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Collaborative Paleomagnetic, Remote Sensing, and Field Investigation of the Neogene
Fragmentation of the Maya Block with Implications for Jurassic Opening of the Gulf of
Mexico
University of New Mexico
Dr. Tim F. Wawrzyniec
Dr. John W. Geissman
The Gulf of Mexico is arguably one of
the most studied and most prolific
petroleum basins in the world. The
tectonic evolution of this basin
initiated in the Jurassic when part of
the southern margin of Laurentia, the
Maya Block, drifted away from the
craton to form the Gulf and the easily
recognized Yucatan Peninsula.
Subsequent deposition of
sedimentary rocks within the Gulf of
Mexico basin has obscured much of
the evidence of this rifting of the
North American continent. Models
that describe Gulf rifting have two
deficiencies. First, motion of the
Maya Block is generally described as a net counter-clockwise rotation of 35-70° about one or two Euler poles. None of these
proposed rotations honor any paleomagnetic data from the southern Mexico that indicates an additional 20-30º or a total of
55-100° of counter-clockwise rotation. Second, none of these models consider the possibility that the Maya block has been
tectonically modified with the formation of the Neogene Chiapas fold and thrust belt. The proposed research is making use of
recently reported data regarding transform geometry and is acquiring a robust paleomagnetic data set to demonstrate an
alternative hypothesis for Gulf rifting and Neogene Fragmentation of the Maya Block. Such work promises to revolutionize
our understanding of how the Gulf of Mexico formed and the nature of key structures with the ability to influence the basin
wide sedimentary architecture of this important petroleum province.