The Undoolya sequence: Late Proterozoic salt influenced deposition, Amadeus Basin, central Australia

Abstract

Parts of the Late Proterozoic to Cambrian sequence along the northeastern margin of the Amadeus Basin were deposited under the influence of salt movement within the underlying Bitter Springs Formation. Later folding during the Devonian Alice Springs Orogeny and subsequent erosion has exposed salt‐influenced structures to provide a rare opportunity to observe the effects of diapiric growth on local facies and structure. Such effects are commonly only seen in seismic section. Salt withdrawal led to normal faulting and syn‐sedimentary thickening of adjacent units. The Undoolya Sequence, a previously undescribed 710 m section, was deposited within a salt‐withdrawal basin adjacent to a proposed diapiric structure. Periods of salt mobilization are recorded by syn‐depositional thickening and localized unconformities within units flanking the diapiric structure. This structure is representative of the influence salt movement had on deposition in the northeastern Amadeus Basin during the Late Proterozoic.