SEISMIC FACIES OR HOW GEOPHYSICS HELPED SHAPE SUBMERGED PALEOLANDSCAPE STUDIES ON THE GULF OF MEXICO OCS

Seismic facies are a well-known and well used interpretative output of the interpretation of geophysical data. The term indicates its source – acoustical or seismic geophysics. The “facies” concept is a geological methodology for the classification of sedimentary lithologies. The use of seismic facies represents an effort to create a methodological analogue in order to correlate geophysical data with the geology where these data were obtained. Early efforts to characterize submerged landforms for potential prehistoric cultural resources used this methodology to interpret shallow geophysical data taken by subbottom profilers (SBP) and similar acoustical devices. This article will examine the efficacy of this approach and how it helped shape the search and characterization of submerged prehistoric landscapes and cultural resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).