New Survey Explores the Northern Hispaniola Offshore Margin

Abstract

The highly oblique convergence between the North American and Caribbean plates has yielded that the thickened crust of Bahamas banks impinges into northern Hispaniola developing a narrow band of compressive deformation (northern Hispaniola margin) and a thick foreland basin (Hispaniola-Caicos basin). Approximately 280 km of 2D MCS profiles and 17000 km2 of high-resolution, systematic swath bathymetry data were recorded in the northern Hispaniola offshore margin in November-December of 2013 (NORCARIBE cruise). This is the first time that this region is explored systematically with highresolution multibeam bathymetry. Using new multibeam bathymetry and MCS data, combined we have studied the along- and across-strike variations of the shallower structure along a 330 km-long segment of the northern Hispaniola margin. Pronounced along-strike changes in structural style observed in the northern Hispaniola margin and Hispaniola-Caicos basin are associated with the active oblique underthrusting/indentation of the irregular boundary of the southernmost slope of the Mouchouir and Silver banks. The upper slope of the northern Hispaniola margin exhibits good economic potential associated to thick slope basins and terraces where is observable a continuous and prominent BSR. Preliminary results provide well- defined targets to carry out future exploration studies.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu