High-resolution seismic-reflection image from northern Gulf of Mexico

High-resolution seismic-reflection image collected during a research cruise to study sites with high saturations of gas hydrate in the northern Gulf of Mexico in April and May 2013. The data were collected at Walker Ridge, where a well drilled in 2009 (red) revealed the distribution of gas hydrates and methane gas in the sediments. Water depth at the well is approximately 2,000 meters (6,500 feet). Magenta and (much thinner) blue lines correspond to sediment layers, which mostly dip westward. Sand layers with high concentrations of gas hydrate are marked, but hydrate also occurs elsewhere in this sedimentary section. (Dips appear steeper than they actually are, owing to a vertical exaggeration of nearly 3 to 1.)