INTEGRATING 3-D INDUSTRY SEISMIC WITH SHALLOW, HIGH-RESOLUTION SEISMIC: HAVE DEEP-SEATED FAULTS AFFECTED PLEISTOCENE THROUGH HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENTS OF SOUTH LOUISIANA

The Baton Rouge fault system of Louisiana is a well-known recently active system consisting of en echelon, east trending, down-to-the south normal faults across the northeast periphery of the Mississippi River delta plain. Two, industry-donated, 3-D seismic surveys across 860km² have enabled the identification of deep-seated faults within Lake Borgne, just to the east of the well-established Baton Rouge system. Four major (< 6 km fault trace) faults are imaged within the deep seismic surveys of the Lake. The industry surveys were not processed for shallow depths (>600m). To bridge the depth gap in seismic, high frequency, shallow resolution seismic data has been acquired in areas where faults are projected to intercept the surface. 80km of high-resolution data has been collected using an Edgetech 216S CHIRP sub bottom profiler and a Falmouth HMS620 bubble gun system. Integration of the high resolution data with the industry 3-D seismic data is fundamental to evaluating whether these faults are recently active (Holocene) and if they are strike aligned to nearby, linear wetland loss patterns. If these faults are active they could impact the integrity of the New Orleans “Land Bridge”, adjacent to Lake Borgne. This strip of land plays a crucial role in the flood protection of New Orleans, through flood walls and the “Lake Borgne surge barrier”.