[iris-bulk] GSA Topical Session on Gulf of Mexico Lithospheric Structure

[Gao, Stephen S.]

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 (UTEP), Steve Gao (Missour S&T), and Bob Stern (UT Dallas)
 

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.



 
  
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