Thomas E. Hearon

Megaflaps adjacent to salt diapirs

Megaflaps are steep stratal panels that extend far up the sides of diapirs or their equivalent welds. They have multiple-kilometer fold widths and structural relief and are thus distinct from smaller-scale composite halokinetic sequences. Maximum dips range from near-vertical to completely overturned. Although overturned megaflaps are associated with flaring salt, there is no direct link between megaflap formation and the initiation of salt sheets. Strata within a megaflap are usually convergent, and the lower boundary is typically concordant with the top salt. The upper boundary ranges between a prominent onlap surface and a more diffuse zone of gradual rotation and thinning, and growth strata likewise display both onlap and stacked wedge geometries. We use quantitative cross-section restoration to elucidate the origin and development of megaflaps. Megaflaps typically represent the relatively thin roofs of early salt structures that include single-flap active diapirs, passive diapirs, salt pillows, and salt sheets. They develop during halokinetic drape folding as the minibasin sinks, during contractional squeezing of the diapir and its roof, or during some combination of the two. The kinematics are dominated by either limb rotation or kink-band migration, in which roof strata move through a fold hinge into a lengthening steep megaflap. Both restoration results and direct field evidence suggest that internal strain is minor, with little bed lengthening and thinning. Recognition and understanding of megaflaps are critical to successful petroleum exploration of three-way truncation traps against salt. Megaflaps also have implications for the lateral seal of stratigraphic traps and fluid pressures in minibasins.

Qualities of a good reviewer

Interpretation shares commonalities with Geophysics and the AAPG Bulletin in that it is a peer-reviewed journal. Unlike Geophysics and the AAPG Bulletin , Interpretation is built around special sections headed by a team of special-section editors who are either experts or particularly interested in

Introduction to special section: Balancing, restoration, and palinspastic reconstruction

Methods to quantify deformation and reverse the process of strain as a mode to illustrate geologic evolution through time have been previously used for a number of decades. Early efforts on the quantification of bed reconstruction were completed either by manually weighing the sections on delicate

Introduction to special section: Salt tectonics and interpretation

Advances in the understanding of salt tectonics generally result from interpretations of modern seismic data, field studies of exposed salt basins, experimental and numerical modeling, and cross-section restoration. In this special section of Interpretation , a journal emphasizing the mutual

Introduction to special section: Analog modeling as an aid to structural interpretation

Analog modeling provides the exploration and production industry with one of the most powerful and visual tools to understand the 4D structural evolution of sedimentary basins and individual or families of structures within those basins. Knowledge of the model setup and timing of syn-kinematic