ABSTRACT
In this short chapter, we address the question of deformations occurring in the sedimentary basins as the result of salt movements. This action, recognized for decades, was described under the term of “diapirism,” a “diapir” being a geologic intrusion in which a mobile material is vertically driven into brittle overlying rocks. We have shown in Chapter 4 that a “décollement level,” a salt layer in particular, was necessary to allow the development of a detachment fold. In the present chapter, we are beyond this, and the salt becomes an autonomous player because of its density and/or its mechanical properties (low viscosity). However, we will see that these intrinsic properties of salt alone cannot completely explain the mobility of salt. An external factor is required to trigger salt tectonics.
