The influence of salt withdrawal subsidence on palaeosol maturity and cyclic fluvial deposition in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation: Castle Valley, Utah

Prochnow, Shane J.; Atchley, Stacy C.; Boucher, Thomas E.; Nordt, Lee C.; Hudec, Michael R.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2006.00821.x

Cited by 26 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lehner (1969) was probably the fi rst to illustrate synclinal minibasins sinking into thick salt masses on the Gulf of Mexico slope. Minibasins have since been described in the Aptian salt basins of Brazil (e.g., Demercian et al, 1993;Cobbold et al, 1995;Roberts et al, 2004) and West Africa (e.g., Duval et al, 1992;Marton et al, 2000;Hudec and Jackson, 2004), the Pricaspian Basin (e.g., Barde et al, 2002;Volozh et al, 2003;Ismail-Zadeh et al, 2004), Sverdrup Basin (Jackson and Harrison, 2006), Canadian Maritime basins (e.g., Balkwill and Legall, 1989;Shimeld, 2004), Zechstein salt basin (e.g., Stewart and Clark, 1999;Baldschuhn et al, 2001;Mohr et al, 2005), Flinders Ranges (e.g., Dyson, 1999;Rowan and Vendeville, 2006), Paradox Basin (Hudec and May, 1998;Prochnow et al, 2005Prochnow et al, , 2006Matthews et al, 2007), the Red Sea (Heaton et al, 1995), and in several Mesozoic salt basins of northwest Africa (e.g., Tari et al, 2003). However, minibasins are best known on the continental slope of the northern Gulf of Mexico, where they have subsided into thick allochthonous salt canopies (Fig.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The paradox of minibasin subsidence into salt: Clues to the evolution of crustal basins

Hudec

Jackson

Schultz-Ela

2006

Geol Soc America Bull

Self Cite

175

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Why do salt-fl oored minibasins subside? An almost universal explanation is that salt is forced from beneath the sinking basin by the weight of its sedimentary fi ll. This explanation is valid if the average density of the basin fi ll exceeds that of salt, which in the Gulf of Mexico needs at least 2300 m of siliciclastic fi ll to ensure enough compaction. However, most minibasins start sinking when they are much thinner than this. Some mechanism other than density inversion must explain the early history of these minibasins. Conventional understanding of minibasin subsidence is thus incomplete. Here, we identify fi ve alternatives to density-driven subsidence of minibasins. (1) During diapir shortening, the squeezed diapirs infl ate, leaving the intervening minibasins as bathymetric depressions.(2) In extensional diapir fall, stretching of a diapir causes it to sag, producing a minibasin above its subsiding crest. (3) During decay of salt topography, a dynamic salt bulge subsides as upward fl ow of salt slows, which lowers the salt surface below the regional sediment surface. (4) During sedimentary topographic loading, sediments accumulate as a bathymetric high above salt. (5) Finally, subsalt deformation affecting the base of salt may produce relief at the top of salt. Each mechanism (including density-driven subsidence) produces a different bathymetry, which interacts with sediment transport to produce different facies patterns in each type of minibasin. The particular mechanism for minibasin subsidence depends on the tectonic environment, regional bathymetry, and sedimentation rate. Their spatial variation on a continental margin creates provinces in which a given minibasin style is dominant.An appreciation of subsidence mechanisms should thus improve our understanding of minibasin fi ll patterns and allow genetic comparisons between minibasins.The mechanics of a minibasin sinking into fl uid salt is in many ways analogous to a crustal basin sinking into a fl uid asthenosphere. However, minibasins lack the complex rheologies, thermal histories, and compositional variations that make study of crustal basins so challenging. Minibasins are thus natural analogs and have the potential to elucidate fundamentals of subsidence mechanics.

show abstract

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

The paradox of minibasin subsidence into salt: Clues to the evolution of crustal basins

Hudec

Jackson

Schultz-Ela

2006

Geol Soc America Bull

Self Cite

175

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Areas of relatively high rates of subsidence in basin centres were typically poorly drained, resulting in accumulation of lacustrine elements, especially during the lower part of the Chinle Formation (Matthews et al, 2007). Multi-storey channel elements and palaeosols accumulated toward the basin margins during episodes of halokinetic quiescence, with higher proportions of channel elements and palaeosol maturity apparently increasing with the duration of quiescence (Prochnow et al, 2006;Matthews et al, 2007). In the upper part of the Chinle Formation, an increase in aridity is recorded by a change from a meandering to a braided 27 system (Hazel, 1994).…”

Section: The Cutler Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9d; Prochnow et al, 2006). This shift in climate is recorded by a change in fluvial style: architectural elements in the lower part of the formation are characterised by thick and welldeveloped palaeosols that are intercalated with thick channel-fill elements, the internal fill of which is dominated by asymptotic-based cross-stratified sets indicative of accumulation of a coarse-grained meandering river system in which lateral accretion processes dominated (Hazel, 1994); the upper part of the formation, records laminated sand sheet elements and sandy bedforms containing crudely-bedded conglomerate and coarse-grained sandstone trough 26 cross-stratified sets and scour fills, indicative of accumulation of a gravelly low-sinuosity fluvial system (Hazel, 1994).…”

Section: The Cutler Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Evolution of fluvial systems in salt-walled mini-basins: A review and new insights

Banham

Mountney

2013

Sedimentary Geology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1) means that they have been studied extensively, with particular reference to the influence of salt movement on sedimentation (Jones, 1959;Blakey & Gubitosa, 1984;Hazel, 1994;Matthews et al, 2004Matthews et al, , 2007Banbury, 2005;Prochnow et al, 2005Prochnow et al, , 2006Trudgill, 2011). 1) means that they have been studied extensively, with particular reference to the influence of salt movement on sedimentation (Jones, 1959;Blakey & Gubitosa, 1984;Hazel, 1994;Matthews et al, 2004Matthews et al, , 2007Banbury, 2005;Prochnow et al, 2005Prochnow et al, , 2006Trudgill, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluvial architecture in actively deforming salt basins: Chinle Formation, Paradox Basin, Utah

Hartley

Evenstar

2017

Basin Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Determining the response of fluvial systems to syn-sedimentary halokinesis is important for reconstructing the palaeogeography of salt basins, determining the history of salt movement and predicting development and architecture of sandstone bodies for subsurface fluid extraction. To assess both the influence of salt movement on fluvial system development and the use of lithostratigraphic correlation schemes in salt basins we have analysed the Triassic Chinle Formation in the Paradox Basin, Utah. Results indicate that sandstone body development proximal to salt bodies should be considered at two scales: intra-(local) and inter-(regional) mini-basin scale. At the intra-mini basin or local scale, conformable packages of up to 12 m deep meandering fluvial channel deposits and associated overbank deposits are developed, which may thin, pinch-out or become truncated towards salt highs. When traced down the axis of a mini-basin, individual stories extend for a few hundred metres, and form part of amalgamated channel-belt packages up to 60 m thick that can be traced for at least 25 km parallel to palaeoflow. Where salt movement outpaces sediment accumulation, progressive low angle unconformities are developed along the flanks of salt highs. Significantly, in mini-basins with high sand supply, sandstone bodies are present across salt highs where they show increased amalgamation, decrease in thickness due to truncation and no change in internal sandstone body character. At inter mini-basin or regional scale, spatial and temporal variations in accommodation space generated by differential salt movement strongly influence facies distributions and facies correlation lengths. Broad lithostratigraphic packages (5-50 m thick) can be correlated within mini-basins, but correlation of these units between adjacent mini-basins is problematic. Knowledge of fluvial system development at a regional scale is critical as, fluvial sediment distribution is focussed by topography generated by growing salt bodies, such that adjacent mini-basins can have significant differences in sandstone body thickness, distribution and lateral extent. The observations from the Chinle Formation indicate that lithostratigraphic-based correlation schemes can only be applied within mini-basins and cannot be used to correlate between adjacent mini-basins or across a salt mini-basin province. The key to predicting sandstone body development is an understanding of the timing of salt movement and reconstructing fluvial drainage system development.

show abstract

The influence of salt withdrawal subsidence on palaeosol maturity and cyclic fluvial deposition in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation: Castle Valley, Utah

Cited by 26 publications

References 43 publications

The paradox of minibasin subsidence into salt: Clues to the evolution of crustal basins

The paradox of minibasin subsidence into salt: Clues to the evolution of crustal basins

Evolution of fluvial systems in salt-walled mini-basins: A review and new insights

Fluvial architecture in actively deforming salt basins: Chinle Formation, Paradox Basin, Utah

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About