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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.