.-~
31 .
. .....,....
'<._- -
- '
~- . ~ _ -:- ~
•
- - - 6.8
12: - 8~O ..
SEC
ACOUSTIC BASEMEHf 1TOP
(KM/SEC)
OCEANIC VOl.C»I1C LAYER 21
Figure 4
PortÎon of mullifold .lti.lrnic lillt 16-1- 101. 15 along OB5-9 (Jtt Fig. 1
for local/(JR). Top III 4.8 kml.lte". faytr C'orrnponds ...;Ih ma jor
mÎddlt C fI'/aCtQIIS rtfltcw"rmC'o l1/orm ÎI)'. AC'olls /ÎC' bastmtlll
OCC'l(' S btl1ttllh tht 4.8 km/ste". layu alld Îs ilrltrpfl'rfd /(J rl'p'l'.ft nl
/lit 10P of oC't/mÎC "olC'orrÎC lu)'u 1.
Aiternlilively . the irregular acoustic basement in Ihe oceanic
part of the deep Gulf could represent the top of li thin salt
layer with the re lief being local salt pillows. The seismic
reftection c haracleristics a re very s imila r 10 those observed
for the IOp of salt domes and pillows in t he salt provinces to
the south a nd north . The lac k of any weil s ubstantiated salt
dome in the luea, however. plus the abse nce of a smoolh.
s ub-sal t rd lector seen throughout t he SOUlhern salt province
(d iscussed below and by Buffler t!/ lIl .. 1980). s uggest~ an
interprela tion that salt is absent here .
l n the area underlain by inferred Irans itional crust north of
the Campec he Escarpment (Fig. 3) acous tic basement is
characterized by a high-amplitUde. relal ively s mooth , baSÎn-
wan.l-dipping reflector that corresponds approxim!lld y to
the top of the 6.4 to 6.K km/sec. trans itiomll c ru ~tal layer.
The reflector represents a m(ljor unconformilY , as the
overlying sai l and sedimcntary sect ion onlap a nd pinch out
aga in ~ t il. Over mo~t of the area the renecto r is truly
acoust ic bitsement. but locally it Ifuncates older ~e dimen­
ta r y sequences interpreted to be rift basins (Llidd e/ al..
1976 ; Wa tki ns et al.. 1977 ; Burner t!t al.. 1980). This a rea is
discusscd in more de t;til by Duffler el al. (1980) .
Acous tic txls ement În the a rea underlain by lransilional
c rust in the southeas tern Gulf ( Fig. 3) has a n entirely
different chamcter . Here the surface has an irrcgulilr.
rugged. blocky topography. The lIrelt app<:ar~ 10 consist of
tilled basemenl blocks s ugge ~ tin8 rotation along Iistric
fa ults. and il is intcrprctcd to represent highl y ri hed llnd
allenuated uppcr continental crus l. Lying within the block ~
are basins filled with th ick syn-rifl sed imen ts. A major
NW-SE trend ing structural boundary (heavy das hed linc on
Fig. 3) separa les the region into two major structur!ll
provinces. Southwes t of the boundary. tilled basement
b loc k ~ occur almoS! at the seaftoor and are Cllpped wi th o nly
a thin sediment cover. Northeast of the bounda ry the
irrcgular basement is covered bya thick. relati vely uniform
sedimentluy sequence . An example of the lalle r llrCl\ is
s hown on an interpreted portion of seismic line (GT2-10:
Fig. 5). Profile OBS-12 localed ncar Ihe seismi c line ~ho ws
the veloCÎty structure of the transitio nal c ru ~ t in the area
(Fig. 5).

Fiiture S
Portia" of mul/ifold rt;smic Ii",
072·/0 ill rou/heOS/lm Oulf
(Stt Fig. 1 for loctJfiQn) sllQ"'i"y rifltd cO lllin ln rol crusl Qr
/ransi/io nalouSI conla in/" B rifl btuins. Promi"t,,' unconfor·
milits iflll1'p rtftd la fit ISO m y B. P. and 97 m y B . P. brock.tl a
Ihick posl-rifl Stqul"cl rtprtstfllilly transition IIp'''ord from
shollolO'-lo dttp-mori"t stdimtnls. Nlarby DSDP97 ill projec-
Itd illlO Ih t stelion, and ENA - TZ is a projl'cled DSDP holl' 10
bl' drilll'd in No'·l'mbl'r-Dtcl'mbl1' 1960, 08S-ll locoll'd "tor
Ihe north end of Ihl stetion shows thl ,·t/oeil)' Slructurt 0/ tltl
rron si/ionol ousl.
PR E-MIDDLE C RET ACEOUS SED IMENTAR Y
SEQUENCES
The UT MS I-GG L se ismic d:lla s how Ihal t he deep Gulf is
unde rlai n by Il thick sedimcntary sect ion tha!. in general.
l) thins 10 the soul h and eaSI IInd pinches o ut along the base
of t he Campec he a nd Florida Escarpmenls and 2) Ihie kens
to Ihe no rth and wes t to over 10 km benellth defor med
continental s lopes. Sorne of the details of I.hese sediments
are descri bed in previous UTMSI slUdies (Ladd el al., 1976 :
Wa tkins II al .. 1977: 1978: Buffler lt al.. 1980). A
wides pread strong reflecto r/ unco nform ity ten tatively dated
as middle Cretaceo us (97 my B.I'.) divKies the sedimentary
section into IWO major se qoences (Buffler el al. , 1980).
E:o;amples are s hown on Figu res 4 and S.
The prc-middle Crctaeeous sequence represents rocks
depos ited d uring the carly cvolutionof t he basin. It varies in
th ickness between 2 and 3 km over much of the deep basin
( Buffler el al .. 1980). The sequence can be generally
s ubdivided into syn-rift sediments and post-rif t sed iments.
ln the II rea nonh and west of the Campeche Escarpment
ovcrl ying tra ns itional c rust. the syn-rif t sed iments consist
mainly of a th ic k salt section . The in ferred age of thi!> salt is
Middle to Late Ju rassic . and il i5 inter preted to bc approxi-
mately equivale nt to Ihe Lo ua nn Salt beneath the northern
G ulf coast ( Kir kland, Ger hllrd . 1971). T he seismic refJec tion
da ta :tllow us to map the d istribut ion of this sa lt in t his area
fair ly acc ura tely (Fig. 6). Il pinches OUI to the south along
the base of the Campeche Escarpmcnt against the strong.
.
,,""
.,.
Figu re 6
MUII sI1l> ... ill}/ illferreJ Jil'lrillll/iQII Q/ sull (s Ii/l/lkJ) ill Ille dU/I
cell/ml Gllif (Jf Mexico b(uill.
A MODEL FOR THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BASIN
N
smoOlh refleetor/unco nfor mity intcr preted to represent the
top of the transitional crust (diseussed ltbove and by Buffl e r
el al .. 1980). It is lim ited on the nort h by an inferre d
basement high (Lad d et al. , 1976: Watkins el al.. 1977 :
1978 ; and Buffler el al .. 1980) .
A thic k section of salt also underlies the Texas-Louisiana
slope a nd the area jus i west of the northern Florida
Esca rp me nt (Fig. 6). The exac t d istribution of Ihe salt.
however. is unknown . One model s ugges is thlll mos t of the
sal t beneath the slope is a lloc hlhono us and has mo ved OUI
o ver younge r sediments for d istances up to several l 00 km
(e.g .. H umphris , 1978). Seis mic re fl ee tion data ha ve pene·
trated only the leadint; edge of the sail a l the Sigsbee Scarp
and show sail thrusI up to 10 10 20 km over young rise
sed iments (e .g .. SuHler et al .. 1978). E ve n though the salt
may be allochthonous. it s till mus t have originated from an
extens ive sal t basin somewhere below the s helf-slope
having the same general distribution as s hown on Figu re 6 .
T he original basin ma y be located furthe r landward . T his
d istributiOn s hows u defi ni te symmetry On either side of t he
area of oceflnic c rus t. where salt is interpreled to be abse nt.
T he syn-ri h rocks in the area of the sout heas tern Gulf
underla in by tra nsitional c rus t eonsist of thick sedimentary
s eq ue nces filling basins in the rift topograph y. T hese rocks
lire inte rpre ted tu represe nt volel1nics and conline ntl1 l sedi-
ments illlsed mainly on their se tt.i ng (Fig. 5). Ap pa re nlly.
there is no s alt in this area, possibly bccause these rift
b:tsins neve r we re conncc ted to the seu du ring the time S'11t
was being depos ited elsewhere in the G ulf. These sequences
are eonfined to the nrea of rifted transit ional c rust and pi nc h
o ui nort hward agains t li basemen t high a l t he inferred
oceanic-transitional c rus t boundary. These sediments lie
below a major uneonformity es lima ted by correlation wi th
glObal sea-Ie vcl c hatt to be about 150 my B.P .. the postulal-
cd lime o r forma tion of oce,lII c rust in the central Gulf
(Fig. S).
A post-rifl sedimenlflry !>equence rallging in age from LaIe
Jurassic 10 middle Cretaceous (1S0 to 97 my B. P.) occurs
Ihro ughou t the deep Gulf basin . In the areas o r transitiomll
crusi seis mic s tratigra phie a nalys is s uggesls Ihe sequence
probably represen ts a ttans ition upward trom s haJlow-to
deep-m:trine deposi ts, while in the area or ocellOic c rus t the
sequence probably is to tally decp marine. North of the
Campeche Escarpme nl , t he lo we r part of the sequence is
deformed by early s1IIt flowage and is interpre ted to be Ihe
sout hern Gulf equivalent of the s hallow-waler Upper J uras-
... s ic Smac kover Formation a nd associa tcd rocks beneath the
no rt hern G ulf cuast (B urner et CIl .. 1980). The up per
undcfo rmed part o f this .~eq uence is interpre led to re present
the deep-wn tcr equ ivalent of the massive Lower C re taceous
cO\rbonllte banks tha t fa rm the adjacen t Banco de Climpeche
( Buffl er el al .. 1980) .
133
R T. BUFFlER e/ a/.
The po:.t-rift :.ediments in the SOUlheastern Gulf Iying
between the inferred 150 my and 97 my unconformities also
may represenl an upward transition from rclatively :.hallow-
marine 10 deep-marine deposits (Fig. 5). The gently progrr.-
din g sequences are interpreted to be shallow shelf-slopc
deposits . which are overlai n by a hummocky sequence
intcrprelcd 10 bc deep-sea fan deposits (Fig. 5). Again. Ihe
upper part of the :.equence prob1lbly represents the
deep-water equivalenl of the Lower Cretaceous carbonate
margins forming the adjacent Florida and Campeche
Escarpments. This old carbonate bank margin evidently
rimmed the cntire GuI( bilsin during Lower Cretaceous time
(Neocomian-Ccnomani:.n) (dotted line on Fig. J).
The post-rift sediments in the ccnlml Gulf overlying oceanic
crUSI eonsis t of fi rel r.lively thin, uniformly layercd
seq uence (Fig. 4) which is interpreted to represent il
cornpletely deep-watcr marine section depos ited in the
newly-formed ocean basin.
SU BS IDENC E H ISTORY
One of the more convinc ing arguments for the formation of
an ocean crust in Ju rassic time can bc made by analyzing the
su bsidence history of the bllsin . The top of the ocean c rust
and the salt in the deep basin now lie a t 10 to 12 km bclow
sea ICI/el. In the fo lJowing discussion. it is assumer.! that
1) the Slllt formed at or nellr sea ICI/el. a mode! generally
1lee'epted for mostlarge evaporite deposi ts. and 2) Ihe ocean
eru~ 1 was a t one time only 2 la J km bclow se:l leveJ. the
slarting point o n the subsidence curves of Parsons and
Scla ter (1977). If Ihcse 11~s umption~ <Ire valld. the basin has
subsided up 10 10 km sÎnee Ihe poslUlated ori!:În of the
ucean c rUSI (approximately 150 my B.P.). Only part of Ihis
s ubsidence can be due 10 sediment loadi ng : Ihe remainder
muSI bc explained by other meehanisms ~ uch as lilhospheric
N A
p.
,. " '""'"
1 p.
" 0
,1• "
PL[.nOC.E"E
J ,·,•• p.
LUE
1T
~
: ",.
..=
o
1 .1 ,.
\I.E." 30 : 1
f' OWITLE ' l .
()Ç[A,,!C
tllUST
._ !}"""
. .
<\,<t«,«~««<,\""""" ,,, ~ ~ ..
Fil/ure 7
Sc/.ellla/ie eross-sec/IOII acro,U .~(/U,lIem nU/fgin (Jf Ille dc~p Gulf blm'" (He Fig. 1 /Uf lun/,lu" u/ Hdill"~}' A ' ffpft'l'ftl/S f eSllmuioll 0/ wp of
IX·t'all C"I$I a/ur Slrippillg en tiTe sediment CO/Unlll. A " fl'pfeselll.f illferred dep/II 0/ ocea/lie NI/II ju.1I IIfler /ofllwlioll (1lpproXllllUldy /JI) AI}'
H.P.), CfU.!f lIilS .mh.~ided Il WIIII (J/ 7.4 km (3.4 km hy udim'''t IIJl/dill/,! and 4.0km b)' ('1j()Ung v/ I/.r Ii,hl)~phefr).
134
cooling and contraction of a newly (ormed ocean crust. Thi ~
provides a logical mechanism :.imilar to Ihal proposed for
the subsidence of Ihe Atlantic margin (Sleekler. Wam.
1978: Walls, Sieckler. 1979).
A ~chemalic cro:.s·section across the soulhern margin of the
basin from Yucatan tO the central Gulf is used 10 iIIustrate
furlher Ihe subsidence history ( Fig. 7). The diagmm is very
generalized and i:. ooioed un four vertical ~ection:.. See-
lions A and B are controlled ~trictly by seismic dal .. : C i~
controlled in pan by DSDP 94 and seismie data ; and D i ~
conlrolled by a weil (Yucatan 4) on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Seclion A lies on inferred oceanic crust. If ail the sed ime nts
are stripped off Ihe crust at A using methods outlined by
S teckler and Wall~ (1 97!!), the crust rebound:. <lp proxim,!-
tely J. 4 km (section A ' : Fig. 7). This represents the amount
of subsidence due 10 sed iment loading.
If it is assumer.! that the oeeanic c r usl was a l about 2.5 km
water deplh at the lime of formation or s horll y Iherearler
(secl ion A " : Fig. 7). then Ihe difference between A ' alld
A " (4 km) represents the amo unt of subsidence duc ta other
than sediment loading. i.e .. lithospheric cooling. The total
s ubs idence a t this point h 7.4 km. This is only a s imple. fir:.1
order a pproximation. and it docs not account for eompac-
tian and sea·level changes. The 4 km calcula led here.
howel/er. d(X!s fit weil wilh the subsidence expeeted along a
passive continental m'Irsin due to thermal eooling lllld
contraçtio n of the lithosphere. For example, approxi mately
J.7 km of s ubs idence is pred icted fo r time 150 my from the
curves of Parsons and Sclaler (1977).
We do nO I know exaclly when mosl of the subsidence look
place, since wc d o not know the paleowaler deplh for the
sedimenlar y seelio n. particularly lit the 97 my unconfo r mity
(MCU). It is assumed, however. that mosl of the subsidence
duc to cooli n.l: took place during the first 50 my as predicted
by Ihe subsidence cur ves. This is supponed by 1) Ihe e:\rly
basinward gravit y flowage of :'1111 norlheasl of the Campe·
che Escarpment (Huffler et ,II .. 1980) and 2) the buildup of
o 5
s _ n ' ''E (Yuc.4)
8AHCO <10 CAIoI P[CH(
o
(;O'Itltlt"tAL
tllU st •
..
•
~
•• •
.- -_.
~
~ •
.
 A MOOEL FOR THE EARLY EVOLUTION OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BASIN
massive carbonale bank mllrgins aro und the periphe r y of
the Gulf in La te Ju rass ic·Early C retaceous ti me ( Fig. 3).
Mos t of the subsidence due to sed ime nt loading probably
took pll\Ce s ince 97 my B.P., as Ihis is the l ime re presented
by the thickcst sed imentary section in t he deep mlsin
( Fig. 7).
The schema tic d iagram ( Fig. 7) also s uggests t ha t t he cnti re
Ba nco de Campeche su bsided somewhat uniformly. while
the lIrea of Iransitio na J crus t and oceanic c rust north of the
bank subsided much more rapidly. The blln k margin at the
Campeche Escarpmenl see ms to be controlJed by some s ort
of major hi nge zone in the basement s urface. A sim ilar
hinge zone has becn observed along the Atlantie margin
(Watts , Stcckle r, 1979: Aust in el al., 1980) and may
represen t the boundary between contine ntal and a thinner
transi tional crust.
DISCUSS ION. A MO DEL FOR T HE EA RL Y EVOL U-
T ION OF T H E GU LF O F MEX ICO BAS IN
Interpreta tion of new UT MS I-GG L se ismic refJeetion lmd
refraction da ta liiong with ail previous data allow us 10
s ugges t a model or scenario for Ihe ea rly geologie evol ution
o f the Gulf of Mexico lxlsin. The model Îs b..1Siclllly similar
to earl ie r proposed models , which suggests t hat new ocean
crust fo rmed in the Gulf at the same time (Triassic-Jurassic)
and by Ihe same mec hanisms involved in the evolut ion of
Ihe early North Atlantic margin as North American separa-
ted from Arrica-South America (e.g., H umphris. 1978 :
Dickinson. Coney. 1980 : Salvador, 1980: Walper, 1980).
Our model, ho wever. is s u pported by new seismic refrac-
tion and reflection data , which constr;lill the mode!. Major
feal ures incl ude : 1) Ihe seismic characle r a nd symmetrical
distribution of inferred oceanic vs. transitionnl crust ; 2) the
d istribution of s alt o n eit her side of oceanic c rust ; and 3)
the inferred s u bsidence his tory of the bnsin. These dala arc
presented here or sorne h;we been presented earlier ( Buffler
el al .. 1980).
lJiscussion of the ellrly geologic evo!ulion of Ihe basin i ~
d ivided into two main periods ; a rift plU/se and a drift (II/d
subside/ICe phase. Each phase is discussed in more detail
below.
The rift phase consists of a long period (Triass ic thro ugh
Mitldle Jurassic) of widcsprcad dorning. oplift. rifting. and
fillîng o f basins wilh volcanics and Ilonmarine sediments.
Evidence for this ocçurs ail a lo ng the margins of the North
Atlantic, the no rthern Gulf coast, Hnd in Mexico and
Guatemala. T he J urassie volcanics in the su bs urfaee of
soulhern Florida (JV in Fig. 3) may havc formed d uring the
latter part of Ihis period . T he se ismic da ta in the Gulf
ind icate Ihat s imilar rifting liiso occurred benearth parts of
the dee p sOUlhern Gulf. as evidenced by tillcd blot:ks fmd
rift bllsins filled wilh s ynrift sediment s. This evidently was
pllrt of Il period of great crustal s Iret ching , altenuation. and
fo rmation of th inneJ "transitional" c rust along the entire
Atlantic-Gui ! margin accompanyi ng the early separation of
Nor th America from Arrica-South Ame rica. T he mecha-
nis m in the mantlc for forming th is trllnsition,ll c rus t is not
weil unde rs tooJ but probabl y involves SUlne combinalion of
subc rus tal erosioll, injection of igneous material. and alle-
nuation of the upper c rus!.
During the latter p;lft of Ihe rift phase, the Gulf ;Irea
scparated into ind ivid ua l s ubsiding bas in s. Early Ira nsgres-
sion of the sea in the Midd le J urassie. probably from the
135
south wes l (Pacif ie Ocean), a llo wed depos ition of great
Ih ick nesses of evaporiles in some o f the basins as t he y
continued to s ubs ide. pan ieularly in Ihe cenual Gulf.
Deposilion of the evaporites probably occurred in relatively
shallow-waler environments. Some arells suc h as the rift ed
southeaster n Gulf did not have early access to the sea. He re
thick. nonma ri ne syn-rift sed iments continued 10 f iIJ the rif t
blls ins.
The drifl and subsidence I,/rase began during the carly LaIe
J urassic (about 150 my B. P.) whe n a major rift o pened in t he
cent ra l G ulf and ne w oce a n crust bega n to fo rm as t he rift
widened . II is not k nown how long the period of ocean crust
formation o r seafloor s prea d ing las ted. Il probably was
fa irl y brief and o n the o rde r of severa l millions o f yea rs.
sÎnee the amo un l of separation is only severa] hund red
kilometers. T his period is inte rpreted to correspond appro-
xi mately wilh Ihe major unconfo rmi ty (150 my) in the;:
sout heas te rn Gulf separati ng syn-rift from post-rift sedi-
ments (Fig. 5). The openi ng separated the salt bas ins o n
c ilhcr sitle of t he newly-formed ocean crust.
The symmetry of c rus t and sll11 ( Fig. 3 and 6) ~ugges l that
t he Gulf o pened in a NW-SE d irection. The most logical
direction would he along flow Hnes parai leI to Ihe North
Atla ntic fracture zones (FZ-Fig. 3). SimiJar trends have
been ma pped inlo the eaSle r n Gulf as mllgnetic li nea tions
(Klitgord , US Geological S urvey. pers. comm.). T his trend
is also parallel to the major structural boundary mappcd in
the southeaste r n Gulf (Fig. 3) a nd other structural trends in
t he deep Gulf. Reconstruction of the basin along Ihese lines
111l0WS for a fa irlY good fit between the salt basins. A sligh tly
beller fi t is obta ined. however , by recons tr ucling the Gul f
a long a more N-S d irect ion. Pe r haps the re were several
periods of moveme nt in d iffere nt d irec tions. No mag nelic
lineat io ns or st ripes have yet been indent ified in Ihc central
G ulf to ind icate d irec tion of opening.
A logical plate bounda ry al Ihe time of opening of Ihe Gul f
wo uld he across no rl hern Mexico, through the ccntral Gulf.
and then o ut through the Strai ts of Florida nort h o f Cuba.
T his would involve movemcnl of Mexico Hnd Yucatan away
from North America as one block. Transve rse motion
wo uld he ta ken up lIcross norlhern Mcxico by a n inferred
megashear ( Fig. 3). Such li felltu re has bee n postu lated by
several aut hors (e.g .. Pilger. 1976: Dickinson. Coney,
1980). particularly 10 explain carly (T riassic-J urassic) rota'
tions or nor thern Mexico independenl of North Ame rica as
evide nced by recenl paleomagnetic da ta (Gose el al .. 1980 ).
An alte rn atÎve pla te boundary wo uld be sout h across Ihe
lsthrnus of Tehuantepec, which would altow movement of
Yuca l;ln so ulh as a block indepcndenl of the rest of Mexico.
Afte r seafloor spread ing in the Gulf flborled. possibly due to
pla ie reorgan ization. the bas in began to s ubside ;I S Ihe
lithos phere cooled and contracted . Evidence for su bsidence
is s upported by interpreling the sed imentary history of Ihe
Jeep basi n from the seis mic data. Earl y deforma tÎon of sail
and overlying sed iment s by gravit y flow flge was probably
triggered by su bsidence of the bas in. Shallow-to deep-willer
sediment s we re deposited along Ihc margins of Ihe b,lsin in
areas ovcrlain by s ubs iding trans iriomtl crus!. T he upper
sediment s we re the dee p-wa ter e qui vale nts of the mllssÎve
cHrbonale plalforms Iha t built up on the adjacent. mo re
s table conti nental blac ks. The Lower C retaceous carbonate
mllrgi ns we re conlroll ed. in part. by a tectonic hinge zone
se paral ing Ihe continenla l blocks from the Ihinner trans itio-
nal crust. A re latively thin deep-water section was depositcd
in t he newly-formcd OCClln blls in.
A. T. BUFfLER el al.
The carly (pre-middle Crctaee o us) his tory of the bas in
ended with the formation or a majo r unconformity, which is
characterized by tru ncation of beds below and onlap of beds
above. The unconfor mity is correlated with .1 middle
Cretaceous (97 my) drop in sea level. which may have
caused bottom curTents 10 scour the seafloor. This uncon-
formity represents a basinwide change in sedimentation
incJuding the drowning of the outer mid dle C retaceous
cilrbonate bank marg;ns.
Acknowledgemems
·We aeknowledge the assistance and cooperation of Ce cil
and Ida Green plus the captain and crew of the UT/MSI R/V
lda Gree/!. We also apprecia te the assistance of Mr. John S.
Kunse lman and his stafr for t heir help in proeessing m uch of
the data. Financial su pport for cOllecting. process ing. and
inte rpretation o f the data was provided by the National
Scie nce Found a lion and m.m y petroleum companies. This
support is greally lIppreciated. Ms. Leone Sames assisted
with typ ing t he manuscript. We also than!.. James A. Austin.
Jr., fo r re viewing the manuscript.
This paper is T he University of Texas Marine Science
Institute Contribution No. 406, Gal veston Gcophysics
L'lboratory.
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