Structural profile of the northwestern Caribbean

Earth and Planetary Science Letters
By: , and 

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Abstract

A seismic reflection and gravity profile across the continental margin of the Yucatan Peninsula, Yucatan Basin, Cayman Ridge, and Cayman Trough suggests that sediments in the Yucatan Basin consist of a thick succession of beds dominated by turbidites that overlie a thick but irregular sequence of beds, probably dominated by pelagic deposits. The so-called “Carib beds”, present elsewhere in the Caribbean, are not evident in the part of the basin crossed by this profile. The sedimentary section rests on a acoustic basement that probably represents the top of oceanic layer 2. A gravity model indicates that the crust beneath the Yucatan Basin is thin and therefore probably is oceanic in character. The crust thickens southward under the Cayman Ridge but thins again beneath the Cayman Trough. This local thickening is consistent with the suggestion that the Cayman Ridge is a rifted part of the Nicaraguan Rise.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Structural profile of the northwestern Caribbean
Series title Earth and Planetary Science Letters
DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(72)90273-7
Volume 17
Issue 1
Year Published 1972
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Description 6 p.
First page 175
Last page 180
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