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See more from this Session: Models of Folding and Structural History of Shale Basins
Abstract:
Geometric analyses of seismic data from several natural folds in the Perdido fold belt; (deep-water western Gulf of Mexico, USA) indicate flow of material from beneath compressionally formed synclines. The base of the autochthonous Louann salt serves as the detachment horizon for this NE-SW trending fold belt. Plots of excess-area versus an arbitrary depth to detachment for independently interpreted anticlines and synclines provide both the timing of folding and the area either lost or added during deformation. The results of the seismic interpretations and geometric models show that the oldest and largest amplitude folds (most northwestern) were formed as early as the early Paleocene, with potential growth to near present day. As the fold belt progresses to the southeast, the structural formations become younger with a majority of the folds originating at the end Oligocene/earliest Miocene, along with their being smaller in amplitude due to a limited salt budget.
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Models of Folding and Structural History of Shale Basins