Extent of a depositional lobe on the Mississippi Fan (LOBE.SHP)

Since 1982 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected a large amount of surficial and shallow subsurface geologic information in the deep parts of the Gulf of Mexico. These data include digital sidescan sonar imagery, digital seismic-reflection data, and descriptions and analyses of piston and gravity cores. The data were collected during several different projects that addressed surficial and shallow subsurface geologic processes. Some of these data sets have already been published, but the growing interest in the occurrence and distribution of gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico warrants integrating these existing data and associated interpretations into a GIS to provide regional background information for ongoing and future gas hydrate research.

自1982年起，美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）已在墨西哥湾深水区采集了大量表层与浅表层地质信息。此类数据涵盖数字侧扫声呐图像、数字反射地震数据，以及活塞岩心与重力岩心的描述与分析结果。这些数据由多项针对表层与浅表层地质作用的不同研究项目采集所得，其中部分数据集已公开发表。但鉴于学界对墨西哥湾天然气水合物（gas hydrates）的赋存状态与分布规律的关注度日益提升，亟需将这些现有数据及相关解释成果整合至地理信息系统（Geographic Information System, GIS）中，为当前及未来的天然气水合物研究提供区域背景支撑。