f Life-History of cap-rock on a salt dome in the gulf coast region of the United States

Shallow salt domes in the Gulf Coast region of the United States grew upwards passively and concurrently with Mesozoic and Tertiary sedimentation. During growth of these structures near the sediment/water interface, salt in the core dissolves, leaving a residue of anhydrite, so that the longer the period of growth of the diapir, the greater the thickness of the residuum. Anhydrite accumulates from beneath and becomes systematically layered when loose anhydrite "sand" becomes plated onto the cap by the growing salt mass. The cyclic proces of plating is the result of alternating accumulation and spilling of saturated brine in the space beneath the cap and atop the salt. In the simplest of caps, the layered "stratigraphy" is inverted.