Three-dimensional stratigraphic evolution of the Miocene Baltimore Canyon region: Implications for eustatic interpretations and the systems tract model

A seismic stratigraphic analysis of Miocene deposits in the Baltimore Canyon region (offshore New Jersey) reveals tremendous three-dimensional complexity and challenges traditional approaches to sequence stratigraphic interpretation. Individual sequences vary dramatically in along-strike thickness, revealing the locations of the sediment sources. Within sequences, the lowstand wedge thins dramatically along strike (tens to hundreds of meters) and is interpreted to record variable paleobathymetry along strike. As indicated by sequence thickness distributions, shelf break positions, lithologic composition, and stratigraphic relationships, sequences record sediment migration and progradation across the basin through time. As a result of these depositional complexities, relative sea-level curves, interpreted from parallel dip lines, vary in magnitude and amplitude across the basin. Development of Neogene stratal patterns within the Baltimore Canyon region has been closely linked to glacioeustatic change. Our reconstructions of delta switching and progradation emphasize that Miocene stratal patterns were greatly influenced by autocyclic depositional processes.