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The underground thermal fluid is one of the significant factors controlling the formation and quality of reservoirs. The Huangliu Formation (N1h) in YF1 area of the central depression belt in the Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea, is characterized by intense thermal fluid activities related to mud diapir and large-scale shallow-water gravity flow deposits. The multi-episodic invasion of high-temperature and CO2-rich thermal fluid into the formation induces complex water-rock reaction during diagenetic process, providing a preferable investigation opportunity for revealing how thermal fluid affects reservoir quality. This study characterizes the reservoirs in the formation through core and thin section analyses as well as physical property test. The reservoirs are dominated by fine-grained sandstone characterized by medium porosity (15.2–21.3%) and lower permeability (0.56–15.75mD). Based on an analysis of casting thin section, cathode luminescence (CL), scanning electron microscope (SEM), carbon and oxygen isotope, inclusion test, and electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA), we systematically investigate the diagenetic patterns and pore evolution process for the reservoirs in the formation. The episodic invasion of thermal fluid occurred approximately 0.4 Ma ago plays an important role in controlling reservoir development: The CO2-rich formation water induces massive late-stage dissolution, resulting in a higher proportion of dissolved pores (38.7–46.4%), which improves the porosity of reservoirs at a depth of 2600–3100 m. Nevertheless, the late dissolution together with carbonate cementation occurred in closed diagenetic system blocks most seepage channels. Furthermore, the relatively high level clay mineral transformation in the YF1 area leads to a higher content of authigenic illite (44–62%) in the formation. Massive authigenic illite severely blocks the pore throats in fine sandstone, reducing permeability. This study offers an insight to the understanding of mud diapir-derived thermal fluid affecting and controlling the quality of reservoirs in some areas of the Yinggehai Basin.

This study comprises the investigation of the complex and deformed Late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in western Latvia composed of sandy sediments that are protruded by large-scale clayey silt diapirs and covered by glaciotectonically disturbed discontinuous patches of the Late Weichselian till. We use detailed measurements by ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) combined with borehole data and sedimentological investigations at the Baltic Sea cliffs to map and characterize the large-scale deformation structures and discontinuous till patches. We distinguish the intriguing and previously not detected characteristics of the spatial distribution pattern of discontinuous till layer represented as elongated, up to 150 m long and up to 50 m wide patches, parallel to the seacoast and perpendicular to the latest ice flow direction. The upper surface of till patches is flat and not inclined in any direction that is partially explainable by the postglacial erosion of the Baltic Ice Lake. The possible locations of diapirs inland are drawn from GPR data. We relate the formation of observed large-scale deformations to subglacial diapirism induced by the ice loading of the advancing Apriķi Ice Tongue: clayey silt sediments become loaded and overpressurized, and flowed upwards intruding into the overlying sandy sediments. The initial deposition and deformation of till layer could have been affected by the diapirism process and preferred accretion of till in inter diapir spaces. We demonstrate that the geophysical methods can greatly supplement traditional geological investigations in the field revealing characteristics of deformed sediment sequences that are not recognizable from the outcrop data only and thus can have significant implications on the interpretation of deformation processes.

—The paper considers the seismogeologic, structural, and tectonic features of Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary complexes in the Arctic regions of the Siberian Platform. Based on the results of deep drilling, the geologic structure of the study area was analyzed, and the key sections of Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic deposits of the Anabar–Khatanga and Lena–Anabar oil and gas areas (OGA) were compiled. Analysis of geological and geophysical materials showed the existence of a sedimentary basin up to 14–16 km in thickness on the continental margin of the Siberian Platform, with five regional seismogeologic megacomplexes in its section: Riphean, Vendian, lower–middle Paleozoic, Permian, and Mesozoic. Based on the results of a complex interpretation of CDP seismic-survey and deep-drilling data, a structural and tectonic analysis was performed, structural maps were compiled for all reference stratigraphic levels, and a conclusion has been drawn about the similarity of the structural plans of the Riphean top and overlying sedimentary complexes. Using a structural map along the Permian top, a tectonic map of the study area was compiled, which corresponds to the current state of study. The results of numerical modeling of the salt diapir formation processes are presented, and the types of anticlinal structures, potential oil- and gas-promising objects, are considered.

3D post-stack time migrated seismic data and a suite of composite well log data from six wells drilled within the “AFUN” field Niger delta were used to effect a detailed interpretation of the field. This was with a view to delineating architectural elements that control reservoir quality of a deepwater turbidite reservoir. The data analyses were done using the Petrel software. LAS file of logs were imported into the Petrel software as well as SEG.Y. seismic data. Fault interpretation and horizon mapping were based on the well-seismic tie from the generated seismogram. Time and depth structure maps were created. Thirty faults which include growth faults, reverse faults, collapsed crest structure and as well as faults that are synthetic and antithetic to the growth faults were mapped. The growth faults are believed to act as pathways for the updip movement of hydrocarbon from the Akata Formation to Agbada Formation. The structural interpretation showed that the area has been subjected to compressional deformation which resulted in reverse faulting system in toe thrust zone influenced by shale diapirs. The maps revealed contour closures that belong to an anticlinal structure which is forming traps in the reservoirs. The structures are faulted North-South trending rollover anticlines. It has also been shown that the distribution and type of architectural elements i.e. fractures within the fan system have major impact upon the reservoir distribution, continuity and connectivity of sand/shale bodies. The study concluded that structural style and facies architecture are the two fundamental elements that defined the reservoir heterogeneity of the “AFUN” Field.

Although some giant gas fields found in the deepwater area of the Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB), China, are often associated with mud diapirs and/or gas chimneys, no comprehensive 3D work has been undertaken to characterize them. We have conducted a 3D seismic investigation using the root-mean square, coherence, and instantaneous frequency attributes to provide a better understanding of the conduit systems in the QDNB. The results show that the conduit system that we investigated can be separated vertically into four zones in the following order: (1) a structurally diapiric weak zone at the base, followed by (2) an injected or reinjected sandstones zone, (3) a gas chimney zone, and (4) a mud volcanic zone at the top. The morphology of the structurally weak zone is elliptical, formed by the intersection of northwest–southeast- and nearly east–west-trending tectonic faults. We infer that this zone provides pathways for the ascent of the diapiric mud that was probably sourced by the underlying overpressured mudstones. The injected or reinjected sandstones zone is characterized by high amplitude anomalies, and it was probably fed by the lobes of underlying submarine fans. The gas chimney zone, which is characterized by low frequencies and weak amplitudes, is probably composed of a mixture of uprising mud and free gas formed from the underlying overpressured mudstones, whereas the mud volcano with a Christmas-tree pattern and is composed of a central crater, the southern flank of which is a mudflow, formed when the uprising mud migrating upward through faults got to the paleo seafloor. Finally, we have developed schematic illustrations that would aid in understanding the different stages of the formation and internal architecture of this conduit system.

Using integrated Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) datasets (Envisat: 2003–2009; Sentinel-1: 2014–2018), local gravity surveys, and passive seismic data, we investigated the environmental hazards associated with the rise of the Miocene Jazan salt diapir (JZD; ~ 2 km2) within Jazan city, Saudi Arabia, and identified areas at risk in its immediate surroundings. Our findings include (1) the JZD outcrop and its northern, southern and western bordering areas have been undergoing substantial uplift (up to 4.7 mm/yr), whereas the sabkhas to the east are witnessing subsidence (up to − 7.5 mm/yr); (2) a low Bouguer anomaly (7.5 mGal) was observed over the JZD relative to its surroundings (8.5–12 mGal) with the steepest gradient along its eastern side; (3) strong and clear horizontal/vertical (H/V) spectral ratio peak and high frequency (5–10 Hz) over the JZD outcrop and areas proximal to its western margin, but areas to the east have a weak H/V peak and low frequency (1.5-3 Hz); (4) drilling confirmed presence of a shallow (4 m) salt bedrock layer west of the JZD and the absence of this layer to its east (up to depths of 60 m); (5) uplift patterns along the diapir margins are indicative of near-vertical contact along the JZD eastern margin and less steep contacts along the remaining margins; and (6) additional near-surface diapirs could potentially be identified in the vicinity of the JZD using our integrated approach.

The Zagros Belt has examples of strike-slip faults affected by precursor Hormuz Salt bodies. We attempted to examine the role of salt walls in localizing the strike-slip faults using field observations, seismic profiles and understandings from the sandbox modeling. Setting and performance of the pre-Hormuz features in connection to the salt tectonics are major questions. The inherited topography below the salt is an important parameter which controlled the structuration of the basin. The antecedent troughs provided accommodation for the thick Hormuz Salt. Differential loading above the salt helped generation of salt-related structures. The salt-walls caused formation of elongated highs. These highs were re-shaped in form of strike-slip faults during the Zagros Orogeny. The intersection of the salt walls and the Zagros-induced deformation fronts are location of potential diapirs needless of bending points along the tear faults. In contrast, the underlying deep-seated basement faults are hardly believed to be strike-slip.

Petrogeochemical and geochronological studies were conducted on the main varieties of granitoids from the Sedelga and Berezovsky batholiths in the eastern Bureya continental Massif of the Central Asian Fold Belt. SHRIMP-II U–Pb zircon dating of granitoids constrained the time of formation to the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic between 208 to 193 Ma. Our studies revealed that the batholiths contain peraluminous granitoids of high K calc-alkaline series clearly enriched in Rb, K, Th, U, and Pb and relatively depleted in Nb, Ta, Y, HREE, Sr, Ba, Ti, and P and belong to I-type granites. Synthesis of the U–Pb geochronological data indicates that magmatism of tectonic blocks constituting the Bureya Massif at 213–183 Ma was accompanied by the emplacement of granitoid rocks of the Khara Complex. Strike-slip tectonics as a reflection of oblique collision of continental blocks and transform movement might have been an important mechanism of granitoid derivation in the Bureya Massif. Strike-slip faults were likely to penetrate deep into the crust initiating the ascent of an asthenospheric diapir and its fluids into the higher crustal levels thus transferring the heat and triggering melting with appreciable concentrations of Th, U, Rb, Pb and losses of Sr, P, Ba, and Ti. The depletion in Nb, Ta, Ti, and P and the enrichment in Pb make these granitoids similar to those of subduction zones. Granitoids of the Khara Complex display subduction-related (associated with the preceding subduction) and within-plate (associated with an asthenospheric diapir and its fluids) geochemical features, which is characteristic of transform margin environments. The most likely settings for granitoid magmatism to occur throughout the eastern margin of the Bureya Massif in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic were transform settings associated with asthenospheric diapirism following the cessation of subduction.

Ceres is the largest body in the Main Belt, and it is characterized by a large abundance of water ice in its interior. This feature is suggested by its relatively low bulk density (2162 kg m−3), while its partial differentiation into a rocky core and icy crust is suggested by several geological and geochemical features: minerals and salts produced by aqueous alteration, icy patches on the surface, and lobate morphology interpreted as surface flows. In this work, we explore how the composition can influence the characteristics of thermal convection in the crust of Ceres. Our results suggest that the onset of thermal convection is difficult and when it occurs, it is short lived, which could imply that Ceres preserved deep liquid until present, as recently suggested by the work of Castillo-Rogez et al. Moreover, cryovolcanism could be driven by diapirism (chemical convection) rather than thermal convection.

Development of salt diapirs affects the hydrocarbon trapping systems in the Danish sector of the North Sea, where the reservoirs mainly consist of chalk. Seismic imaging and interpretation of the salt structures are challenging, primarily due to the complex geometry of the salt bodies and typically strong velocity contrast with the neighboring sediment layers. The quality of seismic imaging in the North Sea is highly dependent on the quality of the estimated velocity model. We have studied diffracted arrivals originating from the salt flanks and adjacent sedimentary structures using a diffraction imaging technique. The diffracted waves carry valuable information regarding seismic velocity and the location of geologic discontinuities, such as faults, fractures, and salt delimitations. We apply a plane-wave destruction method to separate diffractions from our stacked data. We optimize imaging based on diffraction analysis by using a velocity continuation migration technique, which leads to an estimation of the optimum focusing velocity model. We determine that the diffraction-based approach significantly improves the seismic imaging adjacent to the salt diapirs and the neighboring layers when compared with a standard approach in which we mostly ignore the diffractions. The new poststack time-migrated results provide detailed information that optimizes our interpretation of the salt diapir itself (e.g., the width of the salt neck) as well as the sediment layers related to the rim synclines. Processing schemes such as prestack depth migration and full-waveform inversion may potentially provide high-resolution images of the salt structures. We only account for diffractions in nonmigrated stacked data to better constrain seismic velocity and improve imaging around the salt diapir. The obtained results are critical for reservoir characterization.

The Tunisian territory (area of diapirs) is exposed to the risks of ground movements linked to water, some of which are related to the phenomenon of dissolution of gypsum, allowing the appearance of underground cavities which present natural risks and set people in danger. The analysis of the hazard was determined by the field study coupled with the application of geophysical methods to locate and map the cavities and identify their dimensions and their positions in the subsoil. In the region of El Fahs (40 km NW of Tunis): we used a non-destructive method, georadar (GPR) with a 200 MHz antenna band-width, and an electric method, by using the electric tomography of which we have applicated the sequence of dipole-dipole measurement. The results ob-tained were examined and interpreted according to 2D profiles. The geophysi-cal methods of GPR and electrical tomography aim to detect many calvities in different depths. However, the geological radar was able to identify several cavities and the zones of dissolution whose investigation depth did not exceed the first 3 meters. On the contrary, the electric tomography method allowing the presence of several deeper underground cavities with larger dimensions ex-tended to 64 meters. To conclude, the geological and hydrogeological contexts of the terrain studied and on the state of the soil and subsoil allow us to better understanding the mechanisms of the establishment of the dissolution phe-nomenon and the appearance of cavities in the basement. The analysis of the predisposing factors present in the study area shows that the geodynamic con-text of the Triassic ascent takes place according to a precise thermodynamic process that favors the phenomenon of dissolution of the gypsum.

The Jebel El Akhouat Zn-Pb-(Ba-Sr) ore deposit, located in the Tunisian Dome zone, is hosted mainly in the organic matter-rich Albian and Cenomanian–Turonian rocks. The orebodies occur mainly as open-space fillings and are structurally-controlled. The paragenetic sequence consists of three stages, which reflect three ore events. Three discrete stages of Zn-Pb sulfide and/or Zn-Pb-Ba-Sr sulfide-sulfate ores are identified. Fluid inclusion study carried out on selected minerals of different stages reveals that sphalerite, galena, marcasite, celestine, barite, and fluorite precipitated as a result of mixing between a hydrothermal, saline, metal-rich basinal fluid and a low-temperature, less saline, metal-depleted, sulfur- or sulfate-rich fluid with the intermittent involvement of hydrocarbons. Based on sulfur isotope data, sulfur of sulfides was derived from the reduction of the dissolved Triassic sulfates primary through thermochemical sulfate reduction with a contribution of bacterial sulfate reduction. The Pb isotopic composition of galena samples and trace elements data of the host carbonate rocks suggest that metals were derived primarily from the Paleozoic siliciclastic rocks with a contribution of the organic matter-rich Albian and Cenomanian–Turonian rocks. The Alpine orogeny triggered the migration of the metalliferous fluids from the deep parts of the basin towards the peridiapiric paleohigh of Ech Chehid diapir through major faults towards the loci of deposition.

The juxtaposition of a Triassic evaporite diapir with the organic matter-rich Fahdene Formation (Albian-Vra-conian) along major faults in the Slata ore district raises the question of the roles played by halokinesis, hydrocarbons, and tectonics in mineralization. The Slata mining district, located in the Tunisian salt diapiric zone, contains Ba-Pb-(± Zn) ore hosted in the Aptian carbonates. The mineralogical paragenetic sequence consists of barite (Ba-1)–galena ± sphalerite ± calcite (Ca-1)–barite (Ba-2) and finally, late calcites (Ca-2 and Ca-3). Fluid inclusions from early barite reveal that it was precipitated from a warm (134°–157°C), H2O-NaCl-KCl-CaCl2, moderately saline (13.3–24.6 wt % NaCl equiv) basinal brine. This fluid is thought to have resulted from the mixing of a deep-seated, hot, metal-bearing fluid with a cooler, dilute SO42−-rich fluid. Early calcite and cogenetic sulfides (galena and sphalerite) precipitated from fluids of similar salinities and temperatures as the barite-forming fluids, but with the additional involvement of hydrocarbons. Sulfur isotope data suggest that thermochemical sulfate reduction of Triassic gypsum was the main source of reduced sulfur for sulfides. Late barite precipitated as a result of the mixing between a Ba-rich, hot, ascending fluid with a cooler, dilute Triassic sulfate-rich fluid in the absence of hydrocarbons. The homogeneous Pb isotope compositions of galena along with the Sr isotope compositions of barite point to a Paleozoic reservoir as the main source of metals with a contribution from the Triassic-Cretaceous rocks. The emplacement of the ore occurred during the Eocene-Miocene Alpine compressional tectonic activity that triggered the circulation of Paleozoic-derived metal-bearing fluids.

The relative timing between crustal extension and salt deposition can vary spatially along passive margin salt basins as continents unzip, or as the locus of extension shifts toward the embryonic ocean spreading center. Determining the relative timing of salt deposition, rifting, and seafloor spreading is often problematic due to the diachronous nature of rifting, the ability of salt to fill pre-existing topography, and the subsequent flow and deformation of that salt. We here use 2D PSDM seismic data and structural restorations to investigate the Merluza Graben, a large rift-related depocentre located in the southern, most proximal part of the Santos Basin, Brazil, along-strike of a failed spreading center, the Abimael Ridge. The graben is defined by up to 3.5km of base-salt relief along its basinward-bounding fault and internal base-salt horsts that are up to 1km high. This compartmentalizes deformation, producing intra-graben extensional and contraction salt structures, ramp-syncline basins, and expulsion rollovers, resulting in a remarkably different salt-tectonic structural style to that seen in the adjacent areas. We also conduct structural restorations to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of salt-tectonic structural styles and the relationship this has to potential prolonged crustal extension in the Merluza Graben. This approach further constrains local variations in the relative timing of rifting and salt deposition, and the impact this has on salt tectonics along the margin. The results of our study can be applied to better understand the tectono-stratigraphic development of other salt-bearing rifted margins.

Compiled data show the age progression of magmatic centers along the two approximately linear profiles from NE Greece and NW Turkey to the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The age progression reveals the southwestward migration of arc magmatic activity from Oligocene to present, perpendicular to the Hellenic Trench. This is in accordance with the migration of the Aegean subduction zone due to the collision of oceanic and continental blocks, trench retreat, mantle flow, and coeval extension. We suggest that the subduction of large volumes of sediments and their contribution to the sub���arc magma source controlled the composition of calc���alkaline to high���K calc���alkaline and shoshonitic arc magmas during the past 30 Ma. The magma geochemistry and the approximately linear age���progressive migration of magmatic activity suggest focused ascent of mixed material from the subducted slab into the mantle wedge, most likely in the form of m��lange diapirs. Geochemical data along the profile reveals increasing Sr and decreasing Nd isotopes during Upper Miocene in agreement with the ongoing subduction of continental blocks, low subduction rates, and development of an accretionary wedge. The different K���rich arc magmas reflect the variable subduction of sediments, whereas crustal assimilation often plays a minor role. Magmas with variable 87Sr/86Sr, P/Nd, and Ba/La indicate a variable contribution of clastic, phosphate���bearing, and barite���bearing sediments. Low���degree partial melting in sediment���dominated m��lange diapirs causes the formation of shoshonitic magmas with high Sr and P2O5 contents and high La/Yb in the northern Aegean., Plain Language Summary: The volcanic rocks of the South Aegean Islands were formed due to the subduction of the African plate below the Eurasian plate during the past 4 million years. Thirty million years ago, this subduction was situated further north and generated magmatic activity in northeast Greece and northwest Turkey. We present two profiles from the Northern Aegean to the South Aegean Islands across magmatic centers that document the temporal and spatial migration of the subduction zone from 30 million years ago to the present. A compilation of geochemical data of these magmatic rocks indicates that they were all generated by partial melting of the mantle above the descending plate, but this mantle source shows different compositions along the profile. Variable Sr isotope ratios as well as trace element concentrations of the magmas indicate that different sediments of the descending plate with variable amounts of clay, phosphate, or barite affected the mantle source of the magmas. The variable potassium and trace element concentrations of the magmas can be explained by the ascent of sediment and mantle material in heterogeneous balloon���like structures, so���called diapirs, above the descending plate., Key Points: Age���progression of magmatic centers reveals the linear migration of Aegean arc magmatism. Subduction of heterogeneous continental lithosphere controls K���rich magma formation. Sediment���rich m��lange diapirs trigger arc magmatism at localized magmatic centers.

Serpentinized mantle peridotites form prominent mountains, including the highest elevations of the Troodos ophiolite in Cyprus (Mount Olympus, 1,952 m), but to date, only qualitative mechanisms have been proposed to explain the uplift of mantle rocks to high altitudes. Serpentinization reactions between mantle rocks and water result in profound changes to the rheology and physical properties of peridotites including significant density reduction (∼900 kg/m 3). Field observations, density measurements, and isostatic uplift and erosional modeling provide new constraints on the contribution of serpentinization to the uplift of the Troodos Mantle Sequence. Different serpentinization styles have resulted in two distinct serpentinite domains with contrasting densities. Our modeling shows that the Troodos Mountains can form within the geologically constrained uplift time frame (∼5.5 Myr) exclusively through partial serpentinization reactions. We interpret the serpentinite domains as two nested diapirs that formed due to different extents of serpentinization and density reduction. Differential uplift and exhumation have decoupled the two serpentinite diapirs from the originally overlying ocean crustal rocks. Once at high altitudes the incursion of meteoric water reinforced coupled deformation-alteration-recrystallization processes in the shallow subsurface producing a localized low density completely serpentinized diapir. A second decoupling between the contrasting serpentinite diapirs results in localized differential uplift and exhumation, extruding deep materials to the east of Mount Olympus. Application of our modeling to other serpentinite massifs (e.g., St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks, New Idria, California) highlights the contribution of isostasy to the uplift of serpentinized massifs.

In salt-detached fold-and-thrust belts, contractional modification of diapirs may include decapitation by thrusting, but examples are not well known in the subsurface and unreported in outcrop. Her...

This study employs Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data sets to monitor the surface deformation of the Nasr-Abad buried salt diapir in the Central Basin of Iran. The Nasr-Abad salt diapir is one of the largest buried salt diapir in Iran and could be ideal site for oil/gas storage and industrial waste disposal. Forty ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) images acquired during 2003–2010 were used to monitor surface activities of this diapir and its surrounding regions in that time window. One hundred and one interferograms were generated from both descending and ascending orbits by applying the Small-BAseline Subset (SBAS) method. Tropospheric artefacts in the displacement interferograms were mitigated using the power law correction method in TRAIN software. A time series of line-of-sight (LOS) displacements on the residual cap of Lower Red Formation above the buried diapir was also generated as well as the area. Finally, the data for temperature, precipitation, and tidal forces were correlated with the time-series displacement results of four points A, B, C, and D that located on the residual cap. Our analyses of our data indicate that surface above the diapir and an area of about 28 square kilometres subsided with maximum LOS velocity of about 7 mm/year for ascending images and 5 mm/year for descending images. Comparing the temperature and precipitation data with the time-series of displacement confirmed that they correlated with the same seasonal effects. Monitoring the activities of the Nasr-Abad region over 7 years shows that the region of surface subsidence is confined to the area that relates directly to the geological structures of the region.

Geometric and stratigraphic characteristics of halokinetic sequences adjacent to the salt diapirs highlight the sedimentation response to variation in the rate of salt rise. The style of salt movement-sedimentation interaction and episodes of salt movement can be reconstructed by mapping these halokinetic sequences adjacent to the diapirs. Detailed interpretation of 2D seismic profiles adjacent to the Abu Musa salt diapir within the Persian Gulf Basin, offshore Iran, indicates that this diapir originated from the Miocene Fars salt, which created a central- and several ring-like peripheral-salt structures. Our results show that the evolution of the salt structures take place in three stages-mound, dome and post-dome- associated with sedimentation cycles periodically by passive and active rising to present. The pattern of these halokinetic sequences reveals that the Fars salt rose since Mid-Miocene coeval sedimentation of the Gachsaran Formation. The main mechanism of driving salt body has been the differential loading caused by down-building processes.

Subject. A systematization of Late-Paleozoic magmatic formations of the Magnitogorsk zone of the Southern Urals in the process of an accretion of the Magnitogorsk paleoarc to the margin of the East European continent (EEC) with formation in Famenian and Carboniferous active continent margin of South-Uralian accretionary-collisional belt was given in the work.Materials and methods. A generalization of published and manuscript materials characterizing magmatism and ore-mineralization of Magnitogorsk zone for the Devonian-Carboniferous-Permian time carried out, additional investigations of chemical composition of rocks (XRF, ISP-MS) characterizing process of accretion, subduction and plume activity, microelement distribution in them was made, the composition of rock-forming and accessory minerals (EPMA) was studied.Results. It is found that the South-Uralian accretionary-collisional belt was beginning to form in the late phase of the development of the Magnitogorsk island arc in the process its collision with EEC margin with formation in the Frasnian and Carboniferous of active continental margin. The products of Late-island-arc volcanism are represented by the porphyrite formation and in the eastern frame of the arc - by subalkaline monzonite-shoshonite-latite volcanic-intrusive association with intermediate characteristics between the subductional and interplate formations. Synchronously with them, in the backarc setting, picrite and meymechite volcanics − derivatives of a mantle plume are formed. In process of substitution of tectonic-magmatic regime from island-arc to margin-continental intraplate-type mantle series were forming. During this period, hot asthenospheric diapirs (plumes) were rising to the bottom of new-formed (accreted) margin-continental lithosphere. Along with the magmatic associations of intraplate type and rock series of intermediate geochemical type, this geodynamic situation in the Southern Urals is characterized by a presence of great volumes of mantle-crust granitoids of gabbro-tonalite-granodiorite-granite type, that were formed with a manifold manifestation of anatexis in a time interval of 365-290 Ma.Conclusion.On the whole the originality of Magnitogorsk zone geological history in the Devonian and Carboniferous, peculiarities of magmatic complexes formed here due to various geodynamic settings, are making this zone an extraordinary interesting and important object to study of processes of plume-lithosheric and mantle-crust interaction.

The tectonomagmatic evolution of the Sangilen massif has been described in detail in numerous publications, but little attention was given to heat sources related to the HT/LP metamorphism. Modeling of the magma transport to the upper‐crust levels in West Sangilen shows that the NT/LP metamorphism is related to gabbromonodiorite intrusions. This article is focused on the thermo‐mechanical modeling of melting and lifting of melts in the crust, taking into account the density interfaces. The model of the Erzin granitoid massif shows that in case of fractional melting, the magma ascent mechanism is fundamentally different, as opposed to diapir upwelling – percolation take place along a magmatic channel or a system of channels. An estimated rate of diapiric rise in the crust amounts to 0.8 cm/yr, which is more than an order of magnitude lower than the rate of melt migration in case of fractional melting (25 cm/yr). In our models, a metamorphic thermal ‘anticline’ develops in stages that differ, probably, due to the modes of crust melting: batch melting occurs at the first stage, and fractional melting takes place at the second stage. It is probable that the change of melting modes from melting conditions in a ‘closed’ system to fractional melting conditions in ‘open’ systems is determined by tectonic factors. For the Sangilen massif, we have estimated the degrees of melting in the granulite, granite, and sedimentary‐metamorphic layers of the crust (6, 15, and 5 vol. %, respectively).

In recent decades, diapirs are frequently used for CO2 and natural gas storage due to their extremely impermeable and non-reactive characteristics. Among various approaches, we use an integrated interpretation approach to resolve the diapir no. 4 belonging to the Shurab diapirs (SD). The SD is a group of diapirs that have pierced to the surface of the Qom basin of Central Iran, which is a candidate for natural gas storages. The complex geology of the SD is the main cause that previous 2D seismic surveys across the diapir could not provide required information to propose any location for any exploration borehole. Consequentially, 28 magnetotelluric (MT) and 1 audio-magnetotelluric station were measured along a SW-NE profile. Dimensionality and strike analysis for all stations is done by the use of phase tensor analysis. We used the nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm to invert the TE- and TM-modes data simultaneously in 2D. The resistivity model was compared with the interpreted results of the post-stack depth migration model using seismic attributes. In order to extract the determinative geological information from the low-quality seismic section, envelope, variance, sweetness and instantaneous frequencies attributes were used. The integrated interpretation of the seismic and MT data resolves a precise geometry of the salt body, location of the dense part of the diapir as well as the tectonics around the diapir. The integrated interpretation of seismic and MT data of diapir no. 4 resulted in an exploration drilling program.

International audience; We report the geophysical characterisation of natural oil seep sites through a combination of sea surface evidence of oil leakage from spatial imagery with a large collection of seafloor and subsurface geophysical data. This paper provides a detailed characterisation of one selected active seep site and identifies possible specific feature of oil seep sites. The oil seep is a complex-shaped feature on the seafloor consisting of a cluster of heterometric pockmarks inside a main depression area and peripheral metre-scale seafloor mounds. A strong deformation related to salt tectonics controls the location of the seafloor source by fracturing the overburden. The associated thermal anomaly induces a vertical modification position of the base of the gas hydrate stability zone (BGHSZ) that is used as a fluid migration route towards the crest of the diapir. The combination of local depressions and seafloor amplitude anomalies linked with vertical high-amplitude pipes rooted on the BGHSZ suggests a focused fluid flow towards the seafloor. In peripheral areas, the seafloor mounds are linked by shallow faults to buried high amplitude patches on sub-bottom profiler sections. The combination of restricted-size seafloor mounds with a progressive deepening of the high amplitude from the seafloor suggests a substantial decrease of the hydrocarbon flow towards peripheral areas. The proximity of actively oil-supplying seafloor depressions and seafloor mounds shows that the hydrocarbon flow rapidly decreases laterally. The thermogenic seep site is affected by two consistent and sub-parallel reflections with negative polarity. The first is interpreted as the methane-related BGHSZ, the second could correspond to the base of a thermogenic BGHSZ produced by a mixture of heavier gas. The seafloor roughness and double BSR appear to be specific features of oil seep sites. The geophysical features revealed at a localised study area will be extrapolated towards a larger province for relevance validation.

International audience; The Lower Congo Basin is known to discharge a substantial volume of oil towards the sea surface, from more than one hundred seafloor seep sites distributed throughout the deep province of the Lower Congo Basin. A large geochemical coring survey confirmed the presence of oil on the seabed. The combination with the seismic data considerably improved the identification of the origin of the oil slicks on the seabed. Multiple specific geophysical characteristics of thermogenic hydrocarbon seep sites were highlighted in a previous detailed analysis of seismic datasets. This study aims to test the characteristics previously identified at regional-scale. The active discharge zone is limited to the distal province of the basin. It is characterised by strong compression/shortening due to the sliding of the post-salt super-sequence, resulting in numerous salt diapirs that control the location of seafloor oil seep sites. The paper describes the bathymetric, reflectivity, amplitude and sub-bottom profiler characteristics of a group of thermogenic seep sites. They correspond essentially to submarine mounds or pockmarks of complex and irregular shape surrounded by hummocky mounds. Active oil pockmarks are systematically associated with positive amplitude anomalies on the seabed and are linked to vertical high-amplitude columns rooted in the seismic reflector and associated with the base of the gas hydrate stability zone. The sub-bottom profiler data shows that the hummocky mounds are connected by a network of faults to high-amplitude bodies buried under a consistent sediment thickness. Based on the definition of specific geophysical features (seafloor mounds, complex shape and irregular pockmarks, positive anomalies of seafloor amplitude, high-amplitude vertical pipes), we identified a series of potential oil seep sites at basin scale. The mounds are particularly recognizable using the seismic curvature attribute; we have identified 2946 individual hummocks that are grouped in 50 zones with a density of 35–240 per km2. They are believed to be associated with asphalt storage on the seafloor and related to the biodegradation of heavy oils during hydrocarbon dysmigration through the sedimentary pile. Unusual double BSRs occur over the study area; these are also a specific feature of thermogenic seep sites. Barely half of the potential sites identified on the seismic datasets are associated with recurrent oil slicks at the sea surface. The proportion of remaining anomalies may be associated with inactive seep sites over the period of satellite-based monitoring or gas-dominated seep sites.

The stratigraphy and structural evolution of the western Florida margin is much better understood than its northern Yucatan conjugate because previous hydrocarbon exploration has been more extensive on the Florida margin. In the deep-water northeastern GOM, the post-salt section records late Jurassic-Cretaceous gravity sliding of rafted blocks along a basinward-dipping layer of Callovian salt. This study uses approximately 31,000 line-km of 2D seismic data to describe a coeval area of widespread, gravity sliding along the less-studied, northern Yucatan margin. We define three structural domains based on their distinctive salt structures and associated deformation: 1) a region in the northeastern study area consists of relatively undeformed, late Jurassic-Cretaceous section underlain by 0–300 m-thick salt; 2) areas in the central and southwestern study area contain late Mesozoic gravity slides defined by 300–600 m-thick salt rollers and normal faults rooted onto a 1–4° basinward-dipping salt detachment; and 3) the distal margin of the western and central study area exhibits large salt diapirs up to 6 km tall that deform Quaternary stratigraphic units. In the central Yucatan study area containing late Mesozoic gravity slides, a stratigraphic unit equivalent to the productive Oxfordian Norphlet sandstone of the deep-water northeastern GOM is identified based on its similar seismic character. Reconstructing the extent of this Norphlet-equivalent unit along the Yucatan margin to its location during Oxfordian deposition places it adjacent to an extensive area of Norphlet sandstone mapped in the deep-water northeastern GOM by previous authors. Our reconstruction suggests a 48,000 km2 fairway of potential aeolian, late Jurassic reservoirs on the Yucatan and Campeche margins that includes productive reservoirs in the southeastern Bay of Campeche, which previous authors correlated with the Norphlet Formation.

Gravitational collapse structures are commonly observed in shelf-margin deltas underlain by mobile shales. However, these structures are rarely accompanied by mud diapirs. This paper presents an updated study of the gravity-driven system in the West Luconia Deltas, a shelf-margin delta system, in the Kangxi Depression, southern South China Sea. Compared to the classical shale-detachment model, the syn-collapse deformation in the contractional domain in this study is accommodated mainly by thrust faults combined with mud diapirs rather than simply imbricated thrusts. Based on seismic interpretation and structural analysis, this gravity-driven system is divided into three domains, the extensional domain, the contractional domain and the transitional domain. All of these domains are intruded by mud diapirs. The quantitative analysis of the amounts of extension and contraction suggests that these structures mainly resulted from gravitational collapse rather than the tectonic compression. Quantification of the relative contributions of gravity spreading and gliding indicates that the gravitational collapse was mainly driven by gravity spreading. Two episodes of collapse are suggested by the analysis of the progradation of the West Luconia Deltas and the features of the syn-collapse structures. The first episode was minor and not accompanied by diapirism, whereas the second episode was major and accompanied by diapirism. The entire evolution of the GDS is divided into five stages: (1) the first episode of the gravitational collapse, lasted from the earliest Middle Miocene to the earliest Pliocene; (2) the deposition of an interval between the syn-collapse strata and the mobile shale, occurred in the Early Pliocene.; (3) the initiation of the second episode of the gravitational collapse, lasted from the Early Pliocene to the Late Pliocene; (4) the attenuation and basinward migration of the gravity-driven deformation, lasted from the Late Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene; and (5) the ending of the gravitational collapse, lasted from the Early Pleistocene to the present. The last four stages were accompanied by intensive diapirs which pierced the overlying strata and became targets for the hydrocarbon exploration.

The gas hydrate is attracting increasing attention in the sedimentary geology as an alternative energy source in the future. Recent exploration efforts have indicated that gas hydrate is commonly associated with sediment waves in slope area of quasi-passive continental margin. Based on the deep-water seismic data and core data of the northeastern part of the South China Sea (SCS), this research describes the seismic and geological characteristics of the sediment waves and gas hydrate reservoirs, and discusses the accumulation model of gas hydrate in sediment waves reservoir. The results demonstrate that: (1) the sediment waves widely appear in study area, and those have a “wave-like” bedform and are formed by deep-water contour or turbid current sedimentation. Meanwhile, the sediment waves are affected by gas leakage, diapirism, and neotectonics. (2) The stable zone of gas hydrate which simulated calculation by theory is consistent with core data. The complete and typical gas hydrate seismic model including a “bottom-simulating reflection (BSR) + blank zone (BZ) + enhanced reflector body (eHB)” structure can be observed in the sediment waves seismic profile of the study area. (3) The gas hydrates are stored in sediment waves, which are influenced by the original structure of the sediments and have different gas hydrate accumulation dynamics that are driven by diffusion and/or leakage. Thus, the sediment waves as a favorable reservoir of gas hydrate have research significance.

The widely distributed unconformity (T7) in Pearl River Mouth Basin, formed at ~ 30 Ma, is one of the most important unconformities of northern South China Sea related to the evolution of basin dynamics. Based on seismic data and logs, this study documents the distribution of the unconformity in Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB) and discusses the mechanism of the breakup unconformity in the evolution of the basin. The study verifies that the T7 boundary is a breakup unconformity: (1) most fault tips end at T7 unconformity or the offset diminishes markedly across the unconformity, and (2) these faults control the stratal thickness, reflected by the wedge shape formation. The T7 unconformity can be divided into three zones according to different structures and contact relationships: (1) the angular unconformity zone, (2) the local unconformity and onlap zone, and (3) the conformity zone, these three correspond to strong erosion zone, weak erosion zone, and non-erosion zone respectively. The distribution pattern of the breakup unconformity in this study area is controlled by the tectonic and geomorphology in the different zones of a basin: The angular erosion zone in the north is controlled by fault activity, but in local unconformity and onlap zone the erosion is mainly caused by diapir or local uplift. The conformity zone is located at the depression center in an underwater environment. This pattern indicates that the mechanism of the breakup unconformity is related to the erosion on shoulder uplift structure at the basin margin in rift stage.

On Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian High Arctic, low temperature perennial saline springs occur despite thick permafrost and cold polar desert conditions marked by a mean annual air temperature close to −20 °C. We present the first comprehensive geomorphic study of the Stolz Diapir Spring (79°04′30″N; 87°04′30″W), a unique groundwater system due to its known fresh water source and sodium chloride-dominated chemistry. During winter, spring discharge precipitates hydrohalite (NaCl⋅2H2O) by freezing fractionation that forms a pool and barrage system morphologically similar to carbonate travertines and tufas found in temperate climates. The deposit is the largest hydrohalite accumulation on Earth based on published sources. This system experiences dramatic seasonal differences in hydrology and mineralogy marked by a switch from winter regime of salt deposition and cascading surface flow from pool to pool to a summer regime marked by chemical and mechanical erosion and deposit subsurface flow. The warmer temperatures also cause the decomposition of hydrohalite to halite. Accordingly, this site is a useful analogue for similar structures identified on Mars located in areas rich in evaporite minerals and lacking evidence of volcanic activity.

We report the structural geometry and facies architecture of a small diapir-related carbonate-dominated basin from the Jurassic rift of the Moroccan High Atlas. The Azag minibasin is a lozenge-shaped depocenter completely enclosed by tectonic boundaries that we interpret as welds after former salt anticlines or salt walls. The exposed ca. 3000 m-thick infill of the Azag minibasin is asymmetric; layers are tilted to the W defining a rollover geometry. Areally-restricted sedimentary discontinuities and wedges of growth strata near the basin margins indicate sedimentation contemporaneous with diapiric rise of a Triassic ductile layer. Facies evolution through the basin reflects local accommodation by salt withdrawal and regional events in the High Atlas rift. The early basin infill in the Sinemurian and Pliensbachian shows thickness variations indicative of low-amplitude halokinetic movements, with reduced exposed thicknesses compared to surrounding areas. The exposed Toarcian and Aalenian deposits are also reduced in thickness compared to areas outside the basin. Subsidence increased dramatically in the Bajocian-early Bathonian (?), the main phase of downbuilding, when over 2600 m of carbonates and shales accumulated at a rate > 0.5 mm/a in the depocentral area of the minibasin governed by W-directed salt expulsion. The stratigraphic units distinguished often show maximum thicknesses and deeper facies in the depocentral area, and rapidly change to shallower facies at the basin margins. The Bajocian carbonate facies assemblage of the minibasin include: reservoir facies as microbialite-coral reefs in the basin margins (formed during periods of strong diapir inflation and bathymetric relief), basin-expansive oolite bars (formed during episodes of subdued relief), and organic-rich, dark lime mudstones and shales that show source-rock characteristics. The Azag basin is a good analog for the exploration of salt-related carbonate plays in rifts and continental margins where source-rock and reservoir can form in a same minibasin., Departament de Geologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, España, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, España

Understanding triggers and evolution of post-depositional sediment intrusion is of major importance to decrease the risk associated with hazards to infrastructure and environment from events such as submarine landslides and fluid escape. Whereas deep-sourced intrusions (>1km) are widely documented, early burial examples are poorly recognized and have been described only in large deltas. Their formation had not yet been documented in deformed foredeeps. Here, we show an exceptionally well-exposed, early burial mud diapir in the Northern Apennines fold and thrust belt. Disequilibrium compaction and tectonic basin tilt led to lateral pressure migration within shallow (

The Sinu fold belt, located in northwestern Colombia, is the southwesternmost part of the South Caribbean Deformed Belt, which has been interpreted as an accretionary wedge resulting from the subduction of the Caribbean Plate under the South American Plate. The geological interpretation of 2D seismic surveys and bathymetric maps, with the aid of a few exploration wells, has been the basis to construct a structural map and several geological sections to illustrate the offshore part of the Sinu Fold Belt and the portion of the Colombian Basin adjacent to the belt. Their analysis has allowed us to characterize different structural styles (thrusts and related folds in the outer part of the belt, and normal faults and shale diapirs in the inner one), the timing of the structures, as well as the kinematic evolution from a Cretaceous-Paleocene extensional event responsible for the Colombian Basin structure to the Pliocene-Quaternary contractional event which caused the Sinu Fold Belt.

The termination of a deep-sea turbiditic channel represents the ultimate sink of terrigenous sediment in the oceans or lakes. Such environment is characterized by rapid slope decrease and by loss of confinement of turbidity currents. It results in the deposition of Channel-Mouth-Lobes that can be separated from the channel mouth by an erosional (scoured) or by-pass dominated Channel-Lobe Transition Zone. Several factors can control the occurrence, extent and morphologic expression of the area such as the slope break angle, the upslope and downslope angle and the mud/sand ratio in flows. Disentangling these factors remains challenging due to the scarcity of outcrops and to the usual faint morphologies and low thickness of deposits. With bathymetric and seismic data we calculated the morphometric parameters of 8 channel-levees and their Channel-Mouth Lobes from the deepest area of the Rhone fan, a mud-sand rich system, and among which the youngest one (called neofan) was deposited at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum between 21.5 and 18.3 ka cal. BP. Emplacement and shape (finger-shaped or pear-shaped bulges) of Channel-Mouth Lobes is controlled by the seabed morphology (adjacent channel-levees and salt diapirs). A less prominent morphology of the neofan is attributed to premature quiescence related to the post sea-level rise sediment starvation. We show that the occurrence and expression of a Channel-Lobe Transition Zone is controlled by the gradient upstream of the channel mouth slope break. The extended Channel-Lobe Transition Zone and detached lobe of the neofan are attributed to the high upslope gradient (0.26°) while the less detached or attached lobes of other channel-levees is attributed to lower upslope gradient (0.13°). We show that scouring and scours concatenation into flutes at the Channel-Lobe Transition Zone is a major driver for the inception of channels and further confinement of turbidity current. For the first time we show that concatenation of scours in shingled disposition developed an incipient channel sinuosity at this very early stage of channel development. The channel-levee can extend downslope nearly instantaneously by tens of kilometers when isolated nascent channels connect to the channel mouth.

Arzacq and Tartas were two Cretaceous basins developing in the Bay of Biscay as secondary depocentres in the larger Aquitaine Basin. They belong to an Albian rift system, where recent studies have stressed the role of simple-shear thinning on the genesis of regional asymmetric basins. However, the two basins differ from recent models in having a pseudo-symmetric morphology. Here, we address the Early Cretaceous tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Arzacq and Tartas rift basins and the lithospheric processes associated with their genesis. These basins did not suffer major brittle deformation during rifting stage, but nevertheless record a major change in their configuration between the Aptian and the Albian. The Arzacq Basin shifted from a symmetric to a slightly asymmetric configuration. This change was controlled by gravity sliding of the pre-rift sedimentary cover in the eastern Arzacq Basin moving its depocenter south, and by salt diapirism in the western Arzacq Basin moving its depocenter north. Several inherited Paleozoic structures were reactivated as transfer zones and appear to be responsible for this depocenter shift, the emplacement of salt diapirs, at same time regionally limiting gravity sliding. The Tartas Basin maintained a symmetric regime throughout the Early Cretaceous, except along the Barlanes transfer zone where the Lussagnet salt diapir originated. Two drivers of subsidence are thus envisaged in the Arzacq Basin: a Neocomian-Aptian crustal thinning stage, followed by reactivation of Paleozoic faults in Albian time accompanied by salt diapirism and gravity cover sliding. The Mauleon North Pyrenean Basin and its north adjacent Tartas and Arzacq basins thus formed part of a series of rift basins that progressed in maturity southward, from a simple sag basin (Tartas) to a slightly asymmetric basin (aborted detachment, Arzacq) to a hyperthinned basin (Mauleon). Our results offer new insights on the role of: (1) structural inheritance in partitioning extensional strain, (2) transfer zones as able to influence the sedimentary record of basins during crustal thinning, and (3) pre-rift salt decollements as able to separate the structural styles of sub- and supra-salt successions.

The composition of the Earth's core and mantle is set by the chemical equilibrium between metals and silicates during core/mantle segregation. The metallic core separated from the mantle by gravitational descent in the form of diapirs in a magma ocean, and therefore the dynamics of the diapir's downward movement has an influence on the chemical equilibrium. In this study, we characterize the descent of metallic droplets into a molten silicate using numerical models. By varying the silicate and metal viscosities (between 0.1 and 1000 Pa·s for each phase) as well as the partition coefficient between metal and silicate (Dmet/sil, varying between 1 and 1000), we obtained quantifying parametrizing equations for the degree of equilibrium between molten metal and molten silicate, in a regime characterized by low We (We < 10) and low Re (10−3 < Re

Primary carbonates in kimberlites are the main CO2 carriers in kimberlites and thus can be used to constrain the original carbon and oxygen-isotope composition of kimberlite melts and their deep mantle sources. However, the contribution of syn- and post-emplacement processes to the modification of the C–O-isotope composition of kimberlites is yet to be fully constrained. This study aims to shed new light on this topic through a detailed textural, compositional (major and trace elements), and in situ C–O–Sr isotopic characterisation of carbonates in the Benfontein kimberlite sills (Kimberley, South Africa). Our multi-technique approach not only reveals the petrographic and geochemical complexity of carbonates in kimberlites in unprecedented detail, but also allows identification of the processes that led to their formation, including: (1) magmatic crystallisation of Sr-rich calcite laths and groundmass; (2) crystallisation of late groundmass calcite from hydrothermal fluids; and (3) variable degrees of crustal contamination in carbonate-rich diapirs and secondary veins. These diapirs most likely resulted from a residual C–O–H fluid or carbonate melt with contributions from methane-rich fluids from the Dwyka shale wall rock, leading to higher 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O, but lower δ13C values than in pristine magmatic calcite. Before coalescing into the diapiric segregations, these fluids/melts also variably entrained early formed calcite laths and groundmass phases. Comparison between in situ and bulk-carbonate analyses confirms that O isotopic analyses of bulk carbonates from kimberlite rocks are not representative of the original isotopic signature of the kimberlite magma, whereas bulk C-isotope compositions are similar to those of the pristine magmatic carbonates. Calcite laths and most groundmass grains at Benfontein preserve isotopic values (δ18O = 6–8‰ and δ13C = − 4 to − 6‰), similar to those of unaltered carbonatites worldwide, which, therefore, probably correspond to those of their parental melts. This narrow range suggests kimberlite derivation from a mantle source with little contribution from recycled crustal material unless the recycled material had isotopic composition indistinguishable from typical mantle values.

The depositional history of the paleo-submarine channel plays an instrumental role in controlling the present-day heat flows and geothermal gradients of the Lower Fangliao Basin, a slope basin situated at the upper accretionary wedge, offshore southwestern Taiwan. This wedge is formed from the collision of the Luzon Arc and the Chinese continental margin. The basin has been referred as one of the gas-hydrate prospective areas within the vicinity, where occurrence of mud diapirs and bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) is present. Estimated BSRs-derived geothermal gradients infer an average value of 33 °C km−1, while estimated heat flows imply an average value of 41 mW m−2. Closely spaced thermal probes and infrared imaging from piston cores revealed average values for geothermal gradients and heat flows of 55 °C km−1 and 62 mW m−2, respectively. Discrepancies between both measurements are related to the sensitivity of direct thermal measurements over shallow fluid flux, where shallow geothermal gradients increase locally as the fluid migrates upward. Since the BSRs are situated at depths below cut-and-fill channel deposits in the basin depocenter, the channel facies is interpreted as deposition of an active channel prior to being intruded by mud diapirs and abandoned in the Pleistocene. An array of data, including high-resolution seafloor bathymetry, seismic facies, and distribution of thermal anomaly, reveal that the paleo-channel had flowed through the Lower Fangliao Basin following the strike of slope basins and deposited a stacked series of turbidite sands. Submarine ridges in the upper slope of the accretionary wedge developed as thrust-related anticlines, which bordered the slope basins. Rapid deposition and sediment burial in offshore southwestern Taiwan had caused insufficient dewatering process in the paleo-channel sediments, leaving high water saturation within pore spaces and overpressured the sediments. These, together, lead to lower heat flows and thermal gradients (thermal blanketing effect) and contribute to deepen the base of gas hydrate stability zone. Further mud diapiric intrusions and uplifting of seafloors had blocked the course of paleo-channel. The Lower Fangliao Basin was abandoned following the channel course shifted to the south along the present-day Gaoping Canyon course.

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research-Solid Earth 125(2), (2020): e2019JB018203, doi:10.1029/2019JB018203.

We used physical models to investigate the structural evolution of segmented extensional rifts containing syn-rift evaporites and their subsequent inversion. An early stage of extension generated structural topography consisting of a series of en-échelon graben. Our salt analog filled these graben and the surroundings before continued extension and, finally, inversion. During post-salt extension, deformation in the subsalt section remained focused on the graben-bounding fault systems whereas deformation in suprasalt sediments was mostly detached, forming a sigmoidal extensional minibasin system across the original segmented graben array. Little brittle deformation was observed in the post-salt section. Sedimentary loading from the minibasins drove salt up onto the footwalls of the subsalt faults, forming diapirs and salt-ridge networks on the intra-rift high blocks. Salt remobilization and expulsion from beneath the extensional minibasins was enhanced along and up the major relay/transfer zones that separated the original sub-salt grabens, forming major diapirs in these locations. Inversion of this salt-bearing rift system produced strongly decoupled shortening belts in basement and suprasalt sequences. Suprasalt deformation geometries and orientations are strongly controlled by the salt diapir and ridge network produced during extension and subsequent downbuilding. Thrusts are typically localized at minibasin margins where the overburden was thinnest and salt had risen diapirically on the horst blocks. In the subsalt section, shortening strongly inverted sub-salt grabens, which uplifted the suprasalt minibasins. New popup structures also formed in the subsalt section. Primary welds formed as suprasalt minibasins touched down onto inverted graben. Model geometries compare favorably to natural examples such as those in the Moroccan High Atlas.

This work evaluates growth strata adjacent to the Bakio Diapir in the Basque Pyrenees, aiming to discuss the application of halokinetic-sequence concepts, mainly developed in shallow-water to subaerial environments, to deepwater depositional settings. This is one of the few exposed passive diapirs developed in deepwater environments, with both synkinematic carbonate and siliciclastic strata. Thus, considering that large hydrocarbon producing areas are located in salt provinces developed in deepwater environments, this study is of interest not only to researchers in salt tectonics, but also to industry geoscientists focusing on hydrocarbon exploration and production. We present a 3D analysis of this outstanding salt structure by integrating detailed geological cartography, high-resolution bathymetry, seismic, and well data. The resulting reconstruction enables us to trace the extent of the diapir offshore and decipher its evolution from its formation as a salt wall developed above the overlap of two basement-involved faults until its squeezing during the Pyrenean compression. But more significantly, it allows us to discern the roles played by bathymetry, subsidence, and sedimentation type in the configuration of halokinetic sequences developed in deepwater environments. Thus, our study shows that: 1) the geometry of halokinetic sequences is defined by the thickness of the roof edges, the dip of the salt-sediment interface in the limbs of the active drape fold, and the onlap angle of the synkinematic sediments over the salt; 2) the roof thickness is controlled not only by the ratio between salt-rise and regional sediment-accumulation rate, but also by the water depth of the diapir roof and the depositional environment that can promote vertical aggradation of a supra-diapir carbonate buildup; and 3) high surface slopes and consequent debrites are not exclusive to, and characteristic of, hook halokinetic sequences and tabular composite halokinetic sequences.

21 pages, 13 figures, supplementary data https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2020.104595.-- The datasets used in this work are still being used for further research, A morphological and seismic-stratigraphic analysis of the Gulf of Cadiz area near the Strait of Gibraltar is presented in this work, focused on the sedimentary evolution of the upper and proximal middle-continental slope since the Mid-Pleistocene. Based on the analysis of seismic reflection profiles and swath bathymetry data, this work analyses the close influence of the activity of buried and outcropping diapiric ridges and late Quaternary sea-level changes on the evolution of contouritic features related to the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW), gravitational features and fluid-escape structures. The stratigraphic architecture reveals that, under active diapiric deformation, the upper slope plastered drift grew during low sea-level stages, when sediment supply was high and the ENACW swept the upper slope, contrasting with the present-day highstand situation dominated by northwest-trending MOW flow. The south-estward ENACW flow forced asymmetry and lateral migration of gullies incised in the plastered drift. Two evolutionary stages have been established: 1) After the Mid Pleistocene, activity of diapirs with a NE trend determined the location of the deepest depressions which were infilled by plastered contouritic drifts; 2) Between Late Quaternary and present, a drastic change of buried diapirs growth pattern and orientation to a NW trend enhanced slope-derived gravitational processes affecting the bottom current dynamics. Adjustments to tectonic changes led to a phase of plastered drift growth on the upper slope during which depocenters varied their distribution and orientation. In a long-term the structural control on sedimentation shows a northwestward displacement of deformation, resulting in an overall extension of the contourite depositional system to the NW. In a short-term, sea-level changes favored drift deposition, gullies incision and the strengthening of water masses. This work evidences the importance of tectonic deformation in sedimentation at recent time scales, and the two-directional interplay between recent tectonic activity and bottom current dynamics, This work has been possible thanks to funding provided by the following projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity: TALUS (CGL2015-74216-JIN), INPULSE (CTM2016-75129-C3-1-R), CONTOURIBER (CTM2008-06399-04-04), MOWER (CTM-2012-395599-C03), SCORE (CGL2016-80445-R; AEI/FEDER, UE), and FAUCES (CTM2015-65461-C2-1-R), With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

The eastern Persian Gulf hosts several salt structures sourced from two different evaporite layers, the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Hormuz Salt and the Oligocene-Miocene Fars Salt. Based on seismic interpretation, we discuss the kinematics and dynamics of this autochthonous multi-layer salt system for three case studies: the Tunb and Hengam diapirs, and the Taftan salt anticline. Halokinetic sequences related to Hormuz salt evacuation suggest three main stages of evolution: i) onset of Hormuz Salt diapirism (Paleozoic), ii) diapir squeezing, and emplacement of allochthonous Hormuz Salt (Late Cretaceous to Oligocene-Miocene), and iii) development of secondary and tertiary salt welds (Upper Miocene). Since Fars Salt structures are absent in areas devoid of allochthonous Hormuz Salt, our structural model interprets that the driving mechanism for Fars Salt diapirism is directly related to the emplacement of allochthonous Hormuz Salt during the Zagros-Oman contractional event. The related halokinetic sequences suggest that the Fars Salt diapir kinematic style depends on to the timing of Hormuz Salt extrusion with regards to Fars Salt deposition. Our results provide new insight into the interaction between salt structures sourced from two distinct autochthonous salt layers.

A precipitous submarine horst is located between Sinai Peninsula and Tiran Island, but also between Hume Deep (1400 m) in northernmost Red Sea and Tiran Deep (1400 m), in the southernmost Gulf of Elat. The horst outcrops above sealevel in places, where corals built small reefs, trending NNE-SSW. The horst forms a structural transfer zone trending NNE-SSW and constrained by series of normal faults on both flanks. Transfer zones were repeatedly encountered to separate between axial grabens along regional rifts in East Africa and elsewhere while similar structures were observed in analog models. Transfer zones between grabens along axial rifts were attributed to oblique extension, consequently the occurrence of the Tiran transfer zone could indicate that geodynamic regime of oblique extension prevails in the northern Red Sea and exists also in Elat Rift. Tiran horst is structurally associated with the arcuate system of grabens and elongated salt diapirs that were encountered in the bathyal northern Red Sea, which swings from the Red Sea NW-SE orientation to the N-S trend of Elat Rift. The age of the initiation of the rifting and the contemporaneous ascent of its margin was attributed to late Miocene – early Pliocene, as indicated by extensive series of coralline terraces and by non-branching fluvial system on Tiran Island. The research did not encounter supporting evidence that the Elat Rift is a transform fault that branched off the Red Sea during the early-middle Miocene nor that Tiran Deep is a pull-apart basin.

The Jeffara Basin, as part of the North African passive margin, provides a specific type of salt-wall diapirism in Tunisia. A comprehensive study, integrating seismic, gravity, drill wells and surface geological data is performed to model the induced salt geometry and delineate its kinematics. Salt bodies, originated from the Triassic Norian series, are characterized by chaotic seismic response, higher seismic velocity and gravity mass deficit. The architecture of the marine Jeffara Basin results from the complex evolution initiated by Tethyan Ocean rifting. The reconstructed palinspastic sections together with analogic halokinetic models show the successive stages of salt movement and the development of peripheral rim synclines and associated minibasins. Arid climate Triassic developed prolific upper intertidal to supratidal coastal sabkhas bordering the Tethyan Ocean enabled the deposition of thick Triassic salt within the marine Jeffara Basin. During the Early Hettangian extensional phase, associated with the opening of the Tethys Ocean, initiated a series of normal faults. Onlap reflection terminations of Late Hettangian horizons indicate the early Triassic salt rising activity. Large depocenters occurred during Santonian to Eocene; their lateral migration indicates the main active period of salt. Salt pierced the entire sedimentary cover, reached advanced salt diapir stage and set up salt walls during the Cenozoic period. Salt movement mechanism is dictated by the combined effect of tectonism and salt rheology. Salt dynamics controlled the sedimentation and the organization of depositional environments of sediments. Structural interpretation and modeling of the available seismic sections are of critical importance to get a better understating of the evolution of salt structures within the study area. Salt pillows are located at the central part of the basin. To the northeastern part, where thick salts accumulate exhibits the most mature and extended salt-walls. These geometries have an important impact on petroleum exploration.

Syntectonic deposits of the Mesopotamian flexural basin have been dated in the Lurestan and Fars salients in the Zagros foldbelt since the early 2000's but not in the Dezful embayment where most of the Zagros foreland oil is trapped. We use 237 samples collected for magnetostratigraphy to date shallow marine to fluvial-alluvial pre-growth and growth strata deposits along a >2700 m section in the NE flank of the Jarik anticline in north Dezful embayment. The Jarik anticline grew by a combination of compression and coeval diapirism like other structures in north Dezful embayment. The correlation of the local magnetostratigraphy with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale indicates ages of 14.1 Ma and ~13.6 Ma for the bases of the Mishan and Aghajari formations. The bases of Lahbari Mb. and Bakhtyari Fm. are ~9.0 Ma and ~7.0 Ma. The onset of growth strata in the NE flank of the Jarik anticline is ~12.8 Ma with a duration of 5.8 Myr for this anticline. This study presents for the first time the age of syntectonic deposition and folding in the Dezful embayment that is essential to determine burial and generation of hydrocarbons in this oil-rich province. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd, This research has been partially funded by projects Alpimed (PIE-CSIC-201530E082) and Subtetis (PIE-CSIC-201830E039).

The Sivas Basin in Turkey displays in its central part an Oligo-Miocene halokinetic province which acts as a major outcrop analogue to study salt-sediment interactions. Based on field geology observations, the present paper focuses on the geometry and sedimentology of several minibasins having the particularity of being mainly filled by gypsiferous deposits. Such type of evaporite-rich minibasins remain difficult to identify and are poorly studied in other halokinetic provinces. In the Sivas Basin, the evaporites were recycled from diapiric salts and precipitated in saline ponds emplaced above deflating diapiric stems. Diapir deflation resulted either from local transtensive strain, cessation of diapir feeding and/or subsurface dissolution of the diapiric salt. Minibasin subsidence was likely enhanced by the fast emplacement rate of the capping evaporites, together with the high density of the depositional sulfates compared to the diapiric halite. The evaporite-rich minibasins stand out from their surrounding siliciclastic counter-parts by their small dimension (lower than 1 km-wide), their encased teardrop shape, and their high internal deformations. The later include well-developed halokinetic sedimentary wedges, aerial mega-slumps or inverted flaps. Such structural features probably resulted from the ductile rheology of the evaporite infill and the complex pattern of downbuilding. Although secondary evaporitic minibasins have never been identified in other ancient halokinetic settings, our study highlights that they could developed in any evaporitic environments, coastal or continental, such as in the Precaspian Basin. The secondary minibasins described here can also act as field analogues of other primary evaporite-rich minibasins already suspected in salt giant basins (e.g. in the Santos Basin, Brazil).

Vein and stratabound Zn-Pb sulfides are hosted within siliciclastic rocks and marine carbonates of Cretaceous age and within caprock carbonates at the margins of the Murguía and Orduña saline diapirs in the Basque-Cantabrian basin. Organic matter is ubiquitous, and textures indicate a genetic link to sulfide precipitation. Sulfides (pyrite, sphalerite, and galena) precipitated from brines with halogen ratios compatible with halite dissolution. Thermal indicators (fluid inclusion, organic matter, and sulfur isotope data), point to formation temperatures between 150° and 200°C. The δ34S values of sphalerite and galena (4.1-15.1¿) suggest a sulfur source related to the reduction of evaporite sulfate (thermochemical sulfate reduction) of Triassic age (15.3-17.4¿). The interaction of carbon-poor, metal- and sulfate-bearing hot brines with host rocks activated the cracking of organic matter, triggering sulfide precipitation at a rate controlled by the H2S production. Textural relationships suggest that ore precipitation was related to dolomitization of host rocks (siliciclastic rocks, marine carbonates, and caprock). The δ13C and d18O of carbonates range from 3.5 to -20.5¿ and from 16.1 to 28.7¿, respectively, indicative of different carbon sources and host-rock types. Carbonates associated with sulfide mineralization depict δ13C/δ18O assemblages and 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70801-0.71202) resulting from the interaction of a basinal brine with the different host rocks. Galena Pb isotope ratios¿206Pb/204Pb from 18.643 to 18.696, 207Pb/204Pb from 15.650 to 15.676, and 208Pb/204Pb from 38.720 to 38.780¿point to metal source rocks similar to other Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits of the Basque-Cantabrian basin. Sulfide concentrations around the Murguía and Orduña diapirs are not concomitant with caprock formation but with dolomitization, as in MVT deposits. This is in contrast with the diapir-related deposits of the Gulf Coast and shares characteristics with the diapir-related mineralization in North Africa.

Voluminous diapiric intrusions are present in 3D seismic data from the Liwan gas field area in the Baiyun sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. These diapirs are subdivided into magmatic diapirs and mud diapirs according to their seismic signatures and formation mechanisms. Saucer- and mound-shaped reflectors with anomalously high amplitudes distributed throughout the Early Miocene strata are interpreted as sills and laccoliths and are typified as magmatic diapirs. Mud diapirs in the study area can be divided into two types: wavy reflectors occurring at the basement of the sag caused by the gravitational instability of plastically deformed mudstones and columnar upheaval anomalies rooted in Paleogene rift sequences. Gas chimneys are characterized by vertical weak/blank zones accompanied by pull-down effects. Vertical gas chimneys and mud diapirs pierce the Middle Miocene strata. The vast majority of them are triggered by normal faulting; however, no deep-seated faults can be detected around the peripheries of igneous intrusions. Migration forces and pathways are represented by vertical mud diapirs and gas chimneys and thus control the distribution of shallow gases with negative-amplitude anomalies as well as gas hydrates.