An anticlinal trap is the locus of deep-water discharge with hydrocarbons being retained while the water is transmitted vertically through the sediments. The change in the sense of water movement from lateral to vertical at the apex of the anticline is accompanied by temperature- and salinity-gradient changes. Because of this, it might be possible to outline an oil field by an analysis of these gradients over an anticline.

To test this hypothesis, Healdton anticline, Carter County, Oklahoma, a textbook example of an anticline, was selected for study. This paper examines by an analysis of the salinity and geothermal gradients in the shallow beds the probability of cross-formational flow through the anticline. A large amount of data is available from electric logs of wells drilled in Carter County. Using the spontaneous potential curve and a modified computer program, formation-water resistivities were calculated and these resistivities were converted into total dissolved solids (salinity) based on empirical data from the study area. It is anticipated that contour maps of salinity and geothermal gradients will show the outline of the Healdton oil field.

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