Effects of eustatic and tectonic forcing on development of forearc basin sequence stratigraphy

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This is a project to collect high-resolution multichannel seismic data in the Sandino forearc basin offshore Nicaragua. The data will be used to determine if a eustatic sea level signal can be discerned near a plate boundary. The data will be used to test the hypothesis that tectonic effects can be identified and distinguished by acquiring multichannel seismic data that define unconformities and sequences that can be correlated with coeval sequences from other margins and with the deep-sea oxygen isotope record proxy for sea-level change. This project will tackle the important problem of separating the records of tectonic effects and eustasy on an active margin. If successful, it may be possible to extract eustatic records from other active margins, thereby improving our understanding of global sea level change.