Factors controlling the evolution of the Perdido Fold Belt, northwestern Gulf of Mexico, determined from numerical models

Abstract

The Perdido Fold Belt (PFB) is a prominent salt‐cored deep water structure in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. It is characterized by symmetric, kink‐banded folds of a ∼4.5 km thick prekinematic layer and its vicinity to the extensive Sigsbee Salt Canopy. We use 2‐D finite element numerical models to study the evolution of the PFB as a gravity‐driven fold belt both in a local context and in the context of the larger‐scale passive margin, influenced by adjacent allochthonous salt structures. We show that parameters such as overburden strength, salt geometry, or salt viscosity determine timing, extent, and location of the modeled fold belt. Simplified models of the Gulf of Mexico show that toe‐of‐slope folding is a viable mechanism to develop diapirs in the deep salt basin and to delay folding of the distal overburden. In this scenario, the PFB likely represents the terminal folding of a much larger, diachronously formed fold belt system.