Yucatan Subsurface Stratigraphy from Geophysical Data, Well Logs and Core Analyses in the Chicxulub Impact Crater and Implications for Target Heterogeneities

Details Yucatan Subsurface Stratigraphy from Geophysical Data, Well Logs and Core Analyses in the Chicxulub Impact Crater and Implications for Target Heterogeneities Yucatan Subsurface Stratigraphy from Geophysical Data, Well Logs and Core Analyses in the Chicxulub Impact Crater and Implications for Target Heterogeneities

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p31a1703c&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P31A-1703

Physics

Geophysics

[3005] Marine Geology And Geophysics / Marine Magnetics And Paleomagnetics, [3025] Marine Geology And Geophysics / Marine Seismics, [5420] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Impact Phenomena, Cratering, [8136] Tectonophysics / Impact Phenomena

Scientific paper

Asymmetries in the geophysical signature of Chicxulub crater are being evaluated to investigate on effects of impact angle and trajectory and pre-existing target structural controls for final crater form. Early studies interpreted asymmetries in the gravity anomaly in the offshore sector to propose oblique either northwest- and northeast-directed trajectories. An oblique impact was correlated to the global ejecta distribution and enhanced environmental disturbance. In contrast, recent studies using marine seismic data and computer modeling have shown that crater asymmetries correlate with pre-existing undulations of the Cretaceous continental shelf, suggesting a structural control of target heterogeneities. Documentation of Yucatan subsurface stratigraphy has been limited by lack of outcrops of pre-Paleogene rocks. The extensive cover of platform carbonate rocks has not been affected by faulting or deformation and with no rivers cutting the carbonates, information comes mainly from the drilling programs and geophysical surveys. Here we revisit the subsurface stratigraphy in the crater area from the well log data and cores retrieved in the drilling projects and marine seismic reflection profiles. Other source of information being exploited comes from the impact breccias, which contain a sampling of disrupted target sequences, including crystalline basement and Mesozoic sediments. We analyze gravity and seismic data from the various exploration surveys, including multiple Pemex profiles in the platform and the Chicxulub experiments. Analyses of well log data and seismic profiles identify contacts for Lower Cretaceous, Cretaceous/Jurassic and K/Pg boundaries. Results show that the Cretaceous continental shelf was shallower on the south and southwest than on the east, with emerged areas in Quintana Roo and Belize. Mesozoic and upper Paleozoic sediments show variable thickness, possibly reflecting the crystalline basement regional structure. Paleozoic and Precambrian basement outcrops are located farther to the southeast in Belize and northern Guatemala. Inferred shelf paleo-bathymetry supports existence of a sedimentary basin extending to the northeast, where crater rim and terrace zones are subdued in the seismic images.

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