Marine deep seismic reflection profiles off central California

A strong reflection horizon at two-way travel time of approximately 6 s is observed in a deep seismic profile across the outer continental shelf of central California. It is interpreted as the seismic image of subducted oceanic crust emplaced prior to the change from principally convergent to principally transcurrent motion between the Pacific and North American plates during the late Paleogene. The reflector dips landward at a very shallow angle and is at a depth of 14–15 km under Santa Lucia Bank. The reflection is not observed, or at best is very discontinuous, under the inner shelf (Santa Maria Basin). This suggests that tectonic or other processes have produced significantly different structural styles or compositions on the two sides of the Santa Lucia Bank fault. Under the outer shelf a prominent, apparently deeper (later arrival time) horizon dips more steeply and diverges from the 6-s reflector. The deep horizon is at least partially composed of diffracted energy but is nearly linear after migration. Possible interpretations are that the horizon indicates crustal imbrication or out-of-plane diffractions. Alternatively, it is a relict feature imparted to the crust at the now inactive Pacific-Farallon spreading ridge. Reflective zones at intermediate depths are observed in apparently accreted sediments in parts of the Santa Lucia and Santa Maria basins. These features could represent technically induced fabrics within the accretionary complex, or they could be coherent depositional sequences.