Seismic stratigraphy of the Northwest Gulf of Mexico

Pleistocene sedimentation at the outer continental shelf of the northwest Gulf of Mexico was related to eustatic fluctuations of sea level during the Wisconsin period. Four seismic sequences interpreted from high resolution records corresponded to deposition during a Recent high sea level stand, a late Wisconsin low sea level stand, a middle Wisconsin interglacial high stand, and the forth sequence was evidenced by the record of deposition during an early Wisconsin low sea level stand. Growth faulting, seen as expansion of section, and a more prevalent faulting due to salt diapirism were present throughout the study area. The growth faults were consistent through the sections. Faults related to diapirism were local and many were not traceable from section to section. Both growth faulting and diapirism, as well as eustatic sea level changes, seem to have exerted an influence on sedimentation in the study area