| Offshore beneath GOM waters, evacuation of salt structures is oldest in the north and is progressively younger toward the south. However, there are Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous salt-cored structures along the Sigsbee Escarpment. Pliocene and Pleistocene depositional loading has displaced salt basinward and differentially loaded detached salt sills into salt-cored massifs and salt-cored diapirs. | | Offshore beneath GOM waters, evacuation of salt structures is oldest in the north and is progressively younger toward the south. However, there are Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous salt-cored structures along the Sigsbee Escarpment. Pliocene and Pleistocene depositional loading has displaced salt basinward and differentially loaded detached salt sills into salt-cored massifs and salt-cored diapirs. |
− | The salt-withdrawal synclines formed by sediment loading result in bathymetric lows that serve as sediment transport pathways down the slope.<ref name=ch04r22>Bouma, A., H., 1982, Intraslope basins in northwest Gulf of Mexico: a key to ancient submarine canyons and fans: AAPG Memoir 34, p. 567–581.</ref> The presentday sea-floor bathymetry of the northern Gulf of Mexico slope reflects this transport-pathway lineation of salt-withdrawal synclines bordered by salt-cored anticlines (see Figure 4-41). The distribution of the sediment-thick synclines and salt-core anticlines persists through time, resulting in predictability of sediment transport avenues, depositional areas of potential reservoir sands, and conduits from deeply buried [[[[source rock]]s]] upward to the hydrocarbon traps (see Figures 4-54 and 4-55). | + | The salt-withdrawal synclines formed by sediment loading result in bathymetric lows that serve as sediment transport pathways down the slope.<ref name=ch04r22>Bouma, A., H., 1982, Intraslope basins in northwest Gulf of Mexico: a key to ancient submarine canyons and fans: AAPG Memoir 34, p. 567–581.</ref> The presentday sea-floor bathymetry of the northern Gulf of Mexico slope reflects this transport-pathway lineation of salt-withdrawal synclines bordered by salt-cored anticlines (see Figure 4-41). The distribution of the sediment-thick synclines and salt-core anticlines persists through time, resulting in predictability of sediment transport avenues, depositional areas of potential reservoir sands, and conduits from deeply buried [[source rock]]s upward to the hydrocarbon traps (see Figures 4-54 and 4-55). |
− | [[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-54.png|thumb|{{figure number|4-54}}. Copyright: Hanor and Sassen (1990); courtesy Gulf Coast SEPM).]] | + | [[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-54.png|thumb|{{figure number|4-54}}Copyright: Hanor and Sassen (1990); courtesy Gulf Coast SEPM).]] |
| [[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-55.png|thumb|{{figure number|4-55}}Based on data from Lovely and Ruggiero (1995, personal communication).]] | | [[file:sedimentary-basin-analysis_fig4-55.png|thumb|{{figure number|4-55}}Based on data from Lovely and Ruggiero (1995, personal communication).]] |