Changes

Major influxes of sand into the northern GOM margin have shifted laterally from the Late Cretaceous to Recent.<ref name=ch04r114>Winker, C., D., 1982, Cenozoic shelf margins, northwestern Gulf of mexico: Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geological Societies Transactions, vol. 32, p. 427–448.</ref> Each of these depocenters is related to the progressive filling of the basin margin, shifting the accommodation space basinward. Accommodation space refers to the volume of space available for sediment accumulation—the space resulting from the interaction of tectonic subsidence or uplift, sea level change, and compaction of the underlying sediment. Additionally, the lateral shift of the fluvial systems is recorded by sand-prone facies that document both the primary input area and the lateral shift of the depocenter through time.

Major influxes of sand into the northern GOM margin have shifted laterally from the Late Cretaceous to Recent.<ref name=ch04r114>Winker, C., D., 1982, Cenozoic shelf margins, northwestern Gulf of mexico: Gulf Coast Assoc. of Geological Societies Transactions, vol. 32, p. 427–448.</ref> Each of these depocenters is related to the progressive filling of the basin margin, shifting the accommodation space basinward. Accommodation space refers to the volume of space available for sediment accumulation—the space resulting from the interaction of tectonic subsidence or uplift, sea level change, and compaction of the underlying sediment. Additionally, the lateral shift of the fluvial systems is recorded by sand-prone facies that document both the primary input area and the lateral shift of the depocenter through time.

Many of these lateral shifts result from tectonic events along the basin margin or within the drainage basins themselves.<ref name=ch04r34>Galloway, W., E., 1989a, Genetic stratigraphic sequences in basin analysis I: architecture and genesis of flooding-surface bounded depositional units: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 73, p. 125–142.</ref> The lateral shift of the fluvial-deltaic systems is also reflected in the lateral shift of the gravity-flow depositional systems on the slope and basin floor (see Feng and Buffler, 1994).

Many of these lateral shifts result from tectonic events along the basin margin or within the drainage basins themselves.<ref name=ch04r34>Galloway, W., E., 1989, [http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1988-89/data/pg/0073/0002/0100/0125.htm Genetic stratigraphic sequences in basin analysis I: architecture and genesis of flooding-surface bounded depositional units]: AAPG Bulletin, vol. 73, p. 125–142.</ref> The lateral shift of the fluvial-deltaic systems is also reflected in the lateral shift of the gravity-flow depositional systems on the slope and basin floor (see Feng and Buffler, 1994).

The map below shows major sand influxes into the northern Gulf of Mexico from Late Cretaceous to Recent. Each area of sand-prone sediment provides age-specific potential reservoirs within these fluvial-deltaic depositional systems.

The map below shows major sand influxes into the northern Gulf of Mexico from Late Cretaceous to Recent. Each area of sand-prone sediment provides age-specific potential reservoirs within these fluvial-deltaic depositional systems.