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Calibration of Seismic Data from the Western Margin of Great Bahama Bank with Exposed Strata in the Maiella Mountains (Italy)

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Calibration of Seismic Data from the Western Margin of Great Bahama Bank with Exposed Strata in the Maiella Mountains (Italy) Calibration of Seismic Data from the Western Margin of Great Bahama Bank with Exposed Strata in the Maiella Mountains (Italy) © Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI Eberli, G.P.*, Anselmetti, F.S.**, Bernoulli, D.**, Betzler C.*** and Van Konijnenburg J.H.**** *Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory, University of Miami **Geological Insitute, Swiss Institue of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland ***University of Hamburg, Germany **** Carbonate Team Shell, Rijswijk Rationale for Study: The isolated carbonate platforms of the Bahamas are often taken as a modern analogue for the interpretation of ancient platform deposits. Insight to the architecture of the banks is limited to seismic and core data. Ancient analogs can help interpret these subsurface data sets. The Maiella Platform is a superbly exposed platform with a similar evolution as Great Bahama Bank. A comparison of the seismic and outcrop architecture helps to better understand the stratigraphic architecture and sedimentary processes at isolated platform margins. Little Bahama Umbria/Marche Bank M. dei Fiori FLORIDA Adriatic Sea 0 100 km Gran S asso ROMA Northwest Providence PESCARA 26 e rida Channel Miami el N ? Chann Maiella A A D ROMA Mt. SimbruiB Marsica 30o 30o CA PL Straits of Flo Northeast Providenc Gargano M ine Intern B ni A estern L Tongu Mt. Lep al all Y W EM Unda ochth Clino Andros ini CA Site 1005 Site 1007 Island e of the Ocean onous Site 1006 Site 1003 Exuma Sound units Matese A 24 N o o Cay Sal Tyrrhenian Sea 0 0 Bank B NAPOLI Great Bahama Quaternary volcanoes Bank Pelagic sequences (Umbria/Marche basin) 50 km Continental areas Marine areas (continental crust) Carbonate turbidites; slope- and CUBA base-of-slope sediments Major thrusts Carbonate platforms Ocean crusts Subduction zones Carbonate platform: Subsurface front of internal A: Maiella - Apulia allochthonous units 80 78 76 B: Lazio - Abruzzi Late Cretaceous (84 Ma) paleogeography and Map of Great Bahama Bank with location The Maiella platform and the base-of-slope the location of the Bahamas archipelago (B) of wells and seismic data set used in this setting in the Gran Sasso area and the and the peri-Adriatic platforms (M). study. present-day position of the Apulia (A) and Key: A, Adria; B, Bahamas; CA, central Atlantic; Lazio-Abruzzi (B) platforms. In the Gran D, Dinarides; EM, eastern Mediterranean; Sasso area the base-of-slope section is M, Maiella; PL, Piemont-Liguria ocean; thrust into Mesozoic-Tertiary strata and Y, Yucatan. flysch, while the Apulia platform margin in the Montagna della Maiella is only marginally involved in the thrusting. Architecture and Facies of Great Bahama Bank Western Prograding Margin Bimini BankStraits of Andros Andros Bank 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 s (two-way tavel time) 3.0 3.5 4.0 30 km Questions: What is responsible for the chaotic facies of Bimini and Andros Bank? What is the facies of these banks? Answer: Taking the Maiella Platform as an analog, the facies is a horizontally bedded platform interior facies. The seismic facies is caused by low impedance contrasts in the strata that is below the signal/noise ratio. Stratigraphy and Architecture of the Maiella Platform Stratigraphic architecture A View from the Maiella platform to the Maiella platformmargin Gran S assod'Italia base of slope margin and onto the slope sediments. SSE NNW 1200 m 5a In the foreground is the Cretaceous 5 4 3 2 Santo Spirito Fm. 3 500 m 4 5a Venacquaro Fm. platform, which is onlapped along the Cima delle Orfento Fm. F. Gelata Fm. Murelle Fm. 3-5 M. Corvo Fm. 1 2 2 vertical escarpment by slope sediments. 1 Tre G scale rotte Scaglia Bianca Fm. 0 Fm. change Morrone di Pacentro Fm. 1 1L V a Cefalone Fm. The overlying uppermost Cretaceous lle d e F ll'In m fe . rn Maiolica Fm. 0 o 0 0 0 12 km 0 10 km sediments level the relief B between platform and slope. Time Stages Eustatic curve after in Ma SSE Maiella platform marginNNW SSE Gran Sasso base-of-slope WNW Haq et al. (1988) Series 10 The top of the mountain to the left is Serravalian 15 Langhian Bolognano Fm. Burdigalian Miocene deposits 20 Sea-level Rise Fall formed by Upper Eocene slope and Aquitanian 25 25 25.2 Chattian ?5a ?5a Venacquaro Formation 30 30 Rupelian ? ? ? 35 Oligocene reefal units, which 35 36 Priabonian SS5 40 40 Bartonian 45 45 Lutetian SS4 prograde over slope deposits. 50 SS4 50 Ypresian Formation 54 ? Santo Spirito Fm. 55 55 Fonte Gelata Thanetian SS3 SS3 60 Vertical relief from mounaintop 60 3 ? Danian Paleocene Eocene Oligocene Miocene 65 65 66.5 Maastrichtian 70 70 Orfento Fm. M. Corvo Formation escarpment to the valley floor is SS2 75 75 Campanian 80 80 SS1 approximately 1200 m. 85 85 Santonian Cima delle SS1 Scaglia Bianca Formation Upper Cretaceous Coniacian 90 90 Turonian Murelle Fm. Tre Grotte Fm. Cenomanian 95 95 96 Valle del Cefalone Formation From Anselmetti et al. 1997 Inferno & 100 100 Bocca di Valle ? ? ? Albian 105 105 SS0 ? 110 110 Aptian L. Cretaceous Morrone di 115 Barremian Pacentro Fm. Maiolica Formation (A), chronostratigraphy and time space diagram (B) of the Maiella platform and the Gran Sasso base-of-slope (after Vecsei 1991; Eberli et al., 1993; Sanders, 1994; Mutti et al., 1996; Van Konijnenburg, 1997). The two areas are not connected and correlation is based on biostratigraphy and facies evolution. Numbers refer to the supersequences defined in the Maiella platform and the correlative units in base-of-slope setting in the Gran Sasso area. Seismic facies of platform, escarpment and onlapping slope and its outcrop analog Great Bahama Bank Maiella Platform 0 SSE NNW Tertiary slope and 6 Prograding Margin ? 6 prograding units constructional margin 0.2 5 4 Santo Spirito Fm. 6 3 2 5 0.4 Orfento Fm. 3 4 Cima delle Basin Fill Murelle Fm. Orfento Fm 2 0.6 1 Platform 0.8 Escarpment Basin Fill 1 Tre Grotto Fm 0 Tre G rotte Fm. s (two-way travel time) 1.0 Slope/basin Morrone di Pacentro Fm. aggrading platfrom 1.2 Escarpment km 0 1356724 8 91011121314 Platform Interior Escarpment Slope and Basin The western margin of the buried Bimini Bank has Schematic cross-section across the Mailla Platform The escarpment is an undulating surface with an ave- an escarpment that separates transparent/chaotic margin displays the escarpment, onlapping basinal rage declivity of approximately 35 degrees. Horizontally seismic facies from onlapping continuous reflections. sediments and the transformation from an aggrading layered platfrom carbonates extend to the escarpment, Above the escarpment the plaform develops from an to a prograding platfrom. documenting erosion of the marginal facies. aggrading to a prograding platform. The synthetic seismic model, Maiella Platform Effects of noise and amplitude gains Stratigraphyof the escarpment CMP NO. 1 2141 6181 101 121 141161 181201 221 241261 281 301 321 341 361 381 1 km time-window of displayed sections 0 0 200 200 Basin Fill 400 Time (msec) Orfento Fm 400 Time (msec) 600 Platform no noise - true amplitudes 10% noise - true amplitudes 0 Basin Fill 600 Escarpment Tre Grotto Fm 200 Platform Interior Escarpment Slope and Basin 400 Seismic Facies at 30 HZ: Time (msec) 600 no noise - time-ramp scaling 10% noise - time-ramp scaling Platform: Transparent to low amplitude reflections 0 Karstified platform top: Strong wavy reflection 200 Escarpment at Cima delle Murelle with onlapping 400 Slope: High-amplitude continuous reflections Time (msec) basinal sediments. Cliffs are megabreccias, forested Reefs: Discontinuity in reflection, small patch 600 no noise AGC (100ms) 10% noise AGC (100ms) areas are periplatform and slope sediments. reefs fall below seismic resolution 0 200 The transparent facies of the platform interior is 400 caused by the low reflectivity that barely exceeds Time (msec) the noise levels. 600 The sequence stratigraphic significance of carbonate platform escarpments Ages across hiatus in escarpment Depositional Geometries Depositional Geometries Slope and Basin 66.5 Maastrichtian SS2 SS2 74.5 SS1 SS1 Campanian 84 Santonian and 88.5 Hiatus Coniacian Time Diagram Using Sequence Stratigraphic Interpreta True Time Diagram 91 Turonian Cenomanian 97.5 Ma SS0 Albian Platform 1 km SSB Ages document coeval sedimentation in the basin and on the platform Anselmetti (1994) Seismic facies of upper slope and its submarine canyons Miami Submarine F L O R I A D Canyons 200 m Western Line Clino Unda Wedge of N Andros Drift Deposit 1006 1005 Island Straits of Florida 1003 1007 CAY SAL BANK 1008 GREAT 1009 BAHAMA Nicholas Channel BANK 10 km ~100 m CUBA N Vertically exaggerated three-dimensional view of Pliocene slope topography with Location map of Bahamas Transect canyons that run perpendicular to and seismic survey area (black box). the shelf break into the Straits of Florida 1 km 550 Canyons in slope Transparent seismic facies consists of fine-grained peri- platform ooze Seismic facies of slope is high amplitude ms (twt travel time) and discontinuous 850 Seismic line along strike displaying submarine slope canyons on upper Seismic line along Bahamas Transect displaying slope slope with cut and fill geometries but the facies of the fill is not known. facies and canyon cuts. Comparison to geometry and facies of Cretaceous canyon fills, Maiella SW Great Bahama Bank NE 2662 N Oligocene Mte S.Angelo 2669 m 0.7 U. Eocene 2500 m 0.8 2500 m 2400 m 0.9 U. Paleocene 1200 m m 1200 1.0 2400 m Camp.-Maast. two-way travel time (sec) travel two-way 2300 m a) 5 km 2300 m U. Eocene b) c) 700 m 700 m U.
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