The Gulf of Mexico seafloor has been mapped with a variety of methods with varying resolution. Higher-resolution 3D seismic data has also been used but until recently have generally been limited to site specific localities. With the advance of exploration into deepwater, larger 3D seismic surveys have been acquired and are now available on a regional scale.
Mapping of the seafloor on a regional 3D seismic data set in the Green Knoll/Walker Ridge area has resulted in a higher resolution map that has revealed a set of regionally extensive furrows, a previously unknown seafloor feature. The furrow field extends from northeast of Green Knoll over 100 miles to the southwest into the Walker Ridge protraction area and beyond the seismic data. The furrow field has been imaged with deep-tow seismic and sidescan sonar over the Bryant Fan area further to the southwest by the Dept. of Oceanography at Texas A&M. Most likely the furrows extend into the western Gulf of Mexico along the Sigsbee Escarpment. Preliminary investigation of the furrows show a predictable pattern as current flow velocity increases.
The furrows indicate strong ocean bottom currents that may impact any infrastructure in the area. The higher resolution of regional 3D seismic data sets is capable of revealing features that other data sets are unable to resolve. Seafloor and near seafloor maps from regionally extensive 3D seismic data can help initial studies for development of the infrastructure in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and direct the parameters of further site specific studies.