Print this pageCharacterization and
controls on halokinetic 
sequence
style within the Upper Mudstone Member,
Portrerillos Formation, La Popa Basin, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Jordayna J. Druke,
New Mexico State University Department of Geological Sciences,
Originally defined in La Popa Basin, halokinetic sequences are
successions of growth strata related to passive diapiric rise and form in
response to variations in sediment accumulation rate relative to diapiric rise
rate. How halokinetic sequences relate to variations in regional and local sediment
accumulation rates and the time scale at which they form are currently poorly
understood concepts. The purpose of this project is to: (1) determine the
thickness variation of the Upper Mudstone member from up-dip to down-dip
margins as compared between two different diapirs within the La Popa Basin, (2)
determine a relative temporal rate for halokinetic sequence formation, (3)
relate the temporal rate to controls on sequence formation by comparing the
up-dip and down-dip sections of two diapirs, and (4) relate halokinetic
sequences to the depositional sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Mudstone
Member. The Upper Mudstone Member will be interpreted within a sequence
stratigraphic framework by measurement of a series of sections that are aligned
on a dip profile that contain both diapir proximal and distal positions. The
closely spaced diapir proximal sections will aid in the comparison of
halokinetic sequence development on the up-dip sides of diapirs to the down-dip
sides. The duration of halokinetic sequence development will be determined by
tying the measured sections to previously collected biostratigraphy
of the
Upper Mudstone Member adjacent to the two diapirs.