Salt- and shale-detached gravity-driven failure of continental margins

Gravity-driven failure is common on continental margins with salt or overpressured shale and is driven by a combination of margin tilt and depositional loading. Failure is characterized by proximal extension and distal contraction detached on the weak layer. In this chapter, I first summarize the drives, mechanics, and processes of gravity-driven failure, as well as the role of the distribution of the detachment layer(s). I then use worldwide examples to illustrate typical structural styles in the absence of diapirism. Finally, I discuss the initiation and evolution of salt diapirs, modern concepts on the nature of mobile shale bodies, and the role of allochthonous salt in partitioning the deformation.