Multichannel seismic data and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) well information reveal a prominent erosional unconformity in the deep southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Corresponding to a 44 to 38.5 m.y. B.P. hiatus (middle to late Eocene) at DSDP site 540 (Leg 77), the unconformity was apparently produced by the bottom effects of wind-driven surface currents (paleo-Florida Current) and gravitational mass movements capable of scouring the slope. Intensification of these sedimentary processes may have been related to global cooling and a reported drop in sea level in the late Eocene, but it may also have been part of a complex global response to a postulated Paleogene meteorite impact.

This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

First Page Preview

First page PDF preview
You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.