19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia...

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Salt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures w Imaging w Link to faulting Composition of Salt Domes w Mostly halite w Also gypsum or anhydrite w Often interbedded and folded Gypsum, Ca(SO 4 ).2H 2 0 Halite, NaCl Salt Deposition Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah Restricted marine basins Unusual Properties of Salt compared to Clastic rocks •Salt density= 2 g/ cm 3 •Salt undergoes no compaction •Mechanically weak - viscous •Shale Density •Initial Density = 1.8 g/ cm 3 ( 40% water) •Final Density = 2.4 g/ cm 3 ( after water is expelled) Density vs burial curve Density, kg/m 3 Depth, m

Transcript of 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia...

Page 1: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Salt Tectonics Topics

w Salt Deposition

w Salt Movement

w Diapir Structures

w Imaging

w Link to faulting

Composition of Salt Domesw Mostly halite

w Also gypsum or anhydrite

w Often interbedded and folded

Gypsum, Ca(SO4).2H20 Halite, NaCl

Salt Deposition

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Restricted marine basins

Unusual Properties of Salt compared to Clastic rocks

•Salt density= 2 g/ cm3

•Salt undergoes no compaction

•Mechanically weak - viscous

•Shale Density

•Initial Density = 1.8 g/ cm3 ( 40% water)

•Final Density = 2.4 g/ cm3 (after water is expelled)

Density vsburial curve

Density, kg/m3

Dep

th, m

Page 2: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Relative Strength of Salt and Rock

Salt

Lab model of the rise of a diaper driven by buoyancy

Salt at the Surface

Salt Glacier - Iran

Salt Structures -Iran

Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico – US platforms in 2012

Page 3: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Gulf of MexicoSalt

Variety of Salt Structures

Jackson and Talbot, 1991

3D Seismic Interpretation of Salt Structures

Internal flow of salt

Jackson et al. 1990

Internal structure of diapirs from centrifuge experiments

6 Mechanisms for Salt Movement (halokinesis)

Page 4: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Main Classes of Diapirs

Active rise of salt

Passive: Salt keeps up with sedimentation

Reactive: Response to extension

Reactive: Response to thrusting

Fossen, 2010

Detection of Salt Domes

w Gravity surveys

• Find gravity lows

• Low density

w Seismic Imaging

GM-SYS™ Profile model of salt structure integrating seismic reflection, FTG gravity, and magnetic data (EarthExplorer, 2009).

Gravity

Geosoft GmsYs-3D model of a salt body embedded in a 3D density volume (Earth Explorer, 2009)_

Seismic Image of a Salt DomeSalt edges are hard to see Rootless Salt- Gulf of Mexico

AAPG Explorer, 2013

Page 5: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Diapir movement and extension Sandbox ExperimentRelationship between salt dome and normal faulting

http://www.beg.utexas.edu/indassoc/agl/animations/AGL95-MM-001/index.html

GUGLIELMO, G., Jr., , B. C. VENDEVILLE, D. D. SCHULTZ-ELA, and M. P. A. JACKSONBureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin,

Sand box model ofa diaper in an extensional setting

Normal fault-diapirrelationship

Hughes, 1968

Cypress Creek Field

Gulf Coast

Diapir in a contractional setting

Page 6: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Extension Above Salt DiapirEkofisk Formation

W E

Late Cretaceous

Shallow Sea Continued regional subsidence Rising sea level Active phytoplankton growth

Late Cretaceous: Ekofisk FormationDanish North Sea

8kmCI = 30ms

Time

Salt Domes Pierce the Strata

Fractures around Salt Domes

Ant-Tracking displaying radial fracture pattern around salt domes

8km

Salt moves up, sediment moves down

Page 7: 19 Salt Tectonics.ppt - West Virginia Universitypages.geo.wvu.edu/~jtoro/structure/ppt/20_SaltTectonics.pdfSalt Tectonics Topics w Salt Deposition w Salt Movement w Diapir Structures

Salt movement affects sediment thicknessOnce the salt is gone, unusual

structures remain

Salt Traps Salt is the best sealw Examples of Petroleum Salt Provinces

• Gulf of Mexico

• North Sea

• Middle East

La Popa Basin, MexicoZagros Mts., Iran

Salt Structures vs. Tectonic Structures

•Caused by movement of salt, not by plate boundary stresses

•Often linked to sedimentation

•Often localized by tectonic structures

•Both upwards movement of salt and salt withdrawal cause deformation