Salt rollers: Structure and kinematics from analogue modelling

Salt rollers are low-amplitude deflections of the upper surface of a salt layer which occur below zones of normal faulting in the overlying sediments. They are widely recognised in association with tilted blocks or listric fault rollover systems. Laboratory experiments on brittle ductile models made of sand and silicone putty are used to study the modes of development, the external shape and the internal structures of these salt rollers. Firstly, flow and strain patterns within décollement zones are described. Finite strain combines layer-perpendicular shortening and layer-parallel shear. Additional flow cells within rollers perturb the laminar flow of the décollement, inducing a passive folding of planar markers. The same type of flow and strain patterns occur in all types of rollers, ranging from those occurring below tilted blocks to those associated with growth faults. Finally, an analysis of roller shapes through the measurement of aspect ratios and asymmetry ratios shows that the shapes of tilted blocks rollers and growth fault rollers—which differ at initiation tend to converge with increasing deformation.