Volume 15, Number 2 (1988)
Articles

Solution-Generated Collapse (SGC) Structures Associated with Bedded Evaporites: Significance to base-metal and hydro-carbon localization

F. Simpson
Department of Geology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario.

Published 1988-06-06

How to Cite

Simpson, F. (1988). Solution-Generated Collapse (SGC) Structures Associated with Bedded Evaporites: Significance to base-metal and hydro-carbon localization. Geoscience Canada, 15(2). Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/GC/article/view/3538

Abstract

Localized solution removal of bedded salt of the cratonic interior has given rise to characteristic collapse structures in the overlying strata. Solution-generated collapse (SGC) structures comprise (1) fault-bounded subsidence troughs, (2) anomalous thickness increases of lithostratigraphic units, (3) collapse breccias resting on solution residues, and (4) local absence or thickness reduction of an evaporite unit at depth. SGC structures are potential conduits for cross-formational flow of fluids (ground water and hydrocarbons) and may have served as freeways of easy migration for brines enriched in base metals. Reconstruction of the hydrogeologic environments and ground-water regimes has potential as a strategy for location of commercial accumulations of hydrocarbons and base metals.