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Technical Paper: East Breaks Slump, Northwest Gulf of Mexico
Paper 12960
Abstract
The East Breaks slump in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico was mapped using 2D and 3D seismic and multibeam bathymetry data. Its morphology extends over a large area of the seafloor and comprises a tremendous volume of sediments. Detailed seafloor bathymetry shows a rough surface with evidence of friction-induced drag folds. Volume of the slumped material is 50-60 cubic kilometers with a maximum thickness of 70 meters. An eroded chute and accumulation zone extends 160 km down slope from the shelf break and encompasses an area of 3,200 km2; the main depositional lobe is located 145 km downslope of the head scarp. This volume of displaced material would have generated a tsunami wave on the order of 7.6 meters above sea level that would have impacted the entire south Texas coast.
The occurrence of a slump of similar magnitude at the present shelf edge could become a hazard to deep-water hydrocarbon production facilities and coastal communities as a result of mass slope failure and tsunami impact of the coastline.
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