Table Of ContentPermo-Triassic Salt Provinces of Europe,
North Africa and the Atlantic Margins
Tectonics and Hydrocarbon Potential
Permo-Triassic Salt Provinces
of Europe, North Africa and
the Atlantic Margins
Tectonics and Hydrocarbon Potential
Edited by
Juan I. Soto
Joan F. Flinch
Gabor Tari
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Cover Designer: Christian Bilbow
Book cover image: Outcrop of Upper Triassic evaporites in southern Albania, close to the Greek border, with
the Ionian Sea and the island of Corfu in the background. The dark Jurassic pelagic limestones overthrust the
reddish Triassic claystones along a squeezed salt wall of the Ionian fold-and-thrust belt. Exploration wells
encountered massive Triassic salt deposits in the nearby subsurface (see Bega and Soto, this volume).
Back cover: Paleogeographic map by C.R. Scotese
Typeset by SPi Global, India
We have some salt of our youth in us
W. Shakespeare
(The Merry Wives of Windsor; Act II, Scene III)
v
Dedication
Albert Walter Bally
Albert Bally is Emeritus Professor at the Earth Science Department
of Rice University, Houston, Texas.
Albert Bally was born in The Hague, in the Netherlands, in 1925, but grew up in various countries, including Switzerland,
Indonesia and Italy. He studied at the University of Zürich and received his PhD in 1953. His thesis work included map-
ping in the Maiella area of the Central Apennines. As a student he took leave of absence in 1949 to work for Gulf Oil on
a mapping assignment on southeast Sicily. After completing his Ph.D., he spent a year (1953-54) at the Lamont-Doherty
laboratory at Columbia University of New York working on deep-water sediments.
Bert spent most of his career with Shell Oil in Calgary and Houston. While with Shell Canada, he was one of the
pioneers in the exploration of the Rocky Mountains and their foothills in Alberta. As a novel new exploration approach
in a thrust-fold belt at that time, he started to integrate well, seismic and surface data. During this time he became Chief
Geologist of Shell Canada. He was transferred in 1966 to Shell USA and progressed from manager of geologic research
to Chief Geologist in 1968 and later to Senior Exploration Consultant in 1980. During this time he was involved in the
exploration of the offshore and onshore United States and since 1972 with the study of global geology. By this time, Bert
had gathered an enormous amount of experience working with reflection seismic data and regional geological information,
which he synthesized into a global basin classification scheme that is still a major reference today. After 27 years at Shell,
he joined Rice University in July 1981 as Chairman of the Department of Geology and Geophysics and also as the Harry
Carothers Weiss Professor of Geology, a position he still holds today. At Rice, he successfully managed to make the link
between the petroleum industry and academia and brought his experience to the academic world. He supervised numerous
M.Sc. and Ph.D. projects by students coming to Houston from very different countries and regions worldwide. His students
coined the term “Bally's Barrio,” referring to the large group of geologists and geophysicists, often from Spanish-speaking
countries, who graduated under his academic guidance. During his tenure at Rice, Bert collaborated with numerous univer-
sities and many oil companies worldwide.
vii
viii Dedication
Bert Bally has numerous publications, but perhaps his most cited article is the one he coauthored with Gordy and
Stewart in 1966, on the structure and evolution of the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains. In this work, he introduced the
use of regional seismic data to perform balanced cross sections and understand fold-and-thrust belts.
He coauthored the Stratigraphic Atlas for North and Central America in 1975, which outlines the Phanerozoic stratigra-
phy of North America. The same year, as an example of this integration of industry and academia, he wrote “A geodynamic
scenario for hydrocarbon occurrences.” Most geoscientists are familiar with Bally's work through his three-volume sets of
seismic atlases published by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, one on structural styles in 1983 and one
on seismic stratigraphy in 1987. These atlases highlighted the use of reflection seismic data not only for the petroleum in-
dustry, but also for academic work. These atlases instantly became a teaching reference for university students and also oil
company professionals. As a counselor with the Geological Society of America, he proposed the Decade of North American
Geology project, a large multivolume encyclopedia for the centennial celebration of the Geological Society of America.
Bert coedited the introductory volume, which many consider the most comprehensive introduction to the geology of North
America.
Bally is the father of concepts commonly used today, such as inversion tectonics, envelopment thrusting, orogenic float,
transfer and listric faults. He is also a pioneer not only in basin classification schemes, balanced cross sections and stud-
ies of folded belts and their forelands, but also in the understanding of passive margins and salt tectonics using reflection
seismic data.
Bert has received numerous honorary awards, including the William Smith medal (The Geologic Society, London),
the Gustav Steinmann Medal (Geologische Vereinigung, Germany), the R. J. Douglas Medal of the Canadian Society of
Petroleum Geologists (1987), the Structural Geology and Tectonics Career Contribution award of the Geological Society
of America (1988), and honorary fellowships (AAPG and European Geosciences Union). He was also the President of
the Geological Society of America (1988), received the Sidney Powers Medal from the AAPG (1998), and the Society of
Exploration Geophysicists Special Commendation Award (1995). Bert was also the president of the Commission of the
International Lithosphere Program in 1990–92, and member of numerous geological and geosciences international commit-
tees. Recently he has awarded a doctorate honoris causa by the University of Fribourg in Switzerland (2016).
We, as coeditors of this book, consider ourselves his students because we have spent years with him learning amazing
things about a very wide spectrum of topics, not only related to geoscience. Along with the other students in Bally's Barrio,
we all feel that we could not possibly have had a more influential teacher. Bert became a role model for us, influencing
everything we do in geoscience and beyond. His passion for understanding this planet became an inspiration for all of us
and for everyone who has had the chance to work with him.
In Memoriam
Martin P.A. Jackson (1947–2016)
Martin Jackson began his professional career as a Lecturer at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa,
where he specialized in Precambrian gneiss tectonics from 1976 to 1979. He moved to the Bureau of Economic Geology
(BEG) in 1980. At the BEG Martin began studying salt tectonics even though, as he said, “this was then one of the most
moribund topics in structural geology.” After several years of research on salt structures in a series of projects investigating
suitability of salt for storage of nuclear waste, Martin was called into BEG Director Bill Fisher’s office. Fisher told him
“Jackson, it’s time to bring in the groceries,” urging him to start an independent research program. This was the origin of
the Applied Geodynamics Laboratory (AGL), founded in 1988.
Over the next 25 years Martin Jackson built the AGL into the preeminent institution for the study of salt tectonics in the
world. Major concepts in salt tectonics pioneered or advanced by AGL researchers include salt welds, salt canopies, reac-
tive diapirs, falling diapirs, results of diapir shortening, controls on cross-sectional shapes of passive diapirs and extrusive
salt sheets, advance mechanisms of salt sheets, sheet-margin thrust systems, and minibasin-subsidence mechanisms, among
many others. AGL researchers have studied salt tectonics in most of the world’s major salt basins, and have conducted a
series of groundbreaking physical and numerical models. In the process, Martin became a worldwide authority on salt tec-
tonics, as recognized in the form of many honors and awards.
Martin was a brilliant and creative scientist, and served as a mentor and inspiration to many younger researchers. He
was also a true gentleman, respected and admired by his peers. It would be very difficult to find someone who didn’t like
Martin Jackson, and who didn’t consider it a privilege to know him. His leadership, expertise and friendship will be greatly
missed by all of his colleagues.
(by Mike Hudec)
ix
x In Memoriam
Ulf Bayer (1949–2016)
Ulf Bayer studied geology at the Technical University of Stuttgart, where he received a diploma degree in 1975. Afterwards,
he enrolled at the University of Tübingen, receiving his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) in 1977 and a subsequent habilitation
degree and lectureship in 1983. In 1981, he received the Hermann-Credner Prize of the German Geophysical Society (DGG).
In the context of the Heisenberg Program of the German Science Foundation (DFG), he worked as a visiting scientist from
1984 until 1988 at the universities of Leicester and Birmingham in the United Kingdom, as well as at the universities of New
Brunswick in Canada and Princeton in the United States, and at the Research Centre of Schlumberger-Doll at Richfield.
From 1988 to 1992 he worked in the Institute of Petroleum and Organic Geochemistry at the Forschungszentrum Jülich.
After this epoch, he started to work at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences until
his retirement in 2014. Since 1994, he held a professorship position at the Freie Universität in Berlin.
His research interests were focused on the modeling of varied geological processes, addressing different aspects re-
lated to the structure and evolution of the sedimentary basins. One of his main interests was to integrate geological and
geophysical data and methods, and with this intention he focused, for example, on coupled fluid, heat and mass transfer in
sedimentary basins, and how these processes are linked to salt tectonics. Prof. Ulf Bayer was one of the first geoscientists
in approaching salt movements numerically, by using finite-element models in three dimensions.
As part of his research and leadership, he was a member of the German EUROPROBE steering committee from 1998 to
2001, being the main researcher of numerous projects related to DEKORP Basin’96 project, with the support of the DFG.
He was also one of the leading scientists that initiated and coordinated in Germany the priority research program titled
“Dynamics of Sedimentary Basins Under Varying Stress Regimes,” dedicated also to analyzing the incidence of salt tecton-
ics within the Central European Basin System.
Prof. Ulf Bayer passed away on Jun. 30, 2016 after a long illness. We shall miss his brilliant mind and his irreplaceable,
masterful guidance.
(by Yuriy Maystrenko and Magdalena Scheck-Wenderoth)
Contributors
Numbers in parentheses indicate the pages on which the authors’ K.L. Kendell (287), Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore
contributions begin. Petroleum Board, Halifax, NS, Canada
W. Alouani (543), OMV Tunesia, Tunis, Tunisia H. Kiersnowski (243), Polish Geological Institute—
National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
U. Bayer* (203), GFZ German Research Centre for
Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany P. Krzywiec (243), Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Z. Bega (517), OMV Petrom S.A., Bucharest, Romania
K. Kwolek (243), PGNiG S.A., Piła, Poland
P. Cámara (371, 395), Madrid, Spain
C. Leitner (467), University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
G. Cantarella (543), OMV Tunesia, Tunis, Tunisia
S. Lindsø (265), ExploCrowd, Stavanger, Norway
E. Casciello (563), Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume
Almera, Barcelona, Spain S.G. Lucas (43), New Mexico Museum of Natural History
and Science, Albuquerque, NM, United States
G. Czapowski (243), Polish Geological Institute—National
Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland M. Malaval (563), University of Bordeaux 3, Pessac,
France
M.E. Deptuck (287), Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore
Petroleum Board, Halifax, NS, Canada J.D. Martín-Martín (563), Institute of Earth Sciences
Jaume Almera; University of Barcelona, Barcelona,
P. Esestime (499), Spectrum Geo Ltd., Woking, United
Spain
Kingdom
Y.P. Maystrenko (203), Geological Survey of Norway,
R. Fainstein (313), Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal
Trondheim, Norway
M. Fleming (353), Repsol, The Woodlands, TX, United
T. McKie (159), Shell U.K. Limited, Aberdeen, United
States
Kingdom
J.F. Flinch (3, 129, 395, 417), Repsol Exploracion S. A.,
G. Messager (563), Statoil, TDP RDI CPR CP, Bergen,
Madrid, Spain
Norway
J. Gallastegui (353), Universidad de Oviedo, Asturias,
M. Moragas (563), Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume
Spain
Almera, Barcelona, Spain
G. Georgiev (483), Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria
J. Mosar (447), Fribourg University, Fribourg, Switzerland
C. Grelaud (563), University of Bordeaux 3, Pessac, France
B. Novotny (331), Sterling Energy PLC, London, United
M. Gruber (447), Fribourg University, Fribourg, Kingdom
Switzerland
K. Pelz (581), OMV Exploration & Production GmbH,
M. Hafid (331), Ibn Tofail University, Kénitra, Morocco Vienna, Austria
D.W. Hunt (563), Statoil, TDP RDI CPR CP, Bergen, R. Pena dos Reis (313), Coimbra University, Coimbra,
Norway Portugal
H. Jabour (331), ONHYM, Rabat, Morocco T.M. Peryt (243), Polish Geological Institute—National
Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
C.A.-L. Jackson (175), Imperial College, London, United
Kingdom N. Pimentel (313), Lisbon University, Lisbon, Portugal
R. Joussiame (563), University of Bordeaux 3, Pessac, P. Pomianowski (243), Geofizyka Toruń S.A., Toruń,
France Poland
* Deceased
xix
xx Contributors
B. Rasmussen (313), Simula Research Laboratory, Fornebu, I. Sharp (563), Statoil, TDP RDI CPR CP, Bergen, Norway
Norway
A. Sommaruga (447), Fribourg University, Fribourg,
Ph. Razin (563), University of Bordeaux 3, Pessac, France Switzerland
M. Reis (313), Coimbra University, Coimbra, Portugal J.I. Soto (3, 129, 417, 517), Granada University, Granada,
Spain
L. Reuning (221), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen,
Germany C. Spötl (467), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
M.G. Rowan (97, 265), Rowan Consulting, Inc., Boulder, S.A. Stewart (175), Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
CO, United States F. Strozyk (115, 221), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen,
E. Saura (563), Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera, Germany
Barcelona, Spain D.C. Tanner (221), LIAG, Leibniz Institute for Applied
M. Scheck-Wenderoth (203, 221), RWTH Aachen Geophysics, Hannover, Germany
University, Aachen; GFZ German Research Centre for G. Tari (3, 129, 331, 483, 543), OMV Exploration and
Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany Production, Vienna, Austria
A. Schettino (57), University of Camerino, School of H. Troudi (543), OMV Tunesia, Tunis, Tunisia
Science and Technology, Camerino, Italy
P. Turner (581), Brigantia Resources Ltd, Streetly, United
M. Schori (447), Fribourg University, Fribourg, Switzerland Kingdom
V. Scisciani (499), University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti J. Vergés (563), Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera,
and Pescara, Chieti, Italy Barcelona, Spain
C.R. Scotese (57), Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, G. Zamora (353), Repsol, The Woodlands, TX, United
United States States
