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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
1Manuscript received July 22, 1996; revised manuscript received
April 15, 1997; final acceptance November 19, 1997.
2Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center, Department
of Geological Sciences, Campus Box 250, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado 80309. Present address: HS Resources Inc., 1999 Broadway, Suite
3600, Denver, Colorado 80202.
3Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center, Department
of Geological Sciences, Campus Box 250, University of Colorado, Boulder,
Colorado 80309.
We thank the following companies and their representatives for their
tremendous support and input as part of the Gulf of Mexico research consortium
at the University of Colorado: AGIP, Amoco, Anadarko, BHP, BP Exploration,
Burlington Resources, CXY Resources, Chevron USA, CNG, Conoco, Exxon, Marathon,
Mobil, Occidental, PanCanadian, Pennzoil, Petrobras, Phillips Enterprise,
Shell, Texaco, Total, Union Pacific, and Unocal. We extend special thanks
to Halliburton Geophysical (now Western Geophysical), specifically to Bob
Graebner, John Anderson, and Gary White, for the seismic
data used in the
project. We are indebted to PaleoData Inc. and Art Waterman for use of
biostratigraphic data. Software donations from GeoQuest, CogniSeis Development
Inc., Landmark, Platte River Associates, and Zeh Graphics are essential
to the success of our program and very much appreciated. We appreciate
reviews by Albert Bally, Harry Roberts, and, especially, Martin Jackson
for his particularly thorough review. We thank Jonathan Irick, Jennifer
Crews, and Ryan Crow for drafting. Acknowledgment is made to the Donors
of the Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society,
for partial support for this research.
ABSTRACT
The results illustrate the complex geometry of the multilevel salt system
and the types of interactions between counterregional and salt-stock canopy
models of allochthonous salt system evolution. Sedimentary loading is accommodated
by salt sheet extrusion, gravity spreading, gravity gliding, extension,
salt evacuation, and contraction. Salt geometry commonly changes dramatically
through time because it provides much of the accommodation for sediments
and absorbs much of the extension and contraction within its overburden.
The positioning and kinematics of extensional and contractional structures
are controlled by salt body geometries, salt system interactions, and,
most importantly, the topography of the base salt or equivalent salt weld.
The structural restorations also constrain the timing of salt sheet
and salt weld formation and document the positive correlation among sedimentation
rates, salt flow, and structural deformation. Cross-sectional salt area
generally decreases through time in areas of salt evacuation and minibasin
formation, but increases in sections crossing growing salt bodies. Three-dimensional
restoration is required to determine the three-dimensional kinematics and
balance of allochthonous salt tectonics.
The discovery that major episodes of subhorizontal, allochthonous salt
flow have occurred in the Gulf of Mexico Basin requires a means of quantifying
the evolution of allochthonous salt and associated structures to conduct
both basin and petroleum systems analyses. Sequential structural restorations
of allochthonous salt systems provide an evolving structural framework
for integrating stratigraphic, geophysical, and geochemical data sets.
In this study, interpretation of more than 10,000 km (6200 mi) of multifold
seismic
data, and sequential restoration of eleven profiles, were used
to determine the geometry and evolution of allochthonous salt structures
within Ewing Bank and northern Green Canyon protraction areas.
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