Evidence for vertical movement of fluids, Gulf Coast sedimentary basin

Sediments between 10 and 15 km thick have prograded approximately 400 km into the small oceanic basin which formed along the southern margin of North America subsequent to early Mesozoic rifting. Redistribution of mass during burial diagenesis, and the chemistry of present‐day formation waters in Jurassic through Pleistocene formations document local kilometer‐scale, and in cases basin‐scale vertical fluid transport within the sedimentary wedge. Fluid flow is in part driven by porosity reduction which takes place by both physical and chemical processes during burial. Vertical and horizontal transport also occurs as the result of thermally‐and salinity‐generated buoyancy effects. Input of fluids into the sedimentary wedge from the underlying crust is predicted, but not documented.