The Nature and Origin of Caprock Overlying Gulf Coast Salt Domes
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1972 The aN ture and Origin of Caprock Overlying Gulf Coast Salt Domes. Charles William Walker Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Walker, Charles William, "The aN ture and Origin of Caprock Overlying Gulf Coast Salt Domes." (1972). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 2255. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/2255 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION t o u sers This dissertation was produced fr0m a mjCrofilm cc^y c r the original document. 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Michigan 48106 A Xerox Education Company 72-28,390 WALKER, Charles William, 1940- THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CAPROCK OVERLYING GULF COAST SALT DOMES. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1972 Geology University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF CAPROCK OVERLYING GULF COAST SALT DOMES A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Geology by Charles William Walker B. A., Southern Illinois University, 1966 M, S,, University of Mississippi, 1968 May, 1972 PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. University Microfilms, A Xerox Education Company ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express his sincere thanks to Dr. Joseph D. Martinez, under whose direction the investigation has been made. Thanks are due to Dr. Gale K. Billings, Dr. Ray E. Ferrell, Jr. , Dr. Donald H. Kupfer and Dr. Clyde H. Moore, jr. for their assistance and encouragement during the preparation of this manu script. Others of the faculty and many of the students of the Department of Geology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, have aided in many ways. Special thanks go to Dr. Gary G. Paulson, Department of Engineering Science, for his assistance in the electron microscopy phase of the study. This work was financed by the Institute of Saline Studies, Division of Engineering Research, Louisiana State University and by the New Mexico State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico. Thanks are due to the typists and draftsmen of the Bureau staff for their aid in the preparation of this manuscript. Very special thanks go to Mr. Don H. Baker, Jr., Director, New Mexico State Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources for his generous support and encouragement. Many companies and individuals as well as two state geological surveys have aided by contributing sample material and data. Thanks go to ..he Mississippi Geological, Economical and Topographical Survey and to the Louisiana Geological Survey for providing sample material. Among the companies whose assistance the writer wishes to acknowledge are: Freeport Sulphur Company, Shell Petroleum Corporation and Atlantic Richfield Corporation. To the following individuals who contributed samples the writer extends his thanks: Dr. Joseph D. Martinez, Dr. Donald H. Kupfer and Dr. Alfred I. Weidie. TABLE OF CONTENTS P a g e ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. x LIST OF PLATES ...................................................................................................xiii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ xiv INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 General Statement ......................................................................................... 1 Purpose of Investigation ......................................................................... 2 Salt Domes Studied .................................................................................. 3 Sam ples ...................................................................................................... 7 Methods of Investigation ......................................................................... 8 Explanation of Statistical T erm s ........................................................ 8 EARLY LITERATURE ......................................................................................... 11 GENERAL GEOLOGY OF GULF COAST SALT DOMES ................ 12 General Statement ......................................................................................... 12 Salt Dome M inerals ..................................................................................... 13 Sum m ary ....................................................................................................... 22 THE CAPROCK ................................................................................................ 24 General Statement .................................................................................... 24 General Geology ............................................................................................ 24 Caprock Configuration ............................................................................ 25 iii iv P a g e L ith o lo g y ............................................................................................................ 26 Caprock-Sediment Interface .................................................................... 53 Caprock Deformation .................................................................................... 53 Caprock-Salt Interface ............................................ 56 Circumjacent Sediments ......................................................................... 58 Sum m ary ........................................................................................................ 6l CAPROCK MINERALOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY ................................ 63 General Statement ........................................................................................ 63 Calcite ......................................................................................................... 66 M i n e r a l o g y ............................................................................................ 66 Geochemistry ........................................................................................ 73 B a n d in g .................................................................................................... 77 Calcite-sulphate interface ............................................................ 79 Dolom ite ......................................................................................................... 80 M in e ra lo g y .............................................................................................. 80 C elestite ........................................................................................................ 82 Mineralogy .......................................................................................... 82 Geochemistry ...................................................................................