Insights into the collection and emplacement of granitic magma based on 3Dseismic images of normal fault-related salt structures

3D seismic data from salt structures in the Southern North Sea show how vis cous fluids tend to migrate towards and flow upwards along the footwalls of active normal faults where zones of low stress are inherent. This process provides one potential solution for the question of how enough space is tre ated to accommodate large granitic bodies in the crust. During episodes of regional extension, granitic melt may collect in the lower crust below norm al detachments in domed areas from which magma may be sourced. Subsequently , in the upper crust, emplacement can occur in fault-bounded laccoliths at rates commensurate with other geological processes.