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The Gulf of Lion: subsidence of a young continental margin

Nature volume 287, pages 425–429 (1980)Cite this article

Abstract

The origin of the subsidence of Atlantic-type continental margins is of much interest to geology and geophysics. The main problem at these margins is in explaining the substantial thicknesses of mainly shallow-water sediments which accumulate soon after rifting and plate separation. We have now used biostratigraphic data from commercial wells to study the subsidence history of a young Atlantic-type continental margin. Backstripping the sediment load reveals that the margin has been subsiding at nearly mid-ocean ridge rates. Geological data indicate that lithospheric stretching alone cannot account for this amount of subsidence and other processes must be involved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, and Department of Geological Sciences of Columbia University, Palisades, New York, 10964

    M. S. Steckler & A. B. Watts

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  1. M. S. Steckler
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  2. A. B. Watts
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Steckler, M., Watts, A. The Gulf of Lion: subsidence of a young continental margin. Nature 287, 425–429 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/287425a0

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