FAMILIES OF SALT DOMES IN THE GULF COASTAL PROVINCE

Abstract

If two fluids of different densities are superposed one over the other, the plane interface between the two fluids becomes unstable if the heavy fluid overlays the lighter one. This type of hydrodynamic instability is called Rayleigh‐Taylor instability. The theory of Rayleigh‐Taylor instability is a useful tool to study the distribution of salt domes in the coastal region of the Gulf Coastal Province. In spite of a drastic simplification of the geologic situation, the model shows: a) that the spacing of salt domes about an initial disturtbance depends upon the thickness of the mother salt and viscosity ratio of overlying sediment to salt; b) that domes not only grow upward from the initial disturbance, but domes are also triggered in the vicinity of the primary disturbance, forming a family of incipient domes with a regular pattern; c) that the family of incipient domes develops out of the initial disturbance starting at the location of maximal instability and spreading radially. Several numerical examples provide a framework for examining the disturbance of Gulf Coastal salt domes.