Dymamics of salt dome exhumation on the ocean floor, focusing on Santos basin offshore Brazil

• Grant number: 17/50191-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2018
• End date: January 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Geological Oceanography
• Agreement: Cognitive Science and Technology Council of Iran
• Mobility Program: SPRINT - Projetos de pesquisa - Mobilidade
• Principal Investigator: Michel Michaelovitch de Mahiques
• Grantee: Michel Michaelovitch de Mahiques
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/22194-0 - Anomalous bottom features on the upper slope off Southern Brazil, AP.R

Abstract

Salt domes (diapirs) are one of the central structures in hydrocarbon exploration. They form in the subsurface and occasionally host reservoirs from underneath. Fractures and faults formed during the upward motion of the salt may lead to leakage of gas/fluids towards the seafloor. In theory, the dynamics of fracturing could have been studied from the layers covering the salt dome. However, these layers are pushed aside while the dome advances upwards and the evidence is lost. Little is known about the real-time processes that shape a dome while it is exposed at the seafloor, therefore our understanding of salt diapirism relays on the geology on their flanks (from subsurface data) as well as from outcrops inland areas. In July 2016, we (Mahiques and Schattner) participated in a research cruise to the diapir site on the Atlantic ocean floor offshore Santos, Brazil. We collected new geological and geophysical data that sheds new light on salt domes uprising. Preliminary results provide a detailed image of salt dome exposure at the ocean floor and allow distinguish between three main stages before, during and after the exhumation of the salt. In this proposal, we seek funds that will allow us to analyze the data together and publish the research in a top journal. The collaboration between Mahiques and Schattner began in 2014. Since then we published together two papers in leading journals and presented them in international conferences. We intend to continue this fruitful collaboration and publish the study of the salt domes proposed here. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SCHATTNER, URI; JOSE LOBO, FRANCISCO; GARCIA, MARGA; KANARI, MOR; RAMOS, RAISSA BASTI; DE MAHIQUES, MICHEL MICHAELOVITCH. A detailed look at diapir piercement onto the ocean floor: New evidence from Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. MARINE GEOLOGY, v. 406, p. 98-108, DEC 1 2018. (14/08266-2, 17/50191-8, 10/06147-5)

MALY, MASCIMILIANO; SCHATTNER, URI; JOSE LOBO, FRANCISCO; SOARES DIAS, RODOLFO JASAO; RAMOS, RAISSA BASTI; COUTO, DANIEL DE MATOS; GOMES SUMIDA, PAULO YUKIO; DE MAHIQUES, MICHEL MICHAELOVITCH. The Alpha Crucis Carbonate Ridge (ACCR): Discovery of a giant ring-shaped carbonate complex on the SW Atlantic margin. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 9, DEC 10 2019. (15/17763-2, 16/22194-0, 17/50191-8, 14/08266-2)

RAMOS, RAISSA BASTI; DOS SANTOS, ROSANGELA FELICIO; SCHATTNER, URI; FIGUEIRA, RUBENS CESAR LOPES; BICEGO, MARCIA CARUSO; LOBO, FRANCISCO JOSE; DE MAHIQUES, MICHEL MICHAELOVITCH. Deep pockmarks as natural sediment traps: a case study from southern Santos Basin (SW Atlantic upper slope). GEO-MARINE LETTERS, v. 40, n. 6, SI, p. 989-999, DEC 2020. (14/08266-2, 15/17763-2, 17/50191-8)

DOS SANTOS, ROSANGELA FELICIO; NAGAOKA, DORIS; RAMOS, RAISSA BASTI; SALAROLI, ALEXANDRE BARBOSA; TANIGUCHI, SATIE; LOPES FIGUEIRA, RUBENS CESAR; BICEGO, MARCIA CARUSO; LOBO, FRANCISCO JOSE; SCHATTNER, URI; DE MAHIQUES, MICHEL MICHAELOVITCH. Metal/Ca ratios in pockmarks and adjacent sediments on the SW Atlantic slope: Implications for redox potential and modern seepage. JOURNAL OF GEOCHEMICAL EXPLORATION, v. 192, p. 163-173, SEP 2018. (16/22194-0, 16/24379-7, 17/50191-8, 14/08266-2, 10/06147-5)