Role of deep-sourced fluids on the initiation and growth of isolated carbonate build-ups

Abstract

The relative role of the various mechanisms responsible for the formation of isolated carbonate build-ups occurring on the seafloor along continental margins is still uncertain. The interpretation of an extensive seismic dataset in the central Vulcan Sub-basin (NW Australia) allowed to evaluate the possible role of migration and seepage of deep-sourced fluids during the initial growth of isolated carbonate build-ups. The Neogene tectonic activity along the margin generated extensional fault systems that commonly displaced the seafloor, thus apparently creating a substratum to the initiation of various carbonate build-ups during the Pleistocene.