High-resolution Seismic Surveying for Pleistocene Sequence Stratigraphy, New Jersey Continental Shelf and Slope, in Support of STRATAFORM

Abstract

Abstract : The collection (in 1995) and ongoing analysis of high-resolution multichannel seismic (MCS) data on the New Jersey shelf/upper slope is part of STRATAFORM, and specifically supports Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 174A (June-July, 1997). The goal is to link sedimentation processes to preserved sequence stratigraphy and facies architecture, the primary STRATAFORM objective. Leg 174A was designed to ground-truth STRATAFORM nested seismic data (Figure 1) by studying sea level history during the Icehouse (i.e., last approx. 35 Ma), in conjunction with Leg 150 on the upper slope (Mountain et al., 1994) and Coastal Plain drilling (Legs 150X/174AX; Miller et al., 1994). Analysis of Leg 174A samples and associated MCS profiles will: (1) determine the physical nature of shelf stratal surfaces, constrain their acoustic characteristics, and lead to hypotheses governing their formation and preservation; (2) help to tie well-dated Leg 150 sequences to Coastal Plain sections; and (3) link STRATAFORM program elements within the New Jersey natural laboratory.