Interpretation from Space: Salt Tectonics and Deposition of Sediments in Salt-Withdrawal Basins in Iran using Remote-Sensing Imagery

Presenter

Frank J. Peel, Ph.D.
Visiting Research Scientist
Applied Geodynamics Laboratory (AGL) 
Bureau of Economic Geology 
Jackson School of Geosciences
The University of Texas at Austin

Description

The composition and structure of the sediments around salt bodies is important to science and industry. In the subsurface, we interpret this from limited data – but seismic and well data from the subsurface can only tell us part of the picture. It is very difficult to see details close to the salt bodies, so we use our experience combined with geological models to fill in the missing parts. In geological outcrops, we can see these details and develop our understanding of the processes. Spectacular outcrops in northern Iran, clearly visible from space, reveal these structures although we cannot visit these in person. In addition, the present-day depositional systems of the area provide a unique opportunity to study the ways that rivers and winds distribute sediments across active salt-withdrawal basins, providing a vital analog for ancient systems (as far as the authors are aware, there are NO other modern analogs!)