1887
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Basin Research
  4. Volume 17, Issue 3
  5. Article
Volume 17, Issue 3
  • E-ISSN: 1365-2117

Abstract

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of passive continental margin sedimentary basins that contain salt through two‐dimensional (2D) analytical failure analysis and plane‐strain finite‐element modelling. We expand an earlier analytical failure analysis of a sedimentary basin/salt system at a passive continental margin to include the effects of submarine water loading and pore fluid pressure. Seaward thinning sediments above a weak salt layer produce a pressure gradient that induces Poiseuille flow in the viscous salt. We determine the circumstances under which failure at the head and toe of the frictional–plastic sediment wedge occurs, resulting in translation of the wedge, landward extension and seaward contraction, accompanied by Couette flow in the underlying salt. The effects of water: (i) increase solid and fluid pressures in the sediments; (ii) reduce the head to toe differential pressure in the salt and (iii) act as a buttress to oppose failure and translation of the sediment wedge. The magnitude of the translation velocity upon failure is reduced by the effects of water.

The subsequent deformation is investigated using a 2D finite‐element model that includes the effects of the submarine setting and hydrostatic pore pressures. The model quantitatively simulates a 2D approximation of the evolution of natural sedimentary basins on continental margins that are formed above salt. Sediment progradation above a viscous salt layer results in formation of landward extensional basins and listric normal growth faults as well as seaward contraction. At a later stage, an allochthonous salt nappe overthrusts the autochthonous limit of the salt. The nature and distribution of major structures depends on the sediment properties and the sedimentation pattern. Strain weakening of sediment favours landward listric growth faults with formation of asymmetric extensional depocentres. Episodes of low sediment influx, with partial infill of depocentres, produce local pressure gradients in the salt that result in diapirism. Diapirs grow passively during sediment aggradation.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
2005-08-31
2024-04-19

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Cobbold, P.R., Durand, S. & Mourgues, R. (2001a) Sandbox modelling of thrust wedges with fluid‐assisted detachments. Tectonophysics, 334, 245–258.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Cobbold, P.R., Meisling, K.E. & Mount, V.S. (2001b) Reactivation of an obliquely rifted margin, Campos and Santos basins, southeastern Brazil. AAPG Bull., 85, 1925–1944.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Cohen, H.A. & Hardy, S. (1996) Numerical modelling of stratal architectures resulting from differential loading of a mobile substrate. In: Salt tectonics (Ed. by G.I.Alsop , D.J.Blundell & I.Davison ), Geol. Soc. London. Spec. Publ. , 100, 265–273.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Cotton, J.T. & Koyi, H.A. (2000) Modeling of thrust fronts above ductile and frictional detachments: application to structures in the Salt Range and Potwar Plateau, Pakistan. GSA Bull., 112, 351–363.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Dahlen, F.A. (1990) Critical taper model of fold‐and‐thrust belts and accretionary wedges. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 18, 55–99.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Demercian, S., Szatmari, P. & Cobbold, P.R. (1993) Style and pattern of salt diapirs due to thin‐skinned gravitational gliding, Campos and Santos basins, offshore Brazil. Tectonophysics, 228, 393–433.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Diegel, F.A., Karlo, J.F., Schuster, D.C., Shoup, R.C. & Tauvers, P.R. (1995) Cenozoic structural evolution and tectono‐stratigraphic framework of the northern Gulf Coast continental margin. In: Salt tectonics: a global perspective (Ed. by M.P.A.Jackson , D.G.Roberts & S.Snelson ), AAPG Mem. , 65, 109–151.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Dugan, B. & Flemings, P.B. (2000) Overpressure and fluid flow in the New Jersey Continental Slope: implications for Slope Failure and Cold Seeps. Science, 289, 288–291.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Duval, B., Cramez, C. & Jackson, M.P.A. (1992) Raft tectonics in the Kwanza Basin, Angola. Mar. Petrol. Geol., 9, 389–404.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Flemings, P.B., Stump, B.B., Finkbeiner, T. & Zoback, M. (2002) Flow focusing in overpressured sandstones: theory, observations, and applications. Am. J. Sci., 302, 827–855.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Fletcher, R.C., Hudec, M.R. & Watson, I.A. (1995) Salt glacier and composite sediment‐salt glacier models for the emplacement and early burial of allochthonous salt sheets. In: Salt tectonics: a global perspective (Ed. by M.P.A.Jackson , D.G.Roberts & S.Snelson ), AAPG Mem. , 65, 77–108.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Fullsack, P. (1995) An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation for creeping flows and its applications in tectonic models. Geophys. J. Int., 120, 1–23.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Ge, H., Jackson, M.P.A., Vendeville, B.C., Maler, M.O. & Handschy, W. (1997) Deformation of prograding wedges over a ductile layer – application of physical models to geologic examples. Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Soc. Trans., XL VII, 177–184.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Gemmer, L., Sings, S.J., Medvedev, S. & Beaumont, C. (2004) Salt tectonics driven by differential sediment loading: stability analysis and finite element experiments. Basin Res., 16, 199–218.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Hart, B.S., Flemings, P.B. & Deshpande, A. (1995) Porosity and pressure: role of compaction disequilibrium in the development of geopressures in a Gulf Coast Pleistocene basin. Geology, 23, 45–48.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Hubbert, M.K. & Rubey, W.W. (1959) Role of fluid pressure in mechanics of overthrust faulting. 1. Mechanics of fluid‐filled porous solids and its application to overthrust faulting. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 70, 115–166.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Ings, S.J., Beaumont, C. & Gemmer, L. (2004) Numerical modeling of salt tectonics on passive continental margins: preliminary assessment of the effects of sediment loading, buoyancy, margin tilt, and isostasy. 2004 GCSSEPM Foundation Bob F. Perkins Research Conference papers (on CD).
  18. Kidston, A.G., Brown, D.E., Altheim, B. & Smith, B.M. (2002) Hydrocarbon Potential of the Deep‐Water Scotian Slope. Canada‐Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, Halifax, Canada.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Kirby, S.H. (1985) Rock mechanics observations pertinent to the rheology of the continental lithosphere and the localization of strain along shear zones. Tectonophysics, 119, 1–27.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Koyi, H. (1996) Salt flow by aggrading and prograding overburdens. In: Salt Tectonics (Ed. by G.I.Alsop , D.J.Blundell & I.Davison ), Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. , 100, 243–258.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Last, N.C. (1988) Deformation of a sedimentary overburden on a slowly creeping substratum (Innsbruck 1988). In: Numerical Methods in Geomechanics (Ed. by G. S.Swoboda ), pp. 577–585. Balkema, Rotterdam.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Lehner, F.K. (1977) A theory of substratal creep under varying overburden with applications to tectonics. AGU Spring Meeting, Washington D.C.. EOS Abstr., 58, 508.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Lehner, F.K. (2000) Approximate theory of substratum creep and associated overburden deformation in salt basins and deltas. In: Aspects of Tectonic Faulting (Ed. by F.K.Lehner & J.L.Urai ), pp. 21–47. Springer‐Verlag, Berlin.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Lobkovsky, L.I. & Kerchman, V.I. (1991) A two‐level concept of plate tectonics: application to geodynamics. Tectonophysics, 199, 343–374.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Lupa, J., Flemings, P. & Tennant, S. (2002) Pressure and trap integrity in the deepwatre Gulf of Mexico. The Leading Edge, 21, 184–187.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Marton, L.G., Tari, G.C. & Lehmann, C.T. (2000) Evolution of the Angolan passive margin, West Africa, with emphasis on post‐salt structural styles. In: Atlantic rifts and continental margins (Ed. by W.Mohriak & M.Talwani ), Am. Geophys. Union Geophys. Monogr. , 115, 129–149.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Modica, C.J. & Brush, E.R. (2004) Postrift sequence stratigraphy, paleogeography, and fill history of the deep‐water Santos Basin, offshore southeast Brazil. AAPG Bull., 88, 923–945.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Mourgues, R. & Cobbold, P.R. (2003) Some tectonic consequences of fluid overpressures and seepage forces as demonstrated by sandbox modelling. Tectonophysics, 376, 75–97.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Peel, F.J., Travis, C.J. & Hossack, J.R. (1995) Genetic structural provinces and salt tectonics of the Cenozoic Offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico: a preliminary analysis. In: Salt tectonics: a global perspective (Ed. by M.P.A.Jackson , D.G.Roberts & S.Snelson ), AAPG Mem. , 65, 153–175.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Rowan, M.G., Trudgill, B.D. & Fiduk, J.C. (2000) Deep‐water, salt‐cored foldbelts: lessons from the Mississippi Fan and Perdido foldbelts, northern Gulf of Mexico. In: Atlantic rifts and continental margins (Ed. by W.Mohriak & M.Talwani ), Am. Geophys. Union Geophys. Monogr. , 115, 173–191.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Shimeld, J. (2004) A comparison of salt tectonic sub‐provinces beneath the Scotian Slope and Laurentian Fan: GCSSEPM 24th Bob F. Perkins Research Conference Proceedings (on CD).
  32. Sinclair, H.D. & Tomasso, M. (2002) Depositional evolution of confined turbidite basins. J. Sediment. Res., 72, 451–456.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Tari, G.C., Ashton, P.R., Coterill, K.L., Molnar, J.S., Sorgenfrei, M.C., Thompson, P.W.A., Valasek, D.W. & Fox, J.F. (2002) Are West Africa deepwater salt tectonics analogues to the Gulf of Mexico?Oil Gas J., 4, 73–81.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Von Terzaghi, K. (1923) Die Berechnung der Durchlässigkeitsziffer des Tones aus dem Verlauf der hydrodynamischen Spannunggersheinungen. Szgber. Akad. Wiss. Wien Math–Naturwiss. Klasse IIa, 132, 125–138.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Trudgill, B.D., Rowan, M.G., Fiduk, J.C., Weimer, P., Gale, P.E., Korn, B.E., Phair, R.L., Gafford, W.T., Roberts, G.R. & DOBBS, S.W. (1999) The Perdido fold belt, northwestern deep Gulf of Mexico, part 1: structural geometry, evolution and regional implications. AAPG Bull., 83, 88–113.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Vendeville, B.C. & Gaullier, V. (2003) Role of pore‐fluid pressure and slope angle in triggering submarine mass movements: natural examples and pilot experimental models. In: Submarine mass movements and their consequences (Ed. by J.Locat & J.Mienert ), pp. 137–144. First International Symposium. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Vendeville, B.C. & Jackson, M.P.A. (1992) The rise of diapirs during thin‐skinned extension. Mar. Petrol. Geol., 9, 331–353.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Wade, J.A. & Maclean, B.C. (1990) The geology of the southeastern margin of Canada, Chapter 5. In: Geology of the Continental Margin of Eastern Canada (Ed. by M.J.Keen & G.L.Williams ), Geol. Survey Canada Geol. Canada, 2, 167–238 (also Geological Society of America, the Geology of North America, Vol. I‐1).
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Willett, S.D. (1999) Rheological dependence of extension in wedge models of convergent orogens. Tectonophysics, 305, 419–435.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Worrall, D.M. & Snelson, S. (1989) Evolution of the northern Gulf of Mexico, with emphasis on Cenozoic growth faulting and the role of salt. In: The Geology of North America: an overview, vol. A (Ed. by A.W.Bally & A.R.Palmer ), pp. 97–138. Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, Boulder, CO.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Wu, S., Bally, A. & Cramez, C. (1990) Allochthonous salt, structure and stratigraphy of the north‐eastern Gulf of Mexico. Part II: structure. Mar. Petrol. Geol., 7, 334–370.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Yassir, N.A. & Bell, J.S. (1994) Relationships between pore pressure, stresses and present‐day geodynamics in the Scotian Shelf, Offshore Eastern Canada. AAPG Bull., 78, 1863–1880.
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
Loading
Dynamic modelling of passive margin salt tectonics: effects of water loading, sediment properties and sedimentation patterns
Basin Research 17, 383 (2005); https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
/content/journals/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2005.00274.x
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error