Sub-B″ layering in the Southern Caribbean: The Aruba Gap and Venezuela Basin

Abstract

Multichannel seismic data in the Aruba Gap region near JOIDES/DSDP Site 153 verify the presence of a deep sub-B″ reflection. One multichannel seismic line trends NE-SW on and along the edge of Beata Ridge and passes within 1 km of Site 153, and another line runs N-S across the entire Aruba Gap with the drill site 4 km east from its northern end. Closely spaced velocity analyses indicate the presence of deep primary reflection events and enable calculation of interval velocities between the A″-B″ marker horizons. Deconvolved, true amplitude, normal incidence profiles sharply delineate the A″-B″ marker horizons and indicate the presence of the sub-B″ reflection event. On the NE-SW line, this deep reflector is best described as a “diffuse” discontinuous zone, relatively horizontal, lying about 0.8 seconds of two-way travel time below the B″ reflector, with an interval velocity of approximately 5.0 km/s between Horizon B″ and this reflection. The N-S line is more complex since the sub-B′' reflection event is masked by a strong internal multiple from the A″-B″ interval. In the central and western Venezuela Basin, deep primary reflections beneath Horizon B″ are also observed on the northern and western sides of what appears to be a major fault zone. This fault zone separates the smooth B″ and sub-B″ reflectors on the northern and western sides of this fault zone from what appears to be typical oceanic basement. The widespread presence of sub-B″ reflections yielding high interval velocities for the section between these events and Horizon B″ suggest that this material is probably igneous in origin.