[iris-bulk] GSA special session on GoM continental margin

[IRIS]

Geological Society of America 2008 Annual Meeting
5 - 9 October 2008
Houston, TX

Abstract deadline: June 3, 2008


Topical Session T64. Lithospheric Structure and Geologic Evolution of  
the Gulf of

Mexico Passive Margin (Organized by Libby Anthony, Steve Gao, and Bob  
Stern)


Cosponsored by:

*	GSA Geophysics Division
*	GSA Structural Geology and Tectonics Division
*	GSA South-central Division
*	Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies


Keynote speakers:

*	Randy Keller - Geophysical evolution of the Gulf Coast.
*	Tim Lawton -  Tectonics of northeastern Mexico: salt diapers, mega- 
shear accommodation and Cenozoic uplift
*	Jim Pindell - The onshore-offshore evolution of the Gulf of Mexico.


Passive margins are hundreds of kilometers across and consist of thick  
sedimentary sections built above broad transition zones that separate  
oceanic and continental crusts and lithospheric mantles. Link to EOS  
Forum article. Your interest in Texas and Gulf geology would be a  
positive contribution to this session, and we urge you to submit an  
abstract. Please also share this email with other colleagues with  
similar interests. We hope to see you in Houston!


Libby Anthony, Steve Gao, and Bob Stern


Session description

Only by studying passive margins can we understand how oceanic and  
continental crust and lithosphere merge into each other, and what  
controls the massive subsidence that allows many thousands of meters  
of sediments to accumulate, such as underlies the 2008 meeting site in  
Houston.   The sedimentary section of passive margins harbors most of  
the undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves and is the focus of intense  
study, exploration, and drilling by oil companies. Passive margins  
straddle the divide between continental and marine geology, posing  
special challenges for academic scientists that wish to carry out  
comprehensive studies.  The nature of the underlying transitional  
crust and lithosphere is much more poorly studied.  This session will  
focus on a wide range of issues related to the geology and geophysics  
of the Gulf of Mexico and the region that surrounds it, focusing on  
Triassic and Jurassic rifting and spreading in the Gulf itself as well  
as rift flank uplift and subsidence and sedimentary responses on its  
margins.   We are especially interested to address the question of  
whether the transitional crust of the Gulf of Mexico is dominantly a  
volcanic construction (volcanic passive margin) or formed by amagmatic  
extension (rifted passive margin), and how this affected passive  
margin development.


This session takes advantage of the location of Houston as the largest  
city built on the Gulf of Mexico passive margin and the concentration  
of oil companies in the Houston area. A large fraction of the US  
population lives on or near our passive continental margins, and  
natural hazards of hurricanes, tsunamis, and rapid subsidence also  
make it imperative to better understand the evolution of passive  
margins like the Gulf of Mexico. Furthermore, the transportable  
seismometer array of NSF initiative "EarthScope" is planned to  
traverse the continental part of the region beginning in 2010 and this  
technical session will help prepare the community to take advantage of  
the new that this deployment promises to provide.

=======================================
Stephen S. Gao, PhD,
Associate Professor of Geophysics,
Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering,
Missouri University of Science & Technology (MST)
129 McNutt Hall, Rolla, Missouri 65409,
E-mail: sgao at mst.edu <mailto:sgao at mst.edu>
Office Phone: (573)-341-6676, FAX:(573)-341-6935
http://www.mst.edu/~sgao
http://mars.mcnutt.umr.edu/GG <http://mars.mcnutt.umr.edu/GG>   
(Geology & Geophysics at MST)

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