Active Surface Salt Structures of the Western Kuqa Fold-Thrust Belt, Northwestern China
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The Changing Technology of Post Medieval Sea Salt Production in England
1 Heritage, Uses and Representations of the Sea. Centro de Investigação Transdisiplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memoría (CITCEM) Porto, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, 20-22 October 2011. The changing technology of post medieval sea salt production in England Jeremy Greenwood Composition of seawater Sea water contains 3.5% evaporites of which salt (sodium chloride) comprises 77.8%. The remainder is known as bittern as it includes the bitter tasting, aperient and deliquescent sulphates of magnesium (Epsom salt) and sodium (Glauber’s salt) as well as about 11% magnesium chloride. 2 Successful commercial salt making depends on the fractional crystallisation of seawater producing the maximum amount of salt without contamination by bittern salts. As seawater is evaporated, very small amounts of calcium carbonate are precipitated followed by some calcium sulphate. This is followed by the crystallisation of sodium chloride but before this is complete, bitter Epsom salt appears; something that needs to be avoided.1 In Continental Europe, evaporation of sea water is achieved solely by the energy of the wind and sun but this is not possible in the English climate so other techniques were developed. 1 http://www.solarsaltharvesters.com/notes.htm SOLAR SALT ENGINEERING 3 Evaporation vessel Briquetage The earliest known English method of coastal saltmaking has been found in the late Bronze Age. This involved boiling seawater in crude clay dishes supported by clay firebars (briquetage) and was widespread in Europe. This technique continued into the Iron Age and into the Roman period with variations inevitably occurring in the industry, although the dating of saltworks is very problematical.2 Detailed interpretation continues to be a matter of dispute. -
Deformation of Intrasalt Competent Layers in Different Modes of Salt Tectonics Mark G
Solid Earth Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/se-2019-49 Manuscript under review for journal Solid Earth Discussion started: 25 March 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 License. Deformation of intrasalt competent layers in different modes of salt tectonics Mark G. Rowan1, Janos L. Urai2, J. Carl Fiduk3, Peter A. Kukla4 1Rowan Consulting, Inc., Boulder, CO 80302, USA 5 2Institute for Structural Geology, Tectonics and Geomechanics, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany 3Fiduk Consulting LLC, Houston, TX 77063, USA 4Geological Institute, Energy and Mineral Resources, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany Correspondence to: Mark G. Rowan ([email protected]) 10 Abstract. Layered evaporite sequences (LES) comprise interbedded weak layers (halite and, commonly, bittern salts) and strong layers (anhydrite and usually non-evaporite rocks such as carbonates and siliciclastics). This results in a strong rheological stratification, with a range of effective viscosity up to a factor of 105. We focus here on the deformation of competent intrasalt beds in different modes of salt tectonics using a combination of conceptual, numerical and analog models, and seismic data. In bedding-paralell extension, boudinage of the strong layers forms ruptured stringers, within a 15 halite matrix, that become increasingly isolated with increasing strain. In bedding-parallel shortening, competent layers tend to maintain coherency while forming harmonic, disharmonic, and polyharmonic folds, with the rheological stratification leading to buckling and fold growth by bedding-parallel shear. In differential loading, extension and the resultant stringers dominate beneath suprasalt depocenters while folded competent beds characterize salt pillows. Finally, in tall passive diapirs, stringers generated by intrasalt extension are rotated to near vertical in tectonic melanges during upward flow of salt. -
Modeling of Salt Tectonics
MOX–Report No. 96 – dicembre 2006 Modeling of Salt Tectonics P. Massimi, A. Quarteroni, F. Saleri, G. Scrofani MOX, Dipartimento di Matematica “F. Brioschi” Politecnico di Milano, Via Bonardi 9 - 20133 Milano (Italy) [email protected] http://mox.polimi.it Modeling of Salt Tectonics P. Massimi a A. Quarteroni a;b F. Saleri a G. Scrofani a aMOX - Modeling and Scienti¯c Computing, Dipartimento di Matematica \F. Brioschi" Politecnico di Milano, via Bonardi 9, 20133 Milano, Italy b CMCS (Chair of Modeling and and Scienti¯c Computing) { IACS EPFL , CH{1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Abstract In this work a general framework for the simulation of sedimentary basins in pres- ence of salt structures is addressed. Sediments and evaporites are modeled as non{ Newtonian fluids and the thermal e®ects induced by the presence of salt are taken into account. The computational strategy is based on a Lagrangian methodology with intensive grid adaptivity, together with a kinematic modeling of faults and dif- ferent kinds of boundary conditions representing sedimentation, erosion, basement evolution, lithospheric compression and extension. The proposed methodology is applied to simple test cases as well as to a realistic geological reconstruction of industrial interest. Key words: Salt tectonics, diapirism, non{Newtonian fluids, ¯nite elements, adaptive modeling, multi{physics. Introduction In the past few years salt tectonics has become increasingly important in petroleum exploration industry because of the role it plays in hydrocarbon gen- eration and accumulation [47]. In fact the high mobility and low permeability of salt can promote trap and seal formation and the temperature anomalies induced by its high thermal conductivity can retard maturation of subsalt source rocks and accelerates that of supra salt rocks. -
Ventures in Salt: Compass Minerals International Rebecca M
08-064 July 10, 2009 Ventures in Salt: Compass Minerals International Rebecca M. Henderson, John Sterman, Ramana Nanda As Michael Ducey, the President and CEO of Compass Minerals International, looked out of his office in Overland Park, Kansas on the evening of December 11, 2003, he wondered how investors would react to his company going public. Ducey had joined Compass Minerals in April 2002 as CEO and strategic investor, a few months after the private equity firm Apollo Management had acquired it from IMC Global.1 Although salt companies were not typical candidates for IPOs, Compass Minerals had done very well in its two years as a stand-alone firm, and Ducey had encouraged his fellow investors to consider exiting via an IPO. With Goldman Sachs leading its IPO the following day, Ducey considered the response of investors and his strategy going forward. Where should he be focusing his attention? How could he ensure that the company lived up to the high expectations of its investors? A Short History of Salt Salt was one of the most widely used minerals in the world. Although it had thousands of applications, in the United States it was primarily used for highway deicing, and as an input into the chemicals, food-processing, water-treatment, and agricultural industries. 1 Although some parts of the current operations of Compass Minerals go back over a hundred years, its most recent structure arose from a series of ownership changes that began in 1998. On April 1, 1998 IMC Global purchased the salt and chemicals businesses of Harris Chemical Group ($450 MM in cash and $950 MM raised in debt), including the North American Salt Company, the Great Salt Lake Minerals Corp in the US, and Salt Union in the UK. -
Salt Tectonics: Some Aspects of Deformation Mechanics
Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ by guest on September 30, 2021 Salt tectonics: some aspects of deformation mechanics IAN DAVISON, IAN ALSOP & DEREK BLUNDELL Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 OEX, UK This volume is dedicated to studies of the defor- Deformation mechanisms mation of evaporite rocks in pillows and diapirs, and the surrounding sedimentary overburden rocks Burliga, Davison et al., Sans et al., Smith and and sediments. Salt diapirs have become the focus Talbot & Alavi provide new insights into the in- of attention in the last forty years, because of their ternal deformation patterns in salt from mesoscopic observations in deformed bodies. Shear zones are strategic importance in controlling hydrocarbon commonly developed parallel to bedding in potassic reserves, and their unique physical properties enable storage of hydrocarbons and toxic waste. horizons (Sans et al.), where the salt becomes Their economic importance is unique on the Earth's gneissose with X:Z axial ratios of crystals reaching commonly around 4:1 in Zechstein salt (Smith), surface, as evaporites in the Middle East are and Red Sea diapirs (Davison et al., Fig. 1). responsible for trapping up to 60% of its hydro- carbon reserves (Edgell). Relatively undeformed halite layers are carried laterally (Smith) and upwards as rafts between Salt also produces some of the most complex and beautiful deformation features on the Earth's shear zones into diapirs (Bnrliga), and undeformed surface, although few of these surface exposures halite rafts are often transported in a highly-sheared have been examined in detail. The first section of sylvinite matrix (Sans et al.). -
Download Preprint
1 This manuscript is a preprint and has been submitted to Petroleum Geoscience. 2 This manuscript has not yet undergone peer-review and subsequent versions of the manuscript may 3 have different content. We welcome feedback and invite you to contact any of the authors directly to 4 comment on the manuscript. 5 Intrasalt Structure and Strain Partitioning in Layered Evaporites: 6 Implications for Drilling Through Messinian Salt in the Eastern 7 Mediterranean 8 Sian L. Evans* and C. A-L. Jackson 9 Basins Research Group (BRG) 10 Department of Earth Science and Engineering 11 Imperial College London 12 Prince Consort Road 13 London, SW7 2BP 14 *[email protected] 15 16 Abstract 17 We use 3D seismic reflection data from the Levant margin, offshore Lebanon to investigate the 18 structural evolution of the Messinian evaporite sequence, and how intrasalt strain varies within a thick 19 salt sheet during early-stage salt tectonics. Intra-Messinian reflectivity reveals lithological 20 heterogeneity within the otherwise halite-dominated sequence. This leads to rheological 21 heterogeneity, with the different mechanical properties of the various units controlling strain 22 accommodation within the deforming salt sheet. We assess the distribution and orientation of 23 structures, and show how intrasalt strain varies both laterally and vertically along the margin. We 24 argue that units appearing weakly strained in seismic data, may in fact accommodate considerable 25 sub-seismic or cryptic strain. We also argue that the intrasalt stress state varies through time and 26 space in response to the gravitational forces driving deformation. We conclude that efficient drilling 27 through thick, heterogeneous salt requires a holistic understanding of the mechanical and kinematic 28 development of the salt and its overburden. -
Over-Pressured Caverns and Leakage Mechanisms Part 3: Dome-Scale Analysis Smarttectonics Gmbh DR
2019 Over-pressured caverns and leakage mechanisms Part 3: Dome-scale analysis smartTectonics GmbH DR. TOBIAS BAUMANN PROF. DR. BORIS KAUS DR. ANTON POPOV 1 | 108 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 5 2 Literature review ....................................................................................................................... 7 Stresses within salt structures ........................................................................................ 8 Constraints from the microstructure ..................................................................... 8 Constraints from in-situ measurements ............................................................. 10 Models of stresses within salt structures ............................................................ 11 Stresses around salt structures .................................................................................... 20 Numerical models ..................................................................................................... 20 Effect of differential stresses within salt on cavity and hole closure ................ 23 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 27 3 Salt rheology ............................................................................................................................. 28 Review of Creep Laws ..................................................................................................... -
Salt-Influenced Normal Faulting Related to Salt-Dissolution And
SALT-INFLUENCED NORMAL FAULTING RELATED TO SALT-DISSOLUTION AND EXTENSIONAL TECTONICS: 3D SEISMIC ANALYSIS AND 2D NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE SALT VALLEY SALT WALL, UTAH AND DANISH CENTRAL GRABEN, NORTH SEA by Mohammad Naqi Copyright by Mohammad Naqi 2016 All Rights Reserved i A thesis submitted to the Faculty and the Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Geology). Golden, Colorado Date _________________________ Signed: _______________________ Mohammad Naqi Signed: _______________________ Dr. Bruce Trudgill Thesis Advisor Golden, Colorado Date _________________________ Signed: _______________________ Dr. M. Stephen Enders Professor and Department Head Department of Geology and Geological Engineering ii ABSTRACT The northeastern Paradox basin is characterized by a series of salt cored anticlines (salt walls) trending NW-SE. The crestal areas of the salt cored anticlines are breached and cut by faults, forming downthrown valleys, created by the subsidence of the crestal overburden. There has been a prolonged debate on the causative mechanism of subsidence of the anticline crests. Some researchers, based on field observations favor salt-dissolution of the salt forming the core of the anticlines as the main mechanism for the crestal subsidence. Others based on physical modeling favor extensional tectonics as the main mechanism that triggered subsidence. A wider variety of salt structural styles are present in the Danish Salt Dome Province of the Danish Central Graben, ranging from salt diapirs that penetrate their overlying sedimentary cover, to gentle, non-penetrating salt-cored anticlines. Salt structures present as pillows (e.g. the Kraka salt pillow), diapirs (e.g. -
Deformation of Intrasalt Competent Layers in Different Modes of Salt Tectonics Mark G
Deformation of intrasalt competent layers in different modes of salt tectonics Mark G. Rowan1, Janos L. Urai2, J. Carl Fiduk3, Peter A. Kukla4 1Rowan Consulting, Inc., Boulder, CO 80302, USA 5 2Institute for Structural Geology, Tectonics and Geomechanics, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany 3Fiduk Consulting LLC, Houston, TX 77063, USA 4Geological Institute, Energy and Mineral Resources, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany Correspondence to: Mark G. Rowan ([email protected]) 10 Abstract. Layered evaporite sequences (LES) comprise interbedded weak layers (halite and, commonly, bittern salts) and strong layers (anhydrite and usually non-evaporite rocks such as carbonates and siliciclastics). This results in a strong rheological stratification, with a range of effective viscosity up to a factor of 105. We focus here on the deformation of competent intrasalt beds in different end-member modes of salt tectonics, even though combinations are common in nature, using a combination of conceptual, numerical and analog models and seismic data. In bedding-parallel extension, boudinage 15 of the strong layers forms ruptured stringers, within a halite matrix, that become more isolated with increasing strain. In bedding-parallel shortening, competent layers tend to maintain coherency while forming harmonic, disharmonic, and polyharmonic folds, with the rheological stratification leading to buckling and fold growth by bedding-parallel shear. In differential loading, extension and the resultant stringers dominate beneath suprasalt depocenters while folded competent beds characterize salt pillows. Finally, in passive diapirs, stringers generated by intrasalt extension are rotated to near vertical and 20 encased in complex folds during upward flow of salt. In all cases, strong layers are progressively removed from areas of salt thinning and increasingly disrupted and folded in areas of salt growth as deformation intensifies. -
05/1983 Trip Report of Tour of Retsof Mine, Ontario, Canada
Department of Energy National Waste Terminal Storage Program Office JUL 1 3 1983 505 King Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43201 Mr. Hubert S. Miller S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Willste Building 7915 Eastern Avenue Silver Springs, MD 20910 Dear Mr. Miller: TRIP REPORT OF TOUR OF RETSOF MINE Enclosed for your information is a trip report which may be of interest to you. Also enclosed are abstracts from the Sixth International Symposium of Salt. J.O. Neff Program Manager NWTS Program Office NPO:JON:LAC:kgh Enclosures: 1) June 9, 1983 trip report by 0. Swanson and R. Helgerson to distribution 2) Abstracts from the Sixth International Symposium on Salt in Toronto, Canada ST# 405-83 TBAB: GE Heim (On Travel) S Goldsmith SD-83-97 REPORTONOFFICIALTRAVEL RECD JUN 1 6 1983 [COULD NOT BE CONVERTED TO SEARCHABLE TEXT] S Goldsmith GE Heim WE Newcomb JO Neff/NPO (3) SD Files WA Carbiener OE Swanson MA Balderman TA Baillieul/NPO LB SC Matthews RN Helgerson DL Ballmann ONWI Files Purpose of trip: Attend the Sixth International Symposium on Salt and tour Retsof Mine Attendees: See attached list. Essential details of trip and summary of results obtained: Retsof Mine Tour The production shaft of the Retsof Bedded Salt Mine now in use was completed in 1922. This 9 x 28 foot shaft was apparently put down using conventional mining techniques. The present mine encompasses approximately 5,000 acres and has been in continuous operation since 1885. Some 95,000,000 tons of salt have been removed since operations began. The mine remains at a near constant 63F year round with little reported condensate in the ventilated air flow. -
Warren, J. K. Stressed and Flowing Salt (Nacl) Stands out in the Diagenetic
www.saltworkconsultants.com Salty MattersJohn Warren - Tuesday December 31, 2019 Stressed and flowing salt (NaCl) stands out in the diagenetic realm The sample size is also critical. A cylindrical salt core held in Introduction one's hand is stiff and rigid, like an ice cube, and is likely to From a long-term or geological time perspective, the combina- remain so under ambient conditions. However, a much larger tion of salt's (NaCl) physical, chemical and thermal properties cylinder of salt will deform even on a human time scale because make it idiosyncratic when compared to the responses of most body forces increase with the cube of the length scale. For ex- non-evaporitic sedimentary minerals and rocks in a basin. Its ample, a 250-m-high tower of solid salt having an average grain distinctive features mean thick subsurface salt beds in the dia- size of 10 mm would sag to 10 percent shorter after about a genetic realm tend to dissolve or flow while carbonates and si- century (Janos Urai, personal communication). liciclastics do not. In fact, evaporites, especially thick pure halite units (>50-80 m thick), are the weakest rocks in most deforming The effect of compaction of clastic sediments is the third quali- geosystems. Some of halites microstructural responses to stress fier to the relative strength of salt. Before rock salt is buried, it is in the diagenetic realm are more akin to structural responses in already a crystalline rock having the instantaneous compressive other sediments in the metamorphic realm. strength of concrete (Table 1). In contrast, the surrounding silici- clastic sediments have barely started to compact near the surface However, this axiom applies only over geologic time scales, in and consist of loose sand and mud. -
Lyons Salt; a Century of Mining in Rice County Number of Years
Ly o n s ne w s • PL a i n s & Pr o g r e s s Bu s i n e s s & in d u s t r y Ja n u a r y 30, 2018 9B Lyons Salt; a century of mining in Rice County number of years. The mine shaft was installed a conveyer belt and shut Salt Company celebrated 1,000,000 sunk in Ellsworth but down 250 ft. down the old rail cars. How salt is man hours without a single time- when water broke in above, the proj- acquired has vastly changed over loss injury, a monumental feat in ect was abandoned.” The third shaft the past 100 years. In the early 20th the industry. This single undertak- at Lyons, which was 2 miles west of century traditional mining using a ing took seven years to achieve. the present Lyons shaft, was aban- pickaxe as well as blasting. These The milestone equates to one doned many years ago. The two other were the preferred methods. When shafts in Lyons were sunk in 1890 blasting, charges were placed in and the other started in 1916. “The drilled holes and fired off. Today American was started by a George although traditional mining has long Kelley in 1916, under the name of gone away, blasting is still in use the American Salt & Coal Co.” This with more sophisticated preparation. later became Lyons Salt Company. In the modern age there are A photo of some of the original inves- The Lyons Salt Company complex several preliminary steps prior to tors in the Lyons Salt plant.