PALEOGENE DEPOSYSTEMS AND STRATIGRAPHIC EVOLUTION OF THE GULF OF MEXICO BASIN

Sequence accumulation rate maps based on graphic correlation of reported stratigraphic events in >200,000 industry wells and published studies provide synoptic views of Paleocene-Eocene deposystems in the Gulf of Mexico Basin that are chronostratigraphically consistent across the entire region. At the end of the Mesozoic, epeiric carbonates, broad relict banks, shallow allochthonous salt canopies, and steep continental slopes establish a basin morphology that begins receiving large volumes of siliciclastic detritus from the developing Laramide uplift. This sediment flood initiates the supply-driven Paleocene-Eocene depositional cycle (PEDC). PEDC accumulation patterns reveal accommodation dominated by the K/T calcareous to siliceous basin transition and mobile salt. Primary PEDC architecture consists of expanded shelf margin depocenters in southeastern Texas, associated thin slope aprons, and a robust Western Gulf Basin fan system fed from western Texas and southeastern Mexico drainage systems. Fan deposition is also indicated in the Central Basin, suggesting Appalachian sourced sediment transport through southeastern Louisiana. Inclusions of Eocene sediments in salt bodies within the Neogene salt canopy support PEDC salt displacement there. The PEDC collapses when accelerated uplift of the Colorado Plateau and development of the Rio Grande Rift provide topographic barriers which starve Texas drainage systems while enhancing Missouri-Mississippi drainage.