Creation of a Continental Margin: 3D Reconstruction of the Gulf of Lion Margin following Messinian Erosion

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The Gulf of Lions presents an opportunity to investigate the development of a continental margin after it had been stripped bare, by the Messinian desiccation of the Mediterranean. One the connection to the open sea was reestablished thick sedimentary sequences with characteristic clinoform morphology were deposited along this margin. PIs propose to use the re-establishment of the continental shelf and slope as a natural experiment for how continental margins evolve in general. They plan to build a 3D picture of the Gulf of Lion region using several thousand km of existing MCS profiles. They will use back-stripping techniques to document layer by layer how the margin developed in 3D, which will allow them to understand the processes involved in the margin growth.