--> ABSTRACT: Salt Tongues in Northern Gulf of Mexico, by Yun Fei Wang; #91030 (2010)
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Previous HitSaltNext Hit Tongues in Northern Gulf of Mexico

Yun Fei Wang

Previous HitSaltNext Hit tongues are generally flat-lying tongue-shaped Previous HitsaltNext Hit sheets that have been found in the deep-slope area in the northern Gulf of Mexico. These tongues, usually buried at shallow depth, are embedded in Pleistocene, possibly in Pliocene or older, sediments. Their size varies greatly from 5 to over 100 km in length, and from a few tens to over 4,500 m in thickness. Most of the Previous HitsaltNext Hit tongues are marked by high-amplitude seismic reflectors at the top and sometimes at the base.

A typical Previous HitsaltNext Hit tongue consists of a feeder, a bulging neck and butt, and a tapering tongue pointing downslope. The Previous HitsaltNext Hit tongues in the northern gulf are believed to be extrusive in origin. These tongues were formed as a result of updip sedimentary loading from the shelf and upper slope.

A Previous HitsaltNext Hit tongue probably originates from a diapiric Previous HitsaltNext Hit Previous HitdomeNext Hit or from a fault connecting it to the buried mother Previous HitsaltNext Hit. As the sedimentary wedge progrades downdip toward the slope, the mother Previous HitsaltNext Hit is mobilized and moves upward. When Previous HitsaltNext Hit approaches the sea floor, it expands laterally and creeps gradually down-slope under the influence of gravity. The advance of the tongue is sustained by the continuing supply of Previous HitsaltNext Hit from the feeder, which is mobilized by loading and buoyancy. The eventual cessation of the tongue advancement comes when the sedimentary cover reaches a critical thickness and/or the Previous HitsaltNext Hit supply is depleted. In the event that the mother Previous HitsaltNext Hit supply remains plentiful and loading continues, the Previous HitsaltNext Hit moves vertically and the feeder will evolve into a Previous HitsaltNext Hit Previous HitdomeTop.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.