Abstract Direct simple shear experiments on mud samples from 0 to 15 mbsf (metres below seafloor) in the Ursa Basin (northern Gulf of Mexico) document that stress level impacts shear strength and pore pressure during failure. As burial depth increased (from 7.35 to 13.28 mbsf), cohesion decreased (from 12.3 to 6.5 kPa) and the internal friction angle increased (from 18° to 21°). For a specimen from 11.75 mbsf, an increase in maximum consolidation stress (from 45 to 179 kPa) resulted in an increase in the shear-induced pore pressure (from 29 to 150 kPa); however, the normalized peak shear stress decreased (from 0.37 to 0.25). Our results document that consolidation at shallow depths induces a positive feedback on pore-pressure genesis. For resedimented samples, which lack a stress history, cohesion was 3.6 kPa and the internal friction angle was 24°. As the maximum consolidation stress increased (from 40 to 254 kPa) on resedimented samples, the shear-induced pore pressure increased (from 22 to 203 kPa), whereas the normalized peak shear stress decreased (from 0.32 to 0.25). Our experiments showed that resedimented samples have similar strength and failure behaviour to intact samples. By constraining pore pressure, strength and initial stress state, we gain a better insight into slope-failure dynamics. Therefore, our experiments provide constraints on strength and shear-induced pore pressure at the onset of shallow failure that could be included in slope-failure and hazard models.

Abstract High-resolution multichannel seismic reflection data, exploration industry three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data, and heat-flow measurements collected on the southeast side of a mini basin (Casey basin) in the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope have been used to characterize a bottom-simulating reflector (BSR). The BSR, which covers a small area of about 15 km 2 (6 mi 2 ), is identified by crosscutting relationships with seismic stratigraphy. Two mounds are identified. The larger Alpha mound is structurally formed at the junction of three arms of the structural high east of the mini basin. The smaller Beta mound may be a seep site. Conventional heat-flow measurements yield higher gradients (39–49 mK/m) to the northeast of the structural high and lower values (30–38 mK/m) to the south and west along the edge of the mini basin, which is separated from the structural high by the eastern Casey fault zone. When the near-sea-floor thermal gradients are extrapolated to the depth of the BSR, the resulting temperatures are generally too low if the BSR marks the base of the hydrate stability zone in a methane-only gas-hydrate system. Plausible changes in pore-water salinity or gas composition cannot account for this disparity, and thermal perturbations caused by fluid down welling, mass wasting, or depth-dependent thermal conductivity variations might best explain the low predicted BSR temperatures. The recognition of a BSR in the study area provides geophysical evidence that a hydrate stability zone with trapped free gas at its base exists in the northern Gulf and that minibasins can be locations for finding subsurface hydrate-associated free gas and probable gas hydrate.