11.6 PP 229 254 Salt Welds

Chapter
Salt Welds
9
9.1 Introduction 9.2 Nomenclature of Salt Welds
A salt weld is a surface or thin zone marking a vanished salt Because salt welds are crucial as seals or migration windows
body (Figure 9.1). The weld results from complete or nearly for hydrocarbons, terminology has expanded to cover their
complete loss of salt by creep or dissolution. As such, a weld is diversity. One way of classifying salt welds is based on the
a negative salt structure. Welds can separate concordant strata thickness of residual evaporites within them (Figure 9.2;
but are easiest to recognize where either or both contact strata Wagner 2010; Hudec and Jackson 2011; Wagner and Jackson
are discordant to the weld surface. 2011; Rowan et al. 2012). A complete weld (or true weld) is a
The term salt weld was introduced by Jackson and Cramez surface joining strata originally separated by autochthonous or
(1989). They reviewed a diversity of previously enigmatic allochthonous salt. Rocks on both sides of the weld are in
residual salt structures and introduced the symbol of paired contact and not separated by evaporites or material originally
dots to denote a salt weld on cross sections and maps. The interbedded within the evaporites. An incomplete weld is a
notion of vanished salt is old (for example, Stille 1924), but the narrow (less than 50 m thick) zone of evaporites joining strata
full variety and abundance of salt welds were not appreciated originally separated by thicker autochthonous or allochthon-
for decades. The concept began to attract attention on the ous salt. A discontinuous weld is a salt body that is welded in
Angolan margin, where Burollet (1975) sketched a “cicatrice some places but in other areas retains more than 50-m thick-
salifère” (salt scar) as a subvertical residual smear of salt left by ness of evaporites and interbedded material. An apparent weld
a subsiding diapir. Such smears of salt began to be identified is a thin zone that appears welded at the scale of observation
elsewhere than Angola. Worrall and Snelson (1989) noted “salt but that may actually contain more than 50-m thickness of
evacuation surfaces” in the Gulf of Mexico. evaporites and interbedded material. This zone could appear as
Salt welds are significant for two main reasons. First, a single reflection at the coarse scale of reflection seismic data.
they are evidence of vanished salt bodies. If the original salt It is difficult to determine ahead of the drill whether an appar-
body was entirely encased in overburden, its shape can be ent salt weld contains any evaporites or nonevaporite residue.
reconstructed by the fit of encasing country rocks. Second, The generic term salt weld includes all the aforementioned
residual evaporite in an incomplete weld can affect the variants.
migration of hydrocarbons from underlying source rocks A fault weld is equivalent to a salt weld along which there
(Section 15.2.4.6). has been significant shear (Hossack 1995) (Figure 9.1). Salt
a Rock B
Removal
of salt
Remnant salt
> 50 m thick
Rock B
Salt Salt
layer weld
Rock A Rock A Discontinuous weld
b Rock B
Removal
of salt Rock B Incomplete weld
Salt (remnant salt
layer Fault 0–50 m thick)
Rock A Shear Rock A weld Complete weld
(remnant salt
Figure 9.1. (a) A salt weld is a surface or thin zone joining strata originally 0 m thick)
separated by salt. The weld is symbolized by pairs of dots along its length.
(b) A fault weld is a salt weld along which there has been slip either before or Figure 9.2. Illustrated definitions of a complete weld, an incomplete weld,
after welding. and a discontinuous weld.
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229
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139003988.012
Salt Welds
the salt was deposited. If this surface is an unconformity, the

subweld section can truncate against the weld. If the base of
salt was offset by faults, the weld has steps in it. These steps
Tertiary weld commonly harbor pockets of relict salt. If, instead, a weld rests
directly on crystalline rock, the weld will inherit the geometry
of the top of the crystalline sequence. This stratigraphic juxta-
position is expected of salt deposited during advanced plate
separation where exhumation or even seafloor spreading may
be occurring.
Secondary weld The geometry of the contact of the suprasalt sequence
against the weld depends to a large extent on the kinematics
of weld formation (Section 9.4). If the suprasalt sequence
merely subsides vertically, the first bed deposited on top of
Primary weld
salt comes into contact with the top of the subsalt sequence,
commonly with no discordance. Where welds form during
Figure 9.3. Primary, secondary, and tertiary welds are distinguished on the sediment progradation or extension, the suprasalt sequence
basis of the type of salt body that is being welded. Primary welds form in can truncate against the weld. Thus, primary welds have a
autochthonous salt, secondary welds form in steep-sided diapirs, and tertiary
welds form in allochthonous salt. variety of geometries, depending on the geology juxtaposed
by welding (Figure 9.4(a)).
In a secondary weld, the two flanks of a steep-sided diapir
welds can be difficult to differentiate from fault welds. Salt are juxtaposed (Figure 9.4(b)). Beds along diapir flanks are
welds and fault welds can both create discordances and dis- commonly discordant to the salt, so that the secondary weld
conformities; both create accommodation space. Salt thinned separates discordant strata. In the common geometry in which
by welding also becomes less effective as a detachment than bedding dips away from the salt contact on both sides, the
thick salt. However, even nearly complete welds can act as resultant discordance is sharp, similar to a chevron fold. How-
detachments. ever, one or both sides can have sediment flaps (Section 5.3.2),
Another way of classifying salt welds is based on the geom- in which case beds can be parallel to the salt contact.
etry of salt before welding (Figure 9.3; Jackson and Cramez In a tertiary weld, the lower contact is the base of an
1989). Primary welds form by removal of autochthonous salt allochthonous sheet or canopy, and it has the same relation-
and are typically subhorizontal. Secondary welds form by ship to subsalt strata that the allochthonous salt did. In some
removal of salt from the stem of a steep-sided diapir. Tertiary areas the weld may run parallel to subweld stratigraphy, but
welds form by removal of gently dipping allochthonous salt elsewhere the contact cuts across stratigraphy, especially near
and can be high in the stratigraphic succession. feeders (Section 6.2.2). The suprasalt section has the same
A final way to classify salt welds, which includes greater range of variables as it does in primary welds; consequently,
variety, is by the structure they are associated with, such as it can be either conformable or discordant to the weld
roho, bucket, counterregional, bowl, thrust, and wrench welds (Figure 9.4(c)).
(Rowan et al. 1999). This terminology is most useful when
distinguishing between related welds in the same basin, as in
the different types of tertiary welds in the Gulf of Mexico
9.3.2 Weld Geometry at Outcrop Scale
Exposed welds attract keen interest from the petroleum indus-
(roho, counterregional, or bowl).
try because they potentially elucidate why subsurface welds act
as seals or migration windows for hydrocarbons. An outcrop
9.3 Geometry of Salt Welds of a salt weld reveals mesoscale structures in broader context
than in core and in far more detail than in reflection seismic
9.3.1 Weld Geometry at Seismic Scale data. The vertical resolution of most reflection seismic surveys
Because welds connect rocks that originally lay on opposite is less than ~30 to 50 m (for peak frequencies of ~10 to 30 Hz),
sides of a salt body, how strata are juxtaposed across a weld which is too coarse to display the internal structure of welds.
depends on the original shapes of the salt body’s contacts. Outcrops of welds are not especially rare, but with one notable
These shapes, in turn, depend on whether the weld is primary, exception they have been little studied. Although many salt
secondary, or tertiary (Figure 9.4). Some basic criteria are welds are in arid areas having excellent outcrops, the welds
shown here; other criteria for seismic interpretation of welds themselves are typically poorly exposed. Thus, publications
are presented in Section 13.5. describing exposed salt welds are rare, and they have been only
In a primary weld, the lower contact is the base of salt and, sparsely documented (as enumerated by Rowan et al. 2012).
thus, comprises the top of the presalt sequence. This contact is Despite this paucity of literature, we can generalize about weld
typically a bedding surface – the stratigraphic surface on which composition and geometry.
230
9.4 Kinematics of Welding
Figure 9.4. Structural styles and juxtapositions

a Primary weld vary across primary, secondary, and tertiary welds.
Suprasalt beds Relict pods of Suprasalt beds
discordant to weld salt near fault offsets parallel to weld
Weld rests on
igneous rocks
Weld parallel to
subsalt bedding
Weld discordant
to subsalt bedding
b Secondary weld
Beds concordant:
flaps juxtaposed
Beds discordant: across weld
apparent chevron
fold at weld
c Tertiary weld
Weld discordant to subsalt stratigraphy,

particularly near feeder
Rocks adjacent to welds are commonly strongly fractured that is left along a weld surface. For example, welds of Pre-
(Figure 9.5(a), (b)), so these damaged wall rocks are typically cambrian salt in the Flinders Ranges (Australia) are typically
weathered to rubble. Some rocks in the rubble zone are dis- marked by a field of fist-sized quartzite clasts – all that
colored, suggesting that the fractures served as fluid conduits. remains of a quartz sandstone that was originally interbed-
Finite-element models suggest that this fracturing is at least ded within the salt.
partly caused by anomalously high stresses adjacent to welds
caused by stress bridging. Alternatively, if the rock is less
brittle, high stresses along a weld may simply promote 9.4 Kinematics of Welding
compaction. Where salt contacts that are juxtaposed across a weld were
Some welds still contain evaporites and are thus incomplete originally parallel, the two sides of country rock may fit
welds (Figure 9.5(c); Box 9.1; Jackson and Harrison 2006; together cleanly with little need for secondary deformation.
Harrison and Jackson 2008, 2014a, b; Rowan et al. 2012). Where the two contacts were not parallel, which is true of most
Halite is rarely, if ever, preserved in these welds, which typic- secondary welds, then the cross-weld geometries do not match.
ally contain gypsum and anhydrite as the main evaporite If so, either relict evaporites are trapped along the weld in the
minerals. The absence of halite could be due either to prefer- areas of misfit, or the rock bodies next to the weld are
ential flow of halite out of the salt layer (Section 9.5.1) or to deformed to improve the weld fit.
preferential dissolution of halite. The process by which the country rock on either side of a
Finally, many outcrop examples of welds contain rela- weld deforms depends on how the two sides converge – that is,
tively insoluble rock originally interbedded within the salt. on the kinematics. Different types of deformation and different
After advanced weathering, these insoluble rocks may be all weld geometries depend on whether the weld forms during
231
Salt Welds
a b
0 5m
Figure 9.5. Outcrops of salt welds. (a) Complete weld to the west of Emirhan minibasin, Sivas basin, Turkey. Pale sandstones to the left of the weld are highly
fractured. Their mottled colors suggest fluid flow up the weld. Photograph by Mike Hudec. (b) Complete weld of a salt wing adjacent to Moab salt wall, Paradox
basin, Utah, United States. Brown sandstones above the weld are fractured and faulted, and gray limestones below the weld are locally brecciated. The angularity
of the weld surface suggests later offset by faulting. Photograph by Renzo Huijsmans. (c) Incomplete weld to the southwest of Emirhan minibasin, Sivas basin, Turkey.
The weld contains 1- to 2-m-wide relict gypsum. Photograph by Mike Hudec.
vertical subsidence, extension, shortening, or strike-slip. We

rock. Eventually the hanging wall rests directly on the footwall,
deal with each of these processes separately.
a process known as salt touchdown or salt grounding. As salt
is evacuated during primary and tertiary welding, subsidence
9.4.1 Welding during Halokinesis of overlying rocks causes them to deform much more than
9.4.1.1 Subsidence of Minibasins into Flat Salt underlying rocks (Figure 9.10). Units beneath the weld typic-
During salt expulsion, the overlying hanging wall of country ally act as a rigid substrate to which overlying units conform as
rock gradually approaches the underlying footwall of country the salt flows away. The weld therefore ends up with the
232
Box 9.1 – La Popa Weld: A Vanished Salt Wall

La Popa weld is a subvertical structure in La Popa basin, north- abruptly curve up within 50 m of the weld. In the northwest half
east Mexico. Originally thought to be a reverse fault, it was of the weld, fracturing is sparse and limited to within 5 to 10 m of
recognized as a salt weld by Giles and Lawton (1999). Located the weld. But the southeast half of the weld is sheathed by a
in well-exposed terrain and only 670 km from Houston, Texas, wide damage zone where bedding is fractured, sheared, and
the weld has attracted interest from the petroleum industry as a disrupted. The weld itself also varies. Its northwest segment is
field analog of subsurface welds. The weld and the deformation an incomplete weld of continuous gypsum (Figures 9.7(b) and
in its wall rocks and adjoining folds have been closely studied. 9.9(a)); near its central bend, the weld is discontinuous and
La Popa weld bends sharply near the middle of its 24-km contains pods of gypsum, trapped or smeared out (Figure 9.7
length (Figure 9.6). Its northwest end swells into elongated La (c)); southeast of the bend no gypsum remains at the surface; the
Popa diapir, only a few hundred meters wide. The southeast end weld is complete (Figures 9.7(d) and 9.9(b)). No halite is exposed
of the weld could also be a small diapir, but this hypothetical along the weld.
structure is buried. Along the length of the weld structures on all La Popa salt weld is the remains of a salt wall whose
scales vary markedly. The northwest half of the weld is flanked by former existence is borne out by halokinetic folding and
gently dipping limbs of regional synclines (Figure 9.7(a)). Con- growth strata, unconformities, and diapir-derived detritus in
versely, in the southeast half and at the bend, strata sweep flanking strata. Sediments flanking the weld show halokinetic
steeply upward as an inverted-V centered on the weld (Figure 9.7 folding and local unconformities within 100 to 500 m of the
(c), (d)). These large-scale changes along strike are also visible weld, and debris flows near the weld. Every stratigraphic unit
at different depths in a composite cross section (Figure 9.8). exposed next to the weld, including the oldest (Aptian Cupido
Halokinetic folds fringe the weld. They range from tapered Limestone), contains clasts of meta-igneous rocks shed from
stratigraphic wedges more than 500 m wide to drape folds that the diapir.
100.83°W 100.67°W
La Popa
B
A
diapir
26.16°N
Fault
Bedding
C
Overturned bedding
Anticline
Syncline
Neogene deposits
Carroza Formation (Eocene)
Viento Formation
D
Paleocene
Adjuntas Formation
Potrerillos Formation
Upper Sandstone Member

La
Po
26.08°N
La Popa lentil
pa
N
Upper Mudstone Member
we
ld
Delgado Sandstone Member

E
Lower members
Cretaceous
Upper
San Jose lentils

Muerto Formation
Parras Shale 0 5 km
Indidura Formation
Cuesta del Cura and Aurora Formations
(Lower Cretaceous)
Minas Viejas Formation (Jurassic salt)
Figure 9.6. La Popa weld extends 24 km southeast of La Popa diapir, which is the remnant of a precursor salt wall of Callovian salt the length of the
present-day weld. A sharp bend in the middle of the wall separates two distinct structural domains. The weld is flanked by subparallel synclines. La Popa basin,
northeast Mexico. Location of sections in Figure 9.7 is shown. After Rowan et al. (2012).
233
Salt Welds
Box 9.1 – (cont.)
a SSW NNE a
Elevation (km)
El Chaparral La Popa
syncline diapir
1
b SSW Carroza
La Popa
syncline NNE
syncline
1
0 Weld
La Popa
c SW Carroza
syncline
syncline NE
0 Weld
d WSW Carroza La Popa

ENE
b
syncline syncline
1
0
Weld
e SW La Popa NE
syncline
0 1 km
1
V.E. × 1
0 ?Diapir?
Figure 9.7. Five serial cross sections of La Popa weld show how structure
varies along its length. Section locations shown in Figure 9.6. After Rowan et al.
(2012).
La Popa
SSW syncline NNE
3 Carroza
syncline
2 Figure 9.9. (a) Gneissic anhydrite in a pit along the incomplete part of La
Popa weld. Folds are defined by highly strained nodules and layers of
Elevation (km)
carbonaceous anhydrite. The area is about a meter wide. (b) A completely

1 welded part of La Popa weld at Boca La Carroza resembles a jog in a fault.
The weld juxtaposes Eocene against the Lower Cretaceous strata. Photographs
by Martin Jackson.
0 0 2 km
V.E. × 1
-1 Projected bedding
Unconformity
-2
Figure 9.8. A composite cross section of La Popa weld shows how its
structure is inferred to vary with depth. Cross section was constructed from the weld are interpreted as reflecting how the precursor salt wall
down-plunge views of the geologic map (Figure 9.6) and from the sections responded to shortening during the Hidalgoan orogeny. The salt
shown in Figure 9.7. After Rowan et al. (2012). wall was squeezed and its contents largely expelled, except for
the terminal La Popa diapir. Oblique shortening of the southeast
half of the weld imposed dextral strike-slip and sheared the wall
The salt wall was pinched off to form a weld during rocks. Here, even though some shortening was absorbed by
Hidalgoan (Laramide) shortening. Shortening began during the dextral slip (probably less than 500 m), wall rock is more
middle Maastrichtian and intensified in the early Eocene, when deformed than in the other half. After welding here in the south-
the wall was welded shut. The structural differences noted along east, salt was no longer present to cushion the effects of normal
234
Box 9.1 – (cont.)

stress and shear stress. As a result, irregularities along the contact to flow across, but clay-rich fault gouge would retard flow. Some
were broken and sheared to form a damage zone about 50 m sandstone reservoirs are isolated because they pinch out or
wide on each side of the complete weld. These irregularities of are truncated 200 to 400 m from the weld, a result of halokinetic
the salt contact were formed by variable salt–sediment inter- drape folding. Siliciclastic rocks in the fault zone are oxidized
action, different juxtaposed stratigraphic levels, minor fault off- to an orange color, recording the passage of fluids through or
sets, and halokinetic cusps. along the wall rocks of the weld. Strontium isotopic ratios
The variable damage zone and degree of welding have and fluid-inclusion salinities and temperatures suggest that
implications for fluid flow. Where the weld is incomplete, it could deep fluids rose along the salt wall or weld, but the timing is
potentially seal fluids. Where the weld is either discontinuous or unknown.
complete, fluids could move across, depending on how different Key references: Giles and Lawton (1999); Rowan et al. (2012); Smith et al.
permeabilities are juxtaposed across the weld. Where the com- (2012).
plete weld was sheared, fracture porosity may have helped fluids
Figure 9.10. Vertical sedimentary loading onto

a Thick Thin Passive diapir flat-lying salt forms primary welds in
autochthonous salt below primary basins.
Tertiary salt welds form by evacuation of salt
Salt
wings and parts of a salt canopy.
Presalt
b Salt sheet
c Stratigraphic inversion Salt wing

Thin Thick
Thin
Thick
d
Tertiary weld
e Coalesced canopy
Remnant salt
f
Secondary
basin
Tertiary weld Tertiary

weld
Primary basin
Primary weld
Primary weld Primary weld
235
Salt Welds
Figure 9.11. Thickness variations caused by

a Depocenter
stratigraphic inversions in the overburden can be
used to analyze the timing of diachronous primary
Thin
welding. After Jackson and Cramez (1989).
Salt Thick
b Complete welding Partial welding
Concordant weld Primary salt weld
c Welding finished early Welding finished late

Thin
Thick
Thick
Thin Turtle structure
geometry of the original base of salt. Welds mark the boundary bucket minibasin can sink no more, welding ends. Across this
between a supraweld section whose structure and stratigraphy basal weld is a huge stratigraphic jump, which can exceed
were influenced by salt flow and a subweld sequence not 100 million years in the Gulf of Mexico. The basal weld is both
influenced by this flow. A corollary of this principle is that a primary weld (because it is underlain by presalt) and a
deformation of the supraweld section creates differential tertiary weld (because it is overlain by a secondary minibasin).
accommodation, which, in turn, creates lateral variations in The flanking bucket welds are both secondary (because they
stratal thickness. Shifts in salt expulsion create vertical changes involve the flanks of a diapir) and tertiary (because they border
in sedimentary thickness, from isopach thicks to thins and vice the secondary minibasin).
versa. The existence of such thickness patterns is strong evi- Bowl welding and bucket welding radically change struc-
dence that a welded salt layer lies somewhere below. tural geometry. Former salt bodies are replaced by deep mini-
It is in principle possible to estimate weld timing on the basins filled with anomalously young sediments. In Figure 9.13
basis of the stratigraphic interval in which these lateral vari- canopy feeders are replaced by bucket minibasins.
ations in thickness die out upward, so that supraweld An additional complication can emerge during minibasin
sequences become isopachous (Figure 9.11). However, this subsidence into a canopy or feeder if the minibasin becomes
procedure can misinterpret weld timing, because salt struc- encased (Sections 7.4 and 14.3.3). Encased minibasins may be
tures adjacent to a weld may continue to rise if they are fed by underlain and overlain by a pair of tertiary welds. The upper
salt from elsewhere. If so, sediments at the edge of the welded weld of the pair, which separates the encased minibasin from
area will still thin onto the rising salt structure even though the an overlying younger minibasin, is termed a sandwich weld.
basin is welded. Thus, although useful, the technique should be
applied with caution. 9.4.1.3 Subsidence of Prograding Sediments into Flat Salt
During combined progradation and aggradation, the shifting
9.4.1.2 Subsidence of Minibasins into Preexisting Diapirs load of advancing sediment displaces underlying salt seaward
Paradoxically, a diapir can evolve into a deep minibasin if salt by applying a differential sedimentary load (Figure 9.14). The
can escape to the surface or from the plane of section expelled salt mounds up as a rising plateau of thickened salt
(Figure 9.12). The escaping salt is replaced by a minibasin that ahead of the advancing sediments (Ge et al. 1997). Above the
fills with rapidly deposited sediments that are much younger topographic high of the inflating salt, overburden is condensed
than strata at the same depth around the sagging salt diapir. or absent. A rolling monocline separates the condensed
These secondary minibasins sink until they lodge in the stem sequence on the salt plateau from strata welded against the
of the diapir, supported by the surrounding primary basin presalt. The monocline faces landward and migrates seaward
(Rowan 1995). If the minibasin is wider than the stem of a ahead of the prograding load. Thinning of salt by expulsion
stock, it remains perched against a bowl weld, like a ball in a removes support from the prograding overburden. The over-
funnel. If the minibasin can flex enough to subside farther into burden sags against the rolling monocline to form a migrating
the throat of the diapir, the sagging minibasin can eventually depocenter. This expulsion syncline is paired with an anticlinal
settle against a steep-walled bucket weld. This bucket mini- expulsion rollover over evacuating salt. The depocenter thins
basin can even expel most of the salt below it and come to rest seaward where strata onlap the gentle limb of the rolling
directly on presalt strata (Pilcher et al. 2011). Because the monocline. These onlaps sag and rotate to form sigmoidal
236
condensed or prekinematic sediment lying in front of the

a prograding wedge. The primary weld lengthens over time as
it propagates seaward. Where progradation is steady and slow
enough to allow salt to be fully expelled, a clean weld results
Salt (Figure 9.14). Where progradation surges faster than salt can
Presalt be displaced seaward, the shifting overburden traps salt as a
relict pillow.
b Salt can be displaced in this way within a source layer, a
leaning diapir, or an allochthonous sheet. Salt within a source
layer can be molded seaward for tens of kilometers. A good
example of an expulsion rollover above autochthonous salt is
the northeast flank of Salt Valley diapir, a wall of Paradox Salt
(Trudgill 2011). Sediments shed off the Uncompahgre uplift
prograded across the Paradox foredeep as Permian red beds of
the Cutler Group (Figure 9.15). Salt expelled southwestward by
c Secondary basins
the prograding Cutler wedges was pushed ahead to form Salt
Valley wall. Other examples of expulsion rollovers are shown
in Figure 9.16(a) (note rollovers formed by salt evacuating
toward the right-hand side of the image). In Figure 9.16(a),
this expulsion culminated in the disappearance of a diapir
from the plane of section. What remained of the vanished
diapir was a growth syncline defined by post-rollover strata.
d Progradation also skews growth of passive diapirs, causing
them to lean seaward (Figure 9.14). Eventually a leaning diapir
Bowl can be evacuated of salt, leaving a seaward-climbing secondary
Encased
weld weld. In an allochthonous sheet, an expulsion rollover is part
basin of a tertiary counterregional system (Section 6.5.2). A classic
example of a counterregional system is the Terrebonne trough
just offshore of Louisiana (Figure 9.16(b)). Here the base of the
Tertiary (sandwich) weld welded salt sheet is fairly smooth and almost horizontal.
e Secondary basin Where the base of a salt canopy is irregular, as in a salt-stock
Secondary
canopy, the weld below an expulsion rollover is equally irregu-
Primary
basin Depth lar. As shown in Figures 9.12 and 9.13, minibasins subside into
Primary
basin
basin slice the throat of the salt stocks and eventually become rimmed by
Bucket
Encased
basin weld bowl welds. This initial stage dominated by aggradation can be
followed by progradation in which each salt stock in the
Primary weld
canopy is diachronously loaded and evacuated (Figure 9.17).
Salt A challenge in interpreting expulsion rollovers is the pos-
f Primary
Primary
basin
sible confusion with an extensional fault rollover. In an exten-
basin
sional rollover the steepening strata abut at depth against a
Section normal fault surface, but in an expulsion rollover the
Secondary Bucket steepening strata lap out against salt or against its prekinematic
basin weld mantle. Distinguishing between these alternatives can be chal-
Remnant salt lenging and has resulted in controversy (Box 9.2).
Figure 9.12. Vertical sedimentary loading into diapirs can create bowl welds,
bucket welds, and encased minibasins. Sandwich welds separate encased
minibasins from overlying minibasins. 9.4.2 Welding during Extension
Extension promotes welding of horizontal salt layers in several
ways. First, extension tends to stretch and thin the salt. Second,
pseudoclinoforms as the monocline rolls farther seaward and extension disrupts the overburden, creating differential loads
removes their support. The expulsion rollover enlarges over and allowing salt to flow into reactive diapirs (Section 5.2).
time in a seaward direction. Expulsion into diapirs further thins the salt, again promoting
As the underlying salt is expelled, a primary weld forms welding. Third, extensional disruption of the overburden
below the expulsion rollover. Apparent downlaps of overbur- also allows the salt layer to be indented by the lower corners
den terminate against this basal salt weld or against any of extensional fault blocks, causing the salt to thin locally
237
Salt Welds
aNorthTop Miocene (5.8 Ma) Rafted Duplicated Rafted Duplicated

South
carapace stratigraphy carapace stratigraphy
Onlap Louann Salt (Jurassic)
b Top Pliocene (2.8 Ma)

Secondary Encased Condensed Bowl Bowl
weld minibasin Paleogene weld minibasin
c Present day Rotated

tertiary
Bucket
minibasin Anomalously old, Tertiary
weld Megaflap rafted carapace welds
Rotated Primary Bucket Primary Bucket 0 50 km

primary weld weld weld weld
basin V.E. × 2
Pleistocene Upper Miocene Oligocene Louann Salt

Pliocene Middle Miocene Eocene–Paleocene Basement
Lower Miocene Cretaceous–Jurassic
Figure 9.13. This restoration shows wide variety of salt welds. The greatest rotations and thickest local depocenters result from the inversion of large diapirs to form
bucket minibasins, which separate discontinuous primary basins. The cross section spans eastern Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon protraction areas in
north-central Gulf of Mexico. After Pilcher et al. (2011).
(Figure 9.18). Welds formed in extension may have different

fabrics from those of halokinetic welds because the extensional 9.4.3 Welding during Shortening
structures are fault welds, involving shear along the weld Unlike extension, contraction retards primary and tertiary
surface. welding. Welding is retarded because the source layer thickens
The effects of extension and expulsion can be hard to as it shortens laterally and may also thicken as it receives salt
distinguish because they have similar geometries and because squeezed out of diapirs and anticlines. Conversely, contraction
the processes commonly act together (Figure 9.19). For aids secondary welding of squeezed diapirs, forming a subver-
example, apparent downlaps can originate as (1) hanging-wall tical secondary weld (Figure 9.22). The overlying teardrop
cutoffs formed by extension alone, (2) rotated onlaps formed diapir largely pinches off from its source layer. The base of
by salt expulsion alone, or (3) a combination of extension and the diapir remains as a salt pedestal. Similarly, if a leaning
expulsion. Listric growth faults that sole into a bedding- passive diapir is squeezed enough, its hanging-wall flank slides
parallel detachment without involving salt follow standard on a secondary thrust weld and overthrusts its footwall flank
kinematic principles: hanging-wall strata slide down the (Figures 9.22(d) and 9.23). Squeezed diapirs are abundant in
curved fault and sag below regional. Away from the rollover, nature, and they are described in detail in Section 11.2.1.3. Even
these strata return to regional above a flat detachment. If, nondiapirs can be squeezed to form secondary welds, as when
however, the detachment is a salt layer, the salt thins as it salt pillows or anticlines are crimped shut (Figure 9.22(d)).
stretches or flows. The hanging wall subsides because it rotates The structural geometry around a welded diapir depends
during slip down the extensional fault and because the under- on how much it is shortened and on whether it is a stock or
lying salt thins by expulsion. In some cases, analysis of the wall. A wall can eventually close along a neat seam. But a
return to regional can help distinguish between extension and stock can only fully weld if its country rock is severely
expulsion, but many geometries are inherently ambiguous. shortened (Figure 9.22(e)). Highly squeezed stocks are
238
Figure 9.14. Progradational loading creates a

a long primary weld beneath the advancing wedge
of sediment. Progressive expulsion and inflation of
autochthonous salt create an expulsion rollover
Salt and pseudoclinoforms in the overburden.
Presalt The seaward-leaning diapir is transformed into a
stepped counterregional system.
b
Primary weld
c Expulsion rollover
Thick
Onlap
Thin
d Secondary weld
Expulsion rollover
Rolling monocline
Inflated salt
Primary weld
e
Expulsion Condensed
syncline stratigraphy
Pseudodownlap
Pedestal
f Tertiary weld
Pseudoclinoforms
g
Expulsion
syncline
Primary weld
flanked by contractional folds and thrust faults in the over- the thrusts in a pop-up steepens into a subvertical weld. This
burden. Nearing a diapir these flanking thrusts increasingly weld is the pinched stem of an originally vertical stock. The
conform to the shape of the diapir and ultimately blend into other thrust in the pop-up transitions laterally into an
the welded walls of the squeezed diapir. In Figure 9.24 one of indenter that closed the stock during shortening.
239
Salt Welds
Figure 9.15. Salt Valley salt wall formed by

a Permian 1 restoration
Southwest Depocenter Northeast
expulsion of Pennsylvanian Paradox Salt
beneath Permian Cutler Group red beds shed
southward off the Uncompahgre uplift into the
Paradox foredeep basin. After Trudgill (2011).
Uncompahgre
b Permian 3 restoration uplift
c Permian 5 restoration
d End Triassic, 200 Ma restoration Salt Valley diapir

2
Elevation (km)
0
-2
-4 0 10 km Basal weld
V.E. × 1
-6
Triassic Honaker Trail Fm. (Pennsylvanian)
Paradox Formation (Pennsylvanian)
Cutler Group (Permian)
Basement
Figure 9.16. Examples of expulsion rollovers in

a 5
the northern Gulf of Mexico. (a) Seismic image
showing an expulsion rollover above a primary
salt weld (recognized as a pseudo-downlap
6 Squeezed surface). Seismic data courtesy of TGS. (b) Geoseismic
diapir section of an expulsion rollover above a tertiary
Depth (km)
7 salt weld in a stepped counterregional system in

Terrebonne trough; traced from a seismic profile in
8 Growth syncline Schuster (1995).
marking former
9 diapir
Pseudo-downlap
10 surface
Base salt
11
V.E. × 2 0 5 km
b North South
Bay Marchand
Terrebonne trough Seaward diapir
0 0
Approximate depth (km)
1 Pliocene 2
Miocene
Two-way time (s)
2
4
3
6
4 Expulsion
Mid 8
5 -Mi rollover
oce
ne 10
6
12
7
14
0 4 km V.E. ~ 1
240
9.5 Mechanics of Salt Welding
Figure 9.17. A depositional system can evolve

a Salt sheet from dish-shaped minibasins, each centered on
individual diapirs, to a single, large expulsion
Salt wing rollover. (a) Cross section, (b) and (c) depth slices.
Physical model by Tim Dooley.
Y Y′
Subsalt Subsalt
X X′
Bowl welds 0 10 cm
b X′ c Y′
Subsalt Shallow
bowl
weld
Deep bowl weld
Section
Section
Depocenter
Deep bowl weld

Subsalt Diapir
X 0 10 cm Y
Figure 9.18. The lower corners of extensional

Synkinematic overburden
fault blocks impinge on the salt layer, creating
local welds. Physical model by Tim Dooley.
Prekinematic overburden
Boudin
Local extensional welds 0 5 cm
In Figure 9.24 a circular stock gradually closed by welding: diapir, which arches its roof (Dooley and Schreurs 2012). In
the narrowest part of the diapir closed first. This principle also profile the strike-slip fault is typically undetectable within the
applies to welding of diapirs of other shapes. For example, the salt. Any strike-slip structures appear similar to the steep struc-
salt wall in Figure 9.25 was originally narrowest in the middle, tures typical within a tall diapir (Sections 8.3.3 and 12.3.1).
between two bulging ends. Under orthogonal compression, As a stock is sheared and attenuated by strike-slip, its
this wall welded first in the center, where it was thinnest. The planform becomes sigmoidal (Figure 9.27(a), (b)). This lazy-S
weld flared at each end into small diapirs (Figure 9.25(b)). If shape is inevitable if the stock was formerly cylindrical. An
similar walls are obliquely shortened, they distort to sigmoidal open-S planform near the surface narrows with depth to a
planforms as their ends rotate and align with regional thrust narrow lazy-S shape, where the feeder is pinched by strike-
faults (Figure 9.25(c)). Shortening is concentrated at these slip and becomes a near-weld. The ends of this pinched feeder
deformed ends, which weld shut before the middle of the wall are subparallel to the straight strike-slip fault along the margin.
closes. A depth slice (Figure 9.25(d)) reveals an intricate net- Above the strike-slip fault, the salt feeder has a steep contact
work of thrust faults, tear faults, and welds. This network of and can be completely welded (Figure 9.27(c)). Steep welds
slip surfaces allows strains in the diapirs to be compatible with along lateral strike-slip faults at the margins of salt sheets
strains in the surrounding overburden. have been termed wrench welds in the Gulf of Mexico
(Rowan et al. 1999).
9.4.4 Welding during Strike-Slip
If a diapir lies along an active strike-slip fault, then it can be
offset by the fault. In map view, the two halves of the diapir 9.5 Mechanics of Salt Welding
move apart (Figure 9.26). The strip of salt connecting the two During welding, salt is removed by two main processes: solid-
halves is smeared by shear and can eventually weld. Physical state flow and dissolution. Flow creates a complex array of
models suggest that, in pure strike-slip, the planform area of a fabrics, flow folds, buckle folds, boudins, and shear zones as
wrenched stock shrinks as salt is forced up into the crest of the the salt layer gradually thins (Figure 9.28; Chapter 8).
241
Salt Welds
Secondary basin Figure 9.19. Extension above autochthonous

Thin Thick above falling diapir salt leads to primary welds between salt rollers
a Turtle structure
Isolated secondary basin
and beneath mock-turtle anticlines. Extensional
loading of allochthonous salt forms a roho system
that detaches on a tertiary weld.
Presalt
Salt
Thick Extensional rollover

b
c Coalescing canopy
Remnants of single diapir
Mock-turtle anticline
Heel-down wedge Primary basin
d
Roho system
e Toe-down wedge
Primary basin
Tertiary weld
f
Roho system
h
Tertiary
weld
9.5.1 Welding by Solid-State Flow diapirs to form secondary welds (Figure 9.22), and (4) strike-
Two types of solid-state flow are driven by gravitational slip can smear diapirs to form secondary welds (Figure 9.26).
loading, which forms primary and tertiary welds or inclined Our understanding of the mechanics of these four pro-
tertiary welds (Section 3.8.3): (1) differential overburden cesses is fragmentary. Some aspects have been explored by
loading creates a pressure-head gradient, and (2) tilting creates mathematical modeling, where salt is greatly thinned but not
an elevation-head gradient. In contrast, displacement loading welded (Cohen and Hardy 1996; Gemmer et al. 2004; Ings
drives two other types of flow: (3) shortening can pinch off et al. 2004; Gradmann et al. 2009; Albertz and Ings 2012). All
242
Box 9.2 – The Santos Albian Gap: Extension or Expulsion?

The Albian gap in the Santos basin (offshore Brazil) is a spectacu-
7603300
lar and enigmatic structure. It represents a horizontal gap in Brazil N
Albian carbonates overlying Aptian salt. The Albian gap trends Upper
northeast, is as wide as 55 km, has a strike length of 200 to 320 Cretaceous Rio de
isopach Janeiro
km, and is as much as 7,700 km2 in area (Figure 9.20). This huge thick Aptian
gap may be continuous along strike or divided into segments. hinge
7403300
line
Above the Albian gap, Upper Cretaceous deepwater clastic sedi-
ments form a vast rollover anticline, which is as wide as the
n
Albian gap. The rollover faces southeast, is largely unfaulted, nsio
Exte
and overlies greatly thinned or welded evaporites. The Albian
gap generally marks the seaward limit of an extensional province
in which thin-skinned, gravity-driven, predominantly seaward-
7203300
Albian gap
dipping normal faults accommodated as much as 40 km of Salt canopies
extension, mostly before the end of the Albian. The Albian gap
has been interpreted as forming in one of two ways (Figure 9.21).
The extension model (Figure 9.21(a)) envisages that the
Albian gap formed after the Albian by gravity-driven faulting of Thickened salt
7003300
overburden, which opened a gap in a previously continuous Frontal
Albian carbonate succession. The active extensional part is the salt
“Cabo Frio fault.” This extension is envisaged as a landward- sheet
dipping, listric, normal fault system having at least 4 km of throw. Extended oceanic crust
The fault merges landward into a subhorizontal salt weld tens of or exhumed mantle
6803300
kilometers wide, which is the inactive part of the fault. The entire 150 km
footwall of the Cabo Frio fault was thus translated as much as
252400 452400 652400 852400
55 km basinward, separating from the hanging wall to open the
Albian gap. During faulting, clastic wedges prograded during the Figure 9.20. Location of the Albian gap, Santos basin, offshore Brazil.
Late Cretaceous and filled the basin above the Albian gap. After Jackson et al. (2015b).
Extension, rollover sedimentation, and salt thinning occurred

during a single post-Albian episode in the Late Cretaceous.
The alternative expulsion model (Figure 9.21(b)) invokes
Albian thin-skinned extension and post-Albian salt expulsion basinward-facing expulsion rollover as salt was expelled sea-
related to margin progradation. The Albian gap is postulated ward. This overburden seaward of the gap did not translate
to exist by the end of the Albian and to have been occupied much in post-Albian time. This interpretation implies only
by a wide, low-relief salt wall. Above this diapiric topographic modest post-Albian shortening. However, massive seaward flow
high, Albian strata would be highly condensed or absent. The of salt and intense intrasalt shortening would be inherent in
rollover anticline above the Albian gap formed during the Late expulsion.
Cretaceous when clastic wedges prograded across the salt wall What makes the origin of the Albian gap so controversial is
and expelled salt seaward. Little post-Albian extension of the that much of the evidence cited by proponents of a particular
overburden need have occurred to form the Albian gap in origin is ambiguous. Jackson et al. (2015b) evaluated arguments
this model. for the various models and concluded that only a few criteria
Both models, then, infer extension-driven opening of the were actually diagnostic (Table 9.1). They found that the bal-
Albian gap, but at different times. In the expulsion model, the ance of evidence favors the expulsion model. However, the
contact between Upper Cretaceous strata and Aptian salt is a question remains open for many geologists, which highlights
stratigraphic onlap surface rather than a fault. Sedimentary the difficulties inherent in trying to determine the kinematics of
wedges simply sank into the salt and were rotated to form a welding.
models have simple starting geometries that omit complica- Stokes equations for slow, viscous, laminar flow to examine
tions expected in nature. For example, modeled contacts are four types of boundary conditions: (1) thinning of a tabular
smooth and have ideal shapes, and rock salt is assigned a salt layer, (2) indentation of salt by a subsiding minibasin
uniform Newtonian viscosity except for any interbeds. (3) thinning and shearing of a tabular salt layer, and (4) thin-
This section on the mechanics of welding is based on ning of multilayered evaporites. Further mathematical rela-
Wagner (2010) and Wagner and Jackson (2011). Those tionships can be found in these papers; here we focus on the
authors used exact steady-state solutions to the Navier– main conclusions.
243
Salt Welds
Box 9.2 – (cont.)
Figure 9.21. Two very different kinematic

a Extensional model sequences could result in identical morphologies
in the present-day Albian gap. (a) Sequential
Northwest (landward) Small precursor diapir Southeast (seaward)
restoration assuming a post-Albian extensional
rollover associated with a landward-dipping fault
(i)
(CFF = Cabo Frio fault). (b) Sequential restoration
assuming a post-Albian expulsion rollover created
by progradation across a broad, low salt wall.
No vertical exaggeration. Restorations after Rowan
and Ratliff (2012), based on seismic interpretation by
Mohriak and Szatmari (2008).
(ii)
Active fault
Basinward translation
Time
of fault and footwall

(iii)
(iv)
0
Depth (km)
CFF
4
8 (v)
0 10 km Albian gap
b Expulsion model
Northwest (landward) Southeast (seaward)
Broad precursor diapir

(i)
Salt expulsion
(ii)
Prograding wedges Narrowing diapir
Time
(iii)
(iv)
Depth (km)
8 (v)
0 10 km Salt weld Albian gap cutoff
Oligocene–Recent Campanian–Maastrichtian Salt

Paleocene–Eocene Turonian–Santonian Presalt basin
Maastrichtian Albian–Cenomanian Presalt basement
9.5.1.1 Thinning of a Tabular Salt Layer gradient”). A hydraulic gradient is the sum of a pressure-
If a tabular salt layer is loaded by an overburden head gradient and an elevation-head gradient (Section
of variable thickness, the salt flows in response to a 3.8.3). Salt flows from points of high to low
hydraulic-head gradient (hereafter shortened to “hydraulic hydraulic head.
244
Box 9.2 – (cont.)

Table 9.1. Evidence for origin of Albian gap
Observation Extension favored Expulsion favored
Incompatible with Compatible with Compatible with Incompatible with

post-Albian expulsion post-Albian post-Albian post-Albian
extension expulsion extension
POSITIVE EVIDENCE
Location of Albian gap X X
Areal extent of Albian gap X X
Seaward thickening of X X
Upper Cretaceous rollover
Thin salt in Albian gap X X
Overburden thickness when X X
deformation began
Thickness variations in X X
Upper Cretaceous shelf
Flip-flop salt walls X X
Balance between extension X X
and shortening
Abrupt thickening of salt X X
seaward of Albian gap
Rollover extends beyond X X
Cabo Frio fault in northeast
Geometry of rollover X X
Unique scale and attitude of X X
Cabo Frio fault
NEGATIVE EVIDENCE
Lack of prekinematic layer X X
above salt
Lack of strike-slip faults at X X
ends of Albian gap
Lack of large normal faults X X
in rollover
Key references: Mohriak et al. (1995); Ge et al. (1997); Modica and Brush (2004); Gemmer et al. (2005); Davison et al. (2012); Guerra and Underhill (2012); Quirk et al.
(2012); Jackson et al. (2015b).
Using the symbols and coordinate system of Figure 9.29, Modeling using the equations of motion shows that where
for a constant hydraulic gradient, the volumetric flux, q, of salt salt flows between parallel plates, its thickness declines asymp-
per unit width is totically over time. To reach zero thickness by flow takes
infinite time (Figure 9.30). For example, under the conditions
q ¼ Uh=2 ½h3 =ð12ηÞðΔP=LÞ
of Figure 9.30(a), after 100 Myr the incomplete weld would still
Significantly, the flux is proportional to the third power of the contain halite 13 m thick under a differential stress of 1 MPa.
salt thickness, h. As salt thins during expulsion, its flow is Increasing the differential stress to 10 MPa (compare this with
exponentially restricted. Evacuation is faster and the resulting the typical paleostresses of 2 to 6 MPa inferred in diapirs;
weld is thinner if flow length or viscosity is decreased or Section 3.7) increases the strain rate tenfold and decreases
hydraulic gradient is increased. the residual thickness. The same increased salt flux and
245
Salt Welds
a Salt overthrust Upright passive diapir Leaning passive diapir
Salt
Presalt
Salt pillow Primary weld
b
Salt ridge
Secondary thrust weld
d Secondary weld
Depth
Secondary weld
Pedestal
e Salt ridge
Secondary weld
Section of salt stock
Indenter
Secondary weld
of salt anticline
Shortened
overburden
Salt
Figure 9.22. Contractional loading inhibits primary welds but forms a variety of secondary welds where salt ridges and salt diapirs pinch off or are
overthrusted. (a)–(d) Evolutionary stages, (e) depth slice.
decreased residual thickness are achieved by decreasing salt is no way to calculate the initial salt thickness from its residual
viscosity tenfold (Figure 9.30(b)). But in both cases the weld is thickness in a weld.
still incomplete. Even after 200 Myr of evacuation, a salt layer Why does residual salt persist so long and prevent com-
originally 100 m thick contains residual salt between 10 and 70 plete welding? The remnant survives because boundary drag
m thick, assuming salt viscosities of 1017 and 1019 Pa s, strongly resists viscous flow. The thinner the salt, the more
respectively, and no dissolution. difficult it is to squeeze out (Price and Cosgrove 1990; Cohen
Under these boundary conditions, thick salt thins rapidly, and Hardy 1996; Hudec and Jackson 2007; Wagner 2010;
whereas thin salt thins slowly. Thus, if other parameters are Wagner and Jackson 2011). Drag along the upper and lower
constant, the original thickness of evacuating salt becomes less contacts affects only a small proportion of a thick salt layer, so
important over time (Figure 9.30(c)). A thick salt layer even- it has little retarding effect. Conversely, drag affects all of a thin
tually thins to a residual thickness only slightly more than the salt layer, because all the salt is near the boundaries. As noted,
evacuated thickness of an initially much thinner salt layer. under Newtonian flow the volumetric flux of a tabular salt
Thus, the initial thickness of salt has little effect on the thick- layer is proportional to the third power of its thickness. Con-
ness of residual salt after long durations. This means that there sequently, halving the thickness of salt slows flow to one-
246
West Seaward East

1 a Squeezed diapir Salt sheet
3
Depth (km)
5 Thrust weld
b Secondary weld
6
7
0 4 km
V.E. × 1
Figure 9.23. If shortened enough, a tilted diapir narrows to form a dipping
secondary fault weld in which one flank overrides the other like a thrust.
Geoseismic section from the updip end of the Astrid fold belt in the northern
Lower Congo basin. After Jackson et al. (2008). c Secondary weld Detached pop-up
eighth. Thus, after salt has thinned to a residual thickness, it is,

in effect, immobilized even under large differential stress. For
power-law flow (Section 3.2.3), the zone of boundary drag is
narrower than for Newtonian flow. A narrow zone of drag
would accelerate welding, but, even so, a threshold thickness of
salt would remain indefinitely. Other processes such as dissol-
ution are needed to remove the salt residue and create a
complete weld (Cohen and Hardy 1996; Davison et al. 1996a; 0 10 cm
Hudec and Jackson 2007; Wagner and Jackson 2011).
Figure 9.24. Along strike, a welded pinched diapiric stock (a), (b) transitions
9.5.1.2 Thinning of Salt below an Indenting Minibasin into a thrust pop-up (c). Physical model by Tim Dooley.
A subsiding minibasin indents and pushes away underlying

salt. Displacement equations are nonlinear but can be simpli-
fied by treating a hemispherical minibasin as a sinking sphere. The ability of a minibasin to touch down by solid-state flow
The negative buoyancy of a minibasin is opposed by a drag is sensitive to the shape of the minibasin. For a sinking flat-
force proportional to the settling velocity of the minibasin and bottomed cylindrical minibasin, boundary drag within the salt
to the fluid’s viscosity. As a hemispherical minibasin sinks layer is greater because flow is restricted across a broader zone
nearer the base of the salt layer, the boundary drag of salt than below a hemisphere. Because salt escaping from beneath
displaced from below increases, so salt resists being displaced such a minibasin must flow between parallel contacts, the drag
by the sinking minibasin. However, salt evacuates much more force below a sinking cylindrical minibasin is inversely pro-
rapidly from beneath a hemispherical minibasin than in a portional to the third power of salt thickness. Thus, the rate of
tabular salt layer because (a) overburden load is concentrated salt expulsion slows exponentially as salt thins.
at the base of a hemispherical minibasin; (b) this additional
stress can reduce grain size and, hence, salt viscosity (Section 9.5.1.3 Thinning and Shearing of a Single Salt Layer
3.3.4); and (c) boundary drag decreases laterally as salt A common scenario in salt tectonics is a salt layer that is
thickens away from the base of the minibasin. thinning while being sheared. This scenario occurs, for
Thus, the deepest part of a hemispherical minibasin can example, at the updip ends of passive margins, where salt is
eventually touch down by solid-state flow alone. The weld at its shearing between a fixed basement and an overburden that is
base widens as the flanks of the minibasin continue to subside. subsiding and translating seaward. Here we consider the com-
Once the minibasin has subsided enough, it can invert to form bined effects of a differential load and décollement shear on
a turtle-structure anticline. By this stage, the base of the initially tabular salt. The differential load imposes a hydraulic
deformed minibasin conforms to the base of salt, separated gradient within the salt. The shear involves displacement of the
by a broad, thin near-weld. This enlarging breadth increases roof rocks parallel to the salt contacts. Eventually this smearing
the boundary drag and slows evacuation. could form a fault weld. Depending on the particular
247
Salt Welds
a b c
Bulbous
Overthrust salt
remnant
of wall 4
Diapir
Wall B
Near-
welded
wall
Daughter
diapir
Regional
thrust fault
Welded
wall 3
d
Wall C
Indenter
Wall 4
B
all
W
Imbricate
thrusts
Moving endwall
Wa
ll 2
A A′
Wa
Wall C
Reg
ll
iona
3
l thr
ust f
Wa
ll
aults
e Top of weld Salt extrusion Top of weld
Depth slice
A Base of weld Source layer Base of weld A′

Figure 9.25. (a) A wall originally having a narrow waist and bulging ends in plan view is (b) symmetrically shortened to form a secondary weld that flares at
each end into a small diapir. (c) A similar salt wall that is oblique to compression is flattened asymmetrically; the ends of the walls weld before the middle part,
an opposite sequence to (b). (d) Welding in the compressed diapirs must link with thrusting in the surrounding overburden, as shown in this depth slice.
(e) In cross section, two welded diapirs are distinguished from surrounding thrust faults by being steeper. Physical model by Tim Dooley.
248
combination of load and shear, the efficiency of salt evacuation by lateral variation in overburden thickness, and the direction
is highly variable. of shear is indicated by tilting of the salt layer. The results show
This scenario can be modeled, assuming the evacuating salt that whereas evacuation can be extremely rapid when loading
flows freely into surrounding structures (Figure 9.31). In the and shearing operate in the same direction, it is retarded when
analytical model, the gradient in vertical loading is indicated they operate in opposite directions. Thus, passive margins, on
which tilting and sediment loading both expel salt seaward,
should have very efficient salt expulsion and welding.
a 9.5.1.4 Thinning of Multilayered Evaporites
Salt stock
Natural evaporites are not mechanically homogeneous. Even
Strike-slip where they consist entirely of halite, if grain size and water
fault content vary, viscosity also varies (Section 3.3.4). Every natural
evaporite sequence is mechanically layered to some extent.
Some interbeds are weaker than halite (potash evaporites),
and some are stronger (carbonates, anhydrite, gypsum, and
b most siliciclastic rocks). Multilayered evaporites have unlim-
ited variations of layer thickness and viscosity. Each different
mixture yields a unique velocity profile, rate of salt evacuation,
and thickness of residual salt after a set time. Strong interlayers
such as carbonate stiffen an evaporite sequence, but the incred-
ible variety of deformation observed in impure multilayered
c evaporites indicates that they can flow considerably (Section
8.1).
Wagner’s (2010) mathematical modeling focused on com-
Strike-slip petent layers alternating with less-competent halite. But the
weld same principles apply to extremely mobile layers, such as
potash evaporites, alternating with stiffer halite. As might be
Figure 9.26. A strike-slip fault passing through the middle of a stock can expected, evacuation preferentially expels softer layers. Thus,
smear the diapir into a sigmoidal shape and eventually weld it, as shown here in increasing the number or thickness of stiff interbeds yields
map view. thicker residual salt in the resulting weld. However, the
Figure 9.27. Sigmoidal salt stocks sheared by

a Edge of composite
withdrawal basin A strike-slip. (a) Depth slice through the stocks (black);
other colors show structural relief on the top of the
source layer; blue and indigo depict the lowest part
of a composite withdrawal basin. (b) Three-
dimensional map view looking down the throat of
PDZ a sheared stock. Colors show elevation of the diapir
b walls: yellow is at the top of the diapir, and dark
blue at the base. (c) Cross section showing that the
diapirs are feeders to an overlying salt-stock
On-axis
diapir
Pull-apart canopy. One of the feeders was welded by strike-
basin On-axis
diapir slip above the principal displacement zone (PDZ);
compare this feeder with its much wider
undeformed neighbor on the left. Physical model by
A′ Tim Dooley.
b Upper part of diapir c Suture

Lower part
of diapir
Straight
edge
of diapir PDZ
Interior of
diapir A Principal A′
Adjoining diapir displacement zone
249
Salt Welds
Figure 9.28. Salt welding involves solid-state

Expulsion
Prograding flow by viscous creep of salt, and dissolution by
Rollover overburden circulating undersaturated groundwater.
syncline rollover
Flow Rotated
profile onlaps
1
2 3 4
Horizontal shortening Horizontal extension
1 2 3 4
Circulation
Solid-state flow Dissolution
Figure 9.30. (a) Under

Sh
ea
a100Tabular salt a hydraulic gradient, a
r salt layer initially 100 m
Hy
dra of velo Flow length 1,000 m thick thins rapidly, then
ulic roo city
U f Salt thickness (m)
80 Flow stress 1 MPa more slowly as thickness
∆P grad Viscosity 1017 Pa s declines asymptotically.
/L ient Sa Initial thickness 100 m Thinning leaves an
vel lt flow 60
incomplete weld
oc
rofile
u ity Suprasalt containing residual salt

40 that persists almost
yp
indefinitely unless
cit
z Velo Sa
lt th 20 dissolved. (b) The less
ick Sa viscous the salt, the faster
h ness lt d it drains, and the thinner
e
Gravity force ρ nsity 0 the salt residue in the
Fg s 0 200 400 600 800 1,000
Elapsed time (Myr) incomplete weld. (c)
x Dy Because thick salt thins
vis nam b100Beneath sinking hemisphere
Subsalt cos ic rapidly and thin salt thins
Channel length Dip η ity slowly under a hydraulic
L θ gradient, the initial
80 thickness of salt has little
Salt thickness (m)
Figure 9.29. Coordinate system to analyze one-dimensional flow in a tilted effect on the thickness of
salt layer. After Wagner and Jackson (2011). 60 residual salt after tens of
millions of years have
40 elapsed. The viscosity
assumed is unrealistically
arrangement of the mechanical stratigraphy leads to contrast- 1016 Pa s high, and was chosen
ing results (Figure 9.32(a)). If viscosities decrease inward to the 20 1018 Pa s merely to spread out the
center of the evaporite sequence, softer interlayers are prefer- 1020 Pa s different history curves to
0 accentuate their
entially expelled because they dominate the center of the flow, 0.01 1 100 10,000 1,000,000 differences. After Wagner
Elapsed time (yr)
where velocities are highest away from boundary drag. Stiffer and Jackson (2011).
layers near the roof and floor of multilayered evaporites inhibit c Tabular salt
2
flow and result in a thicker incomplete weld. This is because Flow length 1,000 m
Flow stress 1 MPa
the highest velocity gradient (not the highest velocity) in the
Salt thickness (km)
Viscosity 1020 Pa s
channel is near the contacts. Anything that resists strain there
disproportionately slows the entire flow. Now, suppose that
1
viscosities increase inward. Unexpectedly, the stiffer interlayers
are preferentially expelled. The softer layers near the contacts
envelop and carry stiffer layers in the center of the channel.
This pluglike flow leads to a thinner incomplete weld. All these
variations in flow affect what remains in the final incomplete 0
0 50 100 150 200
weld (Figure 9.32(b)). The least mobile interlayers are enriched Elapsed time (Myr)
250
over time if they are rigid or if viscosity decreases inward.

a100 b No roof
displacement Again, this is because softer interlayers are preferentially
f U = 0 mm/yr expelled from the center of the flow, where velocities are
80
highest. Conversely, if the viscosity increases inward, the
Salt thickness (m)
Velocity residual evaporites in an incomplete weld could become
Initial marker
60 profile depleted in less mobile interlayers because they are preferen-
b tially removed from the center of the flow. As flow matures,
40 boudinage dismembers stiff interlayers (Figure 9.28), thereby
∆P/L decreasing the viscosity of the whole sequence (Davison et al.
20 c 1996a).
d e
0 9.5.1.5 Some Realistic Complications
0 20 40 60 80 100
Elapsed time (Myr) As noted, residual evaporites can theoretically survive in an
incomplete weld even after hundreds of millions of years,
c Small roof displacement
parallel to flow d Large roof displacement
parallel to flow trapped by boundary drag. Yet complete welds have been
U = 0.05 mm/yr U = 0.5 mm/yr drilled or examined in outcrop, so additional factors must
allow them to form. One obvious factor is dissolution (Section
9.5.2). Another is the combination of displacement and natural
irregularities instead of the ideal geometries of the preceding
models. These irregularities can reduce the immobilizing effect
of boundary drag. Any geometry that reduces the ratio of flow
∆P/L ∆P/L length to salt thickness will lessen boundary drag.
Figure 9.33 shows geologic settings in which fault welding
overcomes the limiting effects of boundary drag. Where verti-
e Large roof displacement
against flow f Small roof displacement
against flow cal or horizontal movement of the wall rocks relative to each
other tectonically juxtaposes salt contacts, the juxtaposition
U = -0.25 mm/yr U = -0.05 mm/yr
generates additional stress on the salt layer, which enhances
salt evacuation. A neat weld is unlikely unless the joined shapes
of country rock are fortuitously compatible. But a neat weld is
possible if one side distorts to fit against the other. In addition,
contact roughness along fault welds can promote evacuation
∆P/L ∆P/L by dragging salt away from the weld, much like grooves
gouged on a fault surface.
These diverse types of welding allow salt to be locally
Figure 9.31. How fast salt is evacuated during fault welding is affected by evacuated more efficiently than by closing smooth salt con-
the relative velocities of salt flow and roof displacement. (a) Salt-evacuation tacts. However, it is not known whether increasing local
histories for five combinations of salt flow and roof displacement for the velocity
profiles shown in (b)–(f). Viscosity is 1019 Pa s. After Wagner and Jackson (2011). welding by sliding together uneven contacts would also
Figure 9.32. (a) Rigid interlayers in multilayered

a b evaporites slow salt evacuation. The stratigraphic
position of the stiffer layers within the sequence is
100
100 also important. (b) As salt thins, some layers are
preferentially expelled, depending on their
Least-mobile layers (%)
80 stratigraphic position. The graph shows the

80
proportion of least-mobile layers over time for
Salt thickness (m)
60 different mechanical stratigraphies. After Wagner and

60 Jackson (2011).
40 40
20 20
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 0 50 100 150 200
Elapsed time (Myr) Elapsed time (Myr)
Rigid interlayers Rigid interlayers

Viscosity decreases inward from 1018 to 1016 Pa s Viscosity decreases inward
Viscosity increases inward from 1016 to 1018 Pa s Viscosity increases inward
Single layer η ~1016 Pa s
251
Salt Welds
Water needed to dissolve 1 km3 halite (km3)

Before After 1000
a
Translation
Minibasin
Salt
Basement 100
horst
V.E. × 1 0 1 km
Rafting Extruding
b minibasin salt sheet
Salt
Salt ramp
V.E. × 1 0 1 km 10
Subsiding
c minibasin Bowl weld
Salt
0
0 10 20 30 40
V.E. × 1 0 1 km
d Weight % NaCl in water
Future fault trace Figure 9.34. Enormous volumes of water are needed to dissolve halite in
the subsurface, especially if the water is saline. After Wagner (2010).
Salt Salt
Basement flow
extension
The efficacy of dissolution within a few kilometers of the
V.E. × 1 0 1 km
surface is shown by the ability of meteoric waters to infiltrate
Synkinematic
e sediments and rapidly dissolve salt to form caves and other karst features
(Section 5.10.1). For example, Mt. Sedom, the crest of an
exposed diapir by the Dead Sea, is dissolving at a rate of 0.5
to 0.75 mm/yr (Frumkin 1994, Box 12.1). Where rainfall is
Salt thinning Presalt higher, salt dissolves much faster. In the Zagros fold belt, for
Prekinematic V.E. × 1 0 1 km
example, measured dissolution rates are 30 to 40 mm/yr for
sediments coastal salt diapirs and as much as 120 mm/yr for mountain
Figure 9.33. Salt evacuation is fastest where the ratio of flow length to salt salt diapirs (Bruthans et al. 2008). The denudation rate by
thickness is lowest. Several geologic settings can minimize this ratio and dissolution could reach 17 percent of the annual precipitation
enhance local welding. After Wagner and Jackson (2011). rate. But salt dissolves slowly over long periods at about 3.5
mm/yr if protected by a residual soil of less-soluble particles,
which are primarily gypsum (Bruthans et al. 2008) (Section
increase larger-scale welding around the irregularities. Math-
5.10.1).
ematical modeling of these irregular shapes is challenging, and
At depths of more than a kilometer in the absence of caves,
there is ample scope to quantify these effects.
groundwater is more saturated and moves slowly. Dissolution
there needs ample subsurface water undersaturated in sodium
9.5.2 Welding by Dissolution chloride, as well as hydrodynamics that promote subsurface
All evaporites are soluble, so any residual salts left after solid- flow. Where salt is deeply buried and fluid migration is slug-
state flow can be dissolved by circulating, undersaturated pore gish, dissolution is likely to be much less effective than creep in
water. Dissolution during salt welding is controlled by the removing salt (Wagner 2010). Deep wells in evaporite basins
permeability of the host rocks and by the flux, hydrodynamics, have reached highly saline formation waters (for example,
and composition of subsurface waters (Lohmann 1972; Ander- more than 30 g/l of sodium chloride; Land 1995).
son and Kirkland 1980; Anderson 1981; Ge and Jackson 1998). Mass balance can provide a rough estimate of the fluid
Dissolution and viscous flow of salt complement each other. volumes needed to dissolve salt layers and yield these high
Like the fabled tortoise and hare, viscous flow can rapidly expel salinities (Wagner 2010). Although halite is much more sol-
enormous volumes of salt but has trouble finishing the welding uble than most other rocks, vast volumes of water are needed
race because creep becomes restricted by boundary drag. Slow to dissolve it (Figure 9.34). More than 6 km3 of freshwater (or
dissolution can remove the stubborn remaining salt to form a more than 6.5 km3 of seawater) is needed to completely dis-
complete weld. solve 1 km3 of halite. Even greater volumes of saltier formation
252
a Boundary flow a Hydrostatic

fluid Ph
Overburden Dissolution zone
Salt 10 cm wide
3-km
depth
Boundary flow
Salt Boundary flow

along carrier bed
Overpressured
Pf fluid
Boundary Compacting
Permeable flow sediments
disturbed sediments
Permeable 0 3 km
b Crossflow along grain boundaries or microcracks carrier bed
V.E. × 1
Hydraulic fractures
or microcracks b 160
Seawater
Diffuse crossflow
Overpressured fluids
140 Hydrostatic + 10%
Salt 75% Lithostatic
Dissolution rate (m/Myr)

120 100% Lithostatic
Grain-boundary 100 Neutrally buoyant
porosity overburden
80
60
c Crossflow focused through inclusions or faults
40
Through-going fault
Moder H
Inclusion network
20 ate λ igh λ
Low λ
Focused crossflow
0
0 5 10 15 20
Salt
Weight % NaCl
Permeable
damage Figure 9.36. The higher the pore-pressure coefficient (λ), the more salt a fluid
zone of given salinity can dissolve during boundary flow. After Wagner (2010).
Focused 0 50 m
crossflow V.E. × 1
water, enough to dissolve just 0.22 moles of halite. Converting
Figure 9.35. (a) During boundary flow, pore fluids typically move along the to volume, at least 12 km3 of gypsum must dehydrate to
base of salt or up the sides of a diapir. (b), (c) During crossflow, the fluids dissolve 1 km3 of halite. These simple estimates suggest that
move through the salt layer, either diffusing along grain boundaries or
microcracks or focused through networks of nonhalite inclusions or fractures at depth only small volumes of rock salt can be dissolved. Were
and faults. After Wagner (2010). this not so, salt bodies would not be so voluminous in salt
basins.
Even if massive volumes of water were readily available at
waters are required to dissolve halite. Meteoric water can depth, the rate of fluid flow could restrict dissolution (Wagner
migrate downward, but its low density hinders sinking. 2010). Unsaturated fluids must continually replace brine sat-
Instead, three main processes can generate the water needed urated against salt, or dissolution will stop. Even if water were
to dissolve salt at depth: (1) expulsion of connate fluid as rocks available in abundance, sluggish rates of flow may provide a
compact (Cartwright et al. 2001), (2) dehydration of hydrous practical limit to the rate at which salt can dissolve in the
evaporites (Schléder et al. 2008), and (3) dehydration reactions subsurface.
during diagenesis of other rocks. The volume of water released Assuming an adequate supply of undersaturated fluid, flow
by compaction is controlled by the initial porosity and degree causing dissolution can be conceptually separated into bound-
of compaction. Consider a sandstone having an initial porosity ary flow along the salt contacts and crossflow through the salt
of 26 percent filled with freshwater. More than 24 km3 of the layer (Wagner 2010; Figure 9.35).
sandstone must be completely drained of pore fluid to dissolve Boundary flow follows along the base or top of a salt layer
1 km3 of halite (Wagner 2010). The volume of water released or up the sides of a diapir. Crossflow can be divided into
as hydrous evaporites dehydrate depends on lithology. Dehy- diffuse flow that permeates through salt along grain boundar-
dration of gypsum to anhydrite releases 2 moles of structural ies or microfractures (Section 3.6.3) and focused flow through
253
Salt Welds
permeable intrasalt inclusions and macrofractures (Wagner and along grain boundaries (Kupfer 1962, 1990; Schoenherr
2010). After being buried deeper than 45 m, halite typically et al. 2007a).
has a porosity of only 0.1 to 1.4 percent and in situ Analytical models can quantify the effects of dissolution
permeability of about 10–21 m2 (10–9 D) (Bredehoeft 1988; by boundary flow (Figure 9.36, Wagner 2010). The models
Yaramanci 1994). At temperatures and pressures equivalent assume that salt is impermeable and that dissolution is
to depths greater than ~3 km, halite grain boundaries reequi- restricted to a 10-cm-thick basal zone. Dissolution increases
librate to form a porosity network filled with brine (Lewis and with the degree of overpressure and decreases with salinity; the
Holness 1996; Section 3.6.3). Reequilibration markedly dissolution rate ranges from 3 to 36 m/Myr (Figure 9.36).
increases permeability, which has been estimated to reach Sarkar et al. (1995) predicted similar dissolution rates (3 to 5
10–13 m2 (10–1 D) in fine-grained salt and 10–16 m2 (10–4 D) m/Myr) when modeling free thermohaline convection of pore
in coarse-grained salt (Lewis and Holness 1996). In addition, fluids beneath salt sheets. Dissolution is faster if the carrier bed
at low effective stresses resulting from high pore-fluid pres- is more permeable or if the dissolution zone in salt is wider
sures or shallow burial, dilatant microcracks can gape along than 10 cm.
halite grain boundaries, increasing permeability (Peach and In three dimensions, flow of dissolving fluids beneath and
Spiers 1996; Popp et al. 2001; Section 3.6.3). Diffuse dilation through salt bodies could be focused along highly permeable
due to fluid overpressures has been known to occur in aban- pathways. As salt dissolves near these high-permeability path-
doned solution mines (Fokker et al. 1995) and may be the ways, flow could remove any protective sheath, resulting in
reason why hydrocarbons are trapped in halite crystals runaway dissolution in some locations (Section 5.10.1).
254

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Chapter

the salt was deposited. If this surface is an unconformity, the

Figure 9.4. Structural styles and juxtapositions

Weld discordant to subsalt stratigraphy,

vertical subsidence, extension, shortening, or strike-slip. We

Box 9.1 – La Popa Weld: A Vanished Salt Wall

Upper Sandstone Member

Delgado Sandstone Member

San Jose lentils

Box 9.1 – (cont.)

d WSW Carroza La Popa

carbonaceous anhydrite. The area is about a meter wide. (b) A completely

Box 9.1 – (cont.)

Figure 9.10. Vertical sedimentary loading onto

c Stratigraphic inversion Salt wing

Tertiary weld Tertiary

Primary weld Primary weld

Figure 9.11. Thickness variations caused by

b Complete welding Partial welding

Concordant weld Primary salt weld

c Welding finished early Welding finished late

condensed or prekinematic sediment lying in front of the

aNorthTop Miocene (5.8 Ma) Rafted Duplicated Rafted Duplicated

Onlap Louann Salt (Jurassic)

b Top Pliocene (2.8 Ma)

c Present day Rotated

Rotated Primary Bucket Primary Bucket 0 50 km

Pleistocene Upper Miocene Oligocene Louann Salt

(Figure 9.18). Welds formed in extension may have diﬀerent

Figure 9.14. Progradational loading creates a

Figure 9.15. Salt Valley salt wall formed by

d End Triassic, 200 Ma restoration Salt Valley diapir

Figure 9.16. Examples of expulsion rollovers in

7 salt weld in a stepped counterregional system in

Figure 9.17. A depositional system can evolve

Deep bowl weld

Figure 9.18. The lower corners of extensional

Local extensional welds 0 5 cm

Secondary basin Figure 9.19. Extension above autochthonous

Thick Extensional rollover

Remnants of single diapir

Box 9.2 – The Santos Albian Gap: Extension or Expulsion?

Extension, rollover sedimentation, and salt thinning occurred

Box 9.2 – (cont.)

Figure 9.21. Two very diﬀerent kinematic

of fault and footwall

Broad precursor diapir

Oligocene–Recent Campanian–Maastrichtian Salt

Box 9.2 – (cont.)

Observation Extension favored Expulsion favored

Incompatible with Compatible with Compatible with Incompatible with

a Salt overthrust Upright passive diapir Leaning passive diapir

West Seaward East

eighth. Thus, after salt has thinned to a residual thickness, it is,

A subsiding minibasin indents and pushes away underlying

e Top of weld Salt extrusion Top of weld

A Base of weld Source layer Base of weld A′

Figure 9.27. Sigmoidal salt stocks sheared by

b Upper part of diapir c Suture

Figure 9.28. Salt welding involves solid-state

Solid-state flow Dissolution

Figure 9.30. (a) Under

u ity Suprasalt containing residual salt