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Viscosity estimates of salt in the Hormuz and Namakdan salt diapirs, Persian Gulf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2010

SOUMYAJIT MUKHERJEE ,
CHRISTOPHER J. TALBOT  and
HEMIN A. KOYI
SOUMYAJIT MUKHERJEE*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai-400 076, Powai, India
CHRISTOPHER J. TALBOT
Affiliation:
Hans Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
HEMIN A. KOYI
Affiliation:
Hans Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
*
†Author for correspondence: soumyajitm@gmail.com
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Abstract

The parabolic surface profiles of the Hormuz and Namakdan salt diapirs in the Persian Gulf suggest that they have been extruding with Newtonian viscous rheologies for the last 104 years. We derive velocity profiles for these diapirs, neglecting gravitational spreading and erosion/dissolution while assuming incompressible Newtonian rheology of the salt. Fitting known rates of extrusion at specific points in its elliptical cross-section, the dynamic viscosity of the salt of the Hormuz diapir is found to range between 1018 and 1021 Pa s. Approximating its sub-circular cross-section to a perfect circle, the range of viscosity of the salt of the Namakdan diapir is obtained as 1017–1021 Pa s. These calculated viscosities fall within the range for naturally flowing salts elsewhere and for other salt diapirs but are broader than those for salts with Newtonian rheology deforming at room temperatures. The salts of the Hormuz and Namakdan diapirs are expected to exhibit a broader range of grain size, which matches the limited existing data.

Keywords

Hormuz diapirNamakdan diapirsalt diapirviscosityNewtonian viscous fluid
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 147 , Issue 4 , July 2010 , pp. 497 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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