A Mass Movement
Model for the
Saenz, Joseph M.1, Frank E.
Denison2, Thomas J. O'Neil3, Craig K. Ogawa4
(1) Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme,
CA (2) Frank Denison Consultant, Westlake Village, CA (3) Oxnard College,
Oxnard, CA (4) Minerals Management Service, Camarillo, CA
In the offshore
We predict that sedimentation rates and
seismic activity are the dominant factors for slope stability in the offshore
SMB-SLB area. In the location of instability, rapid and asymmetric loading of
water-saturated sediments with high permeability and porosity extends seaward
where sedimentation rates are low. Coupled with a tectonic and sedimentation
model and seismic events, geophysical data shows several west-trending
submarine landslides that bisect a series of long northwest trending synclines
and anticlines in the study area. We postulate that earthquake energy is
amplified in these synclinal structures, interpreted using geophysical data, as
evidenced by seismic activity (e.g.:
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California