Interpretation of depositional units on the SeaMARC 1A image of the Mississippi Fan, USGS Gulf of Mexico Cruise 90001 (INTERP.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）已在墨西哥湾深海区域收集了大量表层与浅表层地质资料。该数据集涵盖数字侧扫声呐（sidescan sonar）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。这些数据源自多个针对表层与浅表层地质作用的不同研究项目。其中部分数据集已公开发表，但当前学界对墨西哥湾天然气水合物的赋存与分布关注度日益提升，因此有必要将这些现有数据及相关解译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资料。