Nearsurface geology of the western Atwater Valley OCS Area, Northern Gulf of Mexico /
This study is based on over 200 km of Deep Tow side aphics.
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
[publisher not identified] ;
1998.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | This study is based on over 200 km of Deep Tow side aphics. scan sonar and subbottom profile data as well as 3.5 kHz surface mounted subbottom profile data. The study area is concentrated along the western border of the Atwater Valley OCS Area in water depths ranging from l,350 meters BSL to 2,000 meters BSL. A grid between 27 10' N and 27 35' N and 89 40' W and 90 05' W was surveyed to determine the seafloor morphology and geologic processes active in the study area. A geophysical survey was conducted aboard Texas A&M University's R/V Gyre using a refurbished Edo Deep Tow survey system. The Deep Tow system provides high-resolution side scan sonar images and subbottom profiler data not possible with any other type of system. The reason for the high quality of data acquired with such a system is the proximity of the townish to the seafloor. By towing the townish at an altitude of 30 m above the seafloor, the problems of beam spreading and loss of energy and resolution are virtually eliminated (Bryant, 1998,. Wright, 1994,* Prior et al. 1988,* Prior and Coleman, 1981). The survey system described provided high quality subbottom profiles and side scan records of the study area. The side scan imagery allowed for the identification and mapping of various seafloor types and processes, acoustic seabed qualities and texture, and mass wasting or slope failure events. The subbottom profiles provided further evidence of mass wasting and slope failures as well as the near seafloor geologic and environmental factors responsible for the seafloor morphology and seabed processes in the study area. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Vita. "Major subject: Oceanography". |
| Physical Description: | xii, 196 leaves : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96). |