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Copyright by Nysha Chaderton 2009 - The University of Texas at ...

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highly discontinuous, bright amplitude reflectors. Within the Tobago Forearc Basin,<br />

channels and channel fill facies have been identified th<strong>at</strong> suggest th<strong>at</strong> this basin was once<br />

a fairway for clastic sediment deposition (Figure 4.3).<br />

Joes River Form<strong>at</strong>ion<br />

<strong>The</strong> Joes River Form<strong>at</strong>ion is dark gray to black in color, slickensided, <strong>of</strong>ten oil<br />

soaked with a distinct bituminous odor. It is comprised <strong>of</strong> a mélange <strong>of</strong> structureless<br />

clays, sands, and sc<strong>at</strong>tered limestone rafts (Poole and Barker, 1980). It has been<br />

interpreted to be emplaced as diapiric shales and extrusive muds. Such mobile shale<br />

processes are common in accretionary prism settings (Wood, 2004). Mud volcanoes<br />

today are most active on the island <strong>of</strong> Trinidad and its <strong>of</strong>fshore regions (Brooks and<br />

others, 2004). Offshore, evidence <strong>of</strong> continued mud volcano eruption indic<strong>at</strong>es th<strong>at</strong> this is<br />

an ongoing process triggered <strong>by</strong> over-pressuriz<strong>at</strong>ion cre<strong>at</strong>ed <strong>by</strong> compressional forces<br />

within the prism. On the island, this unit is intrusive and post-d<strong>at</strong>es deposition <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Oceanic Form<strong>at</strong>ion. <strong>The</strong> timing <strong>of</strong> the intrusion <strong>of</strong> the Joes River Form<strong>at</strong>ion is based on<br />

observ<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>by</strong> Speed (1991) th<strong>at</strong> the Joes River Form<strong>at</strong>ion is mushroomed bene<strong>at</strong>h the<br />

Oceanic Form<strong>at</strong>ion. This phenomenon suggests th<strong>at</strong> although the m<strong>at</strong>rix has been d<strong>at</strong>ed<br />

with pollen to be Paleocene to Middle Eocene (Speed, 1991) the timing <strong>of</strong> the<br />

deform<strong>at</strong>ion and emplacement <strong>of</strong> the diapirs is after the Oceanic Form<strong>at</strong>ion was<br />

deposited. <strong>The</strong> Joes River Form<strong>at</strong>ion on Barbados is interpreted as a complex <strong>of</strong> paleo-<br />

mud volcanoes which were extruded in response to the compressional regional setting.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y pre-d<strong>at</strong>e the localized extensional faulting th<strong>at</strong> characterizes the crest <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Barbados Ridge. Both <strong>of</strong>fshore and onshore, diapiric shale and extrusive muds are<br />

isol<strong>at</strong>ed pods and more l<strong>at</strong>erally extensive mounds. <strong>The</strong> unconsolid<strong>at</strong>ed n<strong>at</strong>ure <strong>of</strong> the unit<br />

makes it prone to mass wasting. <strong>The</strong>se fe<strong>at</strong>ures can be easily identified in seismic<br />

reflection pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>by</strong> the chaotic response <strong>of</strong> the subsurface m<strong>at</strong>erial and capped <strong>by</strong> the<br />

spectacular extrusion <strong>of</strong> mud <strong>at</strong> the seafloor.<br />

49

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