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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
USGS2024

Using stochastic point pattern analysis to track regional orientations of magmatism during the transition to cenozoic extension and Rio Grande rifting, Southern Rocky Mountains

The southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico hosted intracontinental magmatism that developed during a tectonic transition from shortening (Laramide orogeny, ca. 75 to 40 Ma) through extension and rifting. We present a novel approach that uses stochastic weighted bootstrap simulations of a large set of new and historical geochronology data to better understand how regional anisotropies responsible for focusing magma emplacement evolved through time. This technique can detect subtle trends in directional distributions, including multi-modal orientations, and can be filtered from regional to local scales. Our results indicate that magmatism followed first the northeast trend of the Colorado mineral belt between 75 and 40 Ma and deviated afterward. These deviations vary depending on the scale of the analysis. At the smallest scale we evaluated (<75 km), the orientation of magmatism from 45 to 30 Ma rotated counter-clockwise before aligning with the north-south trend of the modern Rio Grande rift. Larger, regional-scale analyses indicate magma centers between 40 to 35 Ma and 25 to 20 Ma were dominantly oriented southwest-northeast, whereas magmatism between 35 and 25 Ma had north-south orientation. The large areal footprint of magmatism and shifting regional patterns suggest that ancient zones of weakness in the North American lithosphere accommodated magma flow at different moments in time, rather than controlled by a retreating interface of the Farallon and North American plates.

Tectonics↗
USGS2006

Speculations on continental crustal evolution

The evolution of the continental crust is a topic that has challenged Earth scientists since the earliest hypotheses of crustal evolution were put forth by such luminaries as Hutton, the 18th century Scottish scientist, and later by Stille (Germany), Argand (France), and Dana (United States). Recent geophysical observations provide important constraints on hypotheses of crustal evolution, and the most important of these observations are reviewed in a companion paper [ Mooney and Meissner , 1991], henceforth referred to as Paper 1. In this article we briefly speculate on crustal evolution using both geological and geophysical data as guidelines. For the past 25 years, the basic framework for models of the evolution of the Earth's crust and lithosphere has been plate tectonics. This framework has been particularly successful in explaining the processes that form and modify the oceanic crust but has had somewhat more limited success in its application to the continental crust. Some of the basic tenets of plate tectonics, as applied to the continental crust, are listed below. Continental masses coalesce and disperse as ocean basins open and close in the Wilson cycle.

Eos, Earth and Space Science News↗
USGS2012

A review of the regional geophysics of the Arizona Transition Zone

A review of existing geophysical information and new data presented in this special section indicate that major changes in crustal properties between the Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau occur in, or directly adjacent to, the region defined as the Arizona Transition Zone. Although this region was designated on a physiographic basis, studies indicate that it is also the geophysical transition between adjoining provinces. The Transition Zone displays anomalous crustal and upper mantle seismic properties, shallow Curie isotherms, high heat flow, and steep down-to-the-plateau Bouguer gravity gradients. Seismic and gravity studies suggest that the change in crustal thickness, from thin crust in the Basin and Range to thick crust in the Colorado Plateau, may occur as a series of steps rather than a planar surface. Anomalous P wave velocities, high heat flow, shallow Curie isotherms, and results of gravity modeling suggest that the upper mantle is heterogeneous in this region. A relatively shallow asthenosphere beneath the Basin and Range and Transition Zone contrasted with a thick lithosphere beneath the Colorado Plateau would be one explanation that would satisfy these geophysical observations.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗
USGS2012

Evolution of deep structure along the trans-Alaska crustal transect, Chugach Mountains and Copper River Basin, southern Alaska

One of the most important results of the Trans-Alaska Crustal Transect investigations is the discovery that more than one third of the North American plate in southern Alaska (Chugach Mountains and Copper River basin) consists of tectonically underplated oceanic lithosphere. In southern Alaska, exposed accreted tectonostratigraphic terranes, include, from south to north along the transect, the Prince William, Chugach, Peninsular, and Wrangellia terranes. Chief results from seismic refraction data include the following: (1) A sequence of layers of low and high velocity (5.7–7.8 km/s), more than 10 km thick, dips gently northward, with its top at the surface in the southernmost Chugach terrane and at more than 20-km depth beneath the southern Peninsular terrane. A high-velocity layer at the top of this sequence corresponds to metabasalt in the southernmost Chugach terrane. This sequence is interpreted to be tectonically underplated fragments of the Kula plate and its sedimentary overburden. (2) An intermediate-velocity layer (6.35–6.5 km/s) at 9-km depth beneath both the northern Chugach and southern Peninsular terranes appears to extend without offset across the deep projection of the suture between these two terranes, the Border Ranges fault system. (3) A crustal “root” between depths of 19 and 57 km beneath the northern Peninsular and Wrangellia terranes appears to extend without offset across the deep projection of the suture between these two terranes, the West Fork fault system. This crustal root also appears to abut the tectonically underplated sequence to the south. Unfortunately, in results 2 and 3 the apparent crosscutting and abutting relationships can not be unambiguously resolved. Three scenarios, A, B, and C, have been offered to explain the evolution of this structure. Scenarios A and B differ in interpretation of the depth extent of the northern Chugach and southern Peninsular terranes. In scenario A these terranes extend to only 9-km depth, where they rest on an unknown middle crust, interpreted as a deeper part of the Peninsular terrane. In this scenario, the northern Chugach and southern Peninsular terrenes moved landward as a tectonic wedge, during tectonic underplating in the latest Cretaceous or early Tertiary, and uplifted the upper crust of the Peninsular terrane to the north. In scenario B, the northern Chugach and southern Peninsular terranes extend to 20-km depth. In this scenario, they were compressed but not detached and displaced during accretion. Scenarios A, B, and C differ in interpretation of the deep crustal root that appears to abut the tectonically underplated sequence. Since the Peninsular and Wrangellia terranes were at or below sea level prior to the mid-Cretaceous, the root was probably emplaced in mid-Cretaceous or younger times. In scenario A the root is lower crust of North America that moved southward during tectonic underplating of the Kula plate. In scenario B the root is, in part, tectonically underplated rocks similar to the Kula plate sequence to the south. In scenario C the root is, in part, magmatically underplated rocks.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗
USGS2012

Basin and range crustal and upper mantle structure, northwest to central Nevada

We present an interpretation of the crustal and uppermost mantle structure of the Basin and Range of northwestern Nevada based on seismic refraction/wide‐angle reflection, near‐vertical reflection, and gravity data. In comparison to most previous estimates, we find that the crust is somewhat thicker (32–36 km versus 22–30 km), and the uppermost mantle velocity is somewhat higher (8.0 km/s versus 7.3–7.9 km/s). Along our transects, the crust is thinnest (32 km) in the Carson Sink‐Buena Vista Valley region and increases by 2–4 km to the west and east, respectively. There is considerable complexity throughout the crust where velocities range from of 2.5 km/s at the surface to 7.4 km/s in the lowermost crust. Variations in velocity and structure of the upper crustal layers reveal apparent basement velocity depressions (areas of lower velocities extending up to 10 km in depth) that underlie some surface ranges as well as the basins. The middle crust rises from about 20 km beneath central Nevada to within 12 km of the surface beneath the area of thinnest crust and is characterized by a modest (∼0.1 km/s) change in velocity and low‐velocity gradients. These midcrustal layers mark the onset of high crustal reflectivity and the apparent limiting depth to which Basin and Range faults can be traced in near‐vertical reflection profiles, suggesting that these midcrustal layers represent the transition between the brittle and ductile zones of the crust. The lower crust is more structurally complex, with layers thickening and thinning in a systematic manner with the upper crustal layers; generally, where there are velocity depressions in the upper crust, the lower crust is thickest and shallowest. The geometry of these lower crustal layers (derived from refraction modeling) coincides with changes in the crustal reflectivity, determined from the Consortium of Continental Reflection Profiling reflection data. The lower crustal layer is unusually high in velocity (7.4 km/s) and is likely the layer identified as mantle in some previous studies. We do not identify the 7.4 km/s layer as mantle because (1) there is an underlying layer with a velocity (8.0 km/s) that is more consistent with the worldwide average velocity for the upper mantle, and (2) the 7.4 km/s layer does not correspond to the “reflection” Moho. Gravity modeling and comparison to existing seismic models show a general consensus in many aspects with respect to crustal structure. This new model forms the basis for speculation on some of the processes associated with rifting of the Basin and Range Province. One such process, lithospheric magmatism, is inferred from the strong attenuation of transmitted seismic waves, which occurs at the same interface at which high‐amplitude, bright spot reflections originate. Unlike previous models, the overall structure and velocity of the crust and uppermost mantle of our new model are similar to other regions worldwide which have undergone high degrees of extension.

Nevada↗
USGS2012

On plate tectonics and the geologic evolution of southwestern North America

Very rapid subduction of the Farallon plate under southwestern North America between 60 and 40 Ma was accompanied by a relatively low volume of magmatism throughout the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Between 40 and 20 Ma, when subduction slowed significantly and in one area may have even stopped, magmatism became widespread and voluminous from Nevada and Utah to central Mexico. This correlation of rapid subduction with a relatively low volume of magmatism can be explained by the observation that subduction-related andesitic arc volcanism, often formed in a Laramide-style compressional regime, is relatively low volume compared to continental volcanism. The shallow roots of arc volcanic systems are clearly exposed in the porphyry copper deposits found in currently active arcs and common throughout southwestern North America between 60 and 50 Ma. By 43 Ma, worldwide plate motions changed, the Pacific plate began moving away from North America, and subduction of the Farallon plate slowed. By around 36 Ma, the easternmost part of the East Pacific Rise, which was located between the Pioneer and Murray fracture zones, approached the trench and the young, hot, buoyant lithosphere appears to have clogged part of the subduction zone. Uplift on land became widespread. Voluminous continental magmatism formed the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) of Mexico, one of the largest batholiths in the world, as well as volcanic centers now exposed in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado and the Rio Grande Rift of New Mexico. Vectors of motion of the Pacific plate relative to the North American plate determined by Stock and Molnar (1988) are consistent with formation of a transtensional environment along the plate boundary sufficient to create a 100- to 200-km-wide void just landward of the old volcanic arc. While the SMO batholith was forming within this void, the Monterey and Arguello microplates just offshore to the west were broken off from the Farallon plate and rotated so that the East Pacific Rise in this immediate area became nearly perpendicular to the trench and perpendicular to the vector of motion of the Pacific plate relative to North America. Formation of the SMO batholith was followed between 24 and 20 Ma by a major increase in the rate of subduction of the Guadalupe plate, a fragment of the former Farallon plate, and by increasing mylonitization, extension, and uplift in the metamorphic core complexes that extend northwestward through southern Arizona from the northern end of the SMO batholith. The plate margin underwent another major change between 12.5 and 10 Ma when subduction again stopped, strike slip faulting became dominant along the coast, the Basin and Range Province opened, and numerous tectonostratigraphic terranes in southern California underwent large rotations. By 3 Ma a large, new terrane had been severed from North America immediately west of the SMO batholith as the Gulf of California opened. These observations can be explained by a model for the weakening and ultimate falling apart of the uppermost part of the subducted oceanic plate in the 20–30 m.y. after the end of rapid subduction. As the plate falls apart, not only is compressional stress relieved, but significant backslip along the old subduction zone is also possible, perhaps bringing blueschists rapidly upward from 20- to 30-km depths.

Journal of Geophysical Research↗
USGS2010

Kinematic evidence for extensional unroofing of the Franciscan Complex along the Coast Range Fault, Northern Diablo Range, California

Franciscan metagraywacke immediately below the Del Puerto ophiolite, an outlier of the Coast Range ophiolite in the northern Diablo Range, was sheared during top‐to‐the‐east displacement on the Coast Range fault. This represents normal faulting and extensional offset. It was accompanied by attenuation of the Coast Range ophiolite and Great Valley sequence in the hanging wall along layer‐parallel normal faults that sole into the Coast Range fault. Extension occurred as the Franciscan Complex moved relatively west, out from under North American lithosphere and across the subducting ocean plate below. This effected a lengthening and thinning in the wedge of material above the down‐going plate, presumably in response to instability brought about by subduction shallowing (Krueger and Jones, 1989) and accretion of the Franciscan Central belt in the latest Cretaceous to early Paleocene. As a result, blueschist facies terranes of the uppermost part of the Franciscan Complex are now juxtaposed directly against hanging wall units that bear only low‐grade metamorphism.

Tectonics↗
USGS2010

Evidence for cenozoic crustal extension in the Bering Sea region

Geophysical and regional geologic data provide evidence that parts of the oceanic crust in the abyssal basins of the Bering Sea have been created or altered by crustal extension and back‐arc spreading. These processes have occurred during and since early Eocene time when the Aleutian Ridge developed and isolated oceanic crust within parts of the Bering Sea. The crust in the Aleutian Basin, previously noted as presumably Early Cretaceous in age (M1–M13 anomalies), is still uncertain. Some crust may be younger. Vitus arch, a buried 100‐ to 200‐km‐wide extensionally deformed zone with linear basement structures and geophysical anomalies, crosses the entire west central Aleutian Basin. We suggest that the arch and the inferred fracture zones in the Aleutian Basin are early Cenozoic structures related to the early entrapment history of the Bering Sea. These structures lie on trend with known early Cenozoic structures near the Bowers‐Shirshov‐Aleutian ridge junction and on the Beringian continental margin (with possible continuation into Alaska); the structures may have coeval and cogenetic(?) histories for early Cenozoic and possibly younger times. Cenozoic deformation within parts of the Bering Sea region is principally extensional, although the total amount of extension is not known. As examples, the Komandorsky basin formed by back‐arc seafloor spreading, the Aleutian Ridge has been extensively sheared, and extensional block faulting is common. Sedimentary basins of the Bering shelf have formed by extension associated with wrench faulting. The Cenozoic deformation throughout the Bering Sea region probably results from the interaction of major lithospheric plates and associated regional strike‐slip faults. We present models for the Bering Sea over the past 55 m.y. that show oceanic plate entrapment, back‐arc faulting and spreading along Vitus arch, breakup of the oceanic crust in the Aleutian Basin at fracture zones, and back‐arc spreading in Bowers Basin.

Tectonics↗
USGS2010

Earthquake refraction profiles of the root of the Sierra Nevada

We examine the seismic structure of the Sierra Nevada using records of nine earthquakes and one explosion in and near the Sierra, recorded on stations in the Sierra. We first interpret travel times from these paths, which are confined to a single tectonic block, in terms of one‐dimensional structures. The most nearly reversed pair of earthquakes, the 1966 Truckee and 1983 Durrwood Meadows earthquakes, share refracted ( P n ) arrival times (corrected to surface focus) along a line t =8.75±0.25+Δ/8.0, suggesting that a nearly flat layer of 8.0 km/s mantle material lies at depths of 46–48 km. First arrivals from these events do not constrain velocities from ≈30 to 45 km depth. Secondary arrivals and some first arrivals from other earthquakes suggest that velocities in part of this region range between 6.9 and 7.8 km/s. The presence of this “7.x‐km/s” layer can help to explain previous contradictory observations. The 7.x‐km/s layer could be interpreted as either the mafic bottom of a silicic, Mesozoic magmatic arc or as accreted mafic underplating or rejuvenated mantle related to Cenozoic arc volcanism or Basin and Range spreading. Arrivals at stations in the foothills and the crest of the Sierra cannot be fit with a single longitudinal structure, indicating a lateral variation of velocity structure. These variations support previously inferred variations of lithospheric structure, with higher‐velocity, thinner crust to the west beneath the Sierran foothills and slower‐velocity crust (or possibly upper mantle) beneath the high mountains in the eastern Sierra. Rapid changes in arrival times between stations separated by short distances in the eastern Sierra suggest that a sharp boundary exists between the Sierra and the Basin and Range at Moho depths. We also present fresh evidence of the asymmetry of the root of the Sierra, wherein arrivals from earthquakes on the west of the Sierra are delayed within the Sierra and return to original values in the Basin and Range, while arrivals from earthquakes and explosions from the Sierra into the Great Valley. We suggest that if the 7.x‐km/s material occurs in a wedge above the Moho, then the asymmetry can be explained by arrivals from the west being delayed by the dipping 8.0‐km/s Moho, while those from the east may be entering the root along a 7.x‐km/s layer that is near the depth of the Basin and Range Moho.

New Hampshire↗
USGS1996

Age and character of basaltic rocks of the Yucca Mountain region, southern Nevada

Volcanism in the Yucca Mountain region of southern Nevada in the last 5 m.y. is restricted to moderate-to-small volumes of subalkaline basaltic magmas, produced during at least 6 intervals, and spanning an age range from 4.6 Ma to about 125 ka. Where paleomagnetic evidence is available, the period of volcanism at individual eruptive centers apparently was geologically short-lived, even where multiple eruptions involved different magma types. K-Ar studies are consistent with most other geochronologic information, such as the minimum ages of exposure-dating techniques, and show no evidence of renewed volcanism after a significant quiescence at any of the centers in the Yucca Mountain region. A volcanic recurrence interval of 860 ± 350 kyr is computed from a large K-Ar data set and an evaluation of their uncertainties. Monte Carlo error propagations demonstrate the validity of uncertainties obtained for weighted-mean ages when modified using the goodness of fit parameter, MSWD. Elevated 87 Sr/ 86 Sr initial ratios (Sr i ) in the basalts, nearly constant at 0.707, combined with low SiO 2 and Rb/Sr ratios indicate a subcontinental, lithospheric mantle source, previously enriched in radiogenic Sr and depleted in Rb. Beginning with eruptions of the most voluminous eruptive center, the newly dated Pliocene Thirsty Mountain volcano, basaltic magmas have decreased in eruptive volume, plagioclase-phenocryst content, various trace element ratios, and TiO 2 , while increasing in light rare earth elements, U, Th, P 2 O 5 , and light REE/heavy REE ratios. These time-correlated changes are consistent with either increasing depths of melting or a decreasing thermal gradient in the Yucca Mountain region during the last 5 m.y.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Stress perturbation associated with the Amazonas and other ancient continental rifts

The state of stress in the vicinity of old continental rifts is examined to investigate the possibility that crustal structure associated with ancient rifts (specifically a dense rift pillow in the lower crust) may modify substantially the regional stress field. Both shallow (2.0–2.6 km depth) breakout data and deep (20–45 km depth) crustal earthquake focal mechanisms indicate a N to NNE maximum horizontal compression in the vicinity of the Paleozoic Amazonas rift in central Brazil. This compressive stress direction is nearly perpendicular to the rift structure and represents a ∼75° rotation relative to a regional E‐W compressive stress direction in the South American plate. Elastic two‐dimensional finite element models of the density structure associated with the Amazonas rift (as inferred from independent gravity modeling) indicate that elastic support of this dense feature would generate horizontal rift‐normal compressional stresses between 60 and 120 MPa, with values of 80–100 MPa probably most representative of the overall structure. The observed ∼75° stress rotation constrains the ratio of the regional horizontal stress difference to the rift‐normal compressive stress to be between 0.25 and 1.0, suggesting that this rift‐normal stress may be from 1 to 4 times larger than the regional horizontal stress difference. A general expression for the modification of the normalized local horizontal shear stress (relative to the regional horizontal shear stress) shows that the same ratio of the rift‐normal compression relative to the regional horizontal stress difference, which controls the amount of stress rotation, also determines whether the superposed stress increases or decreases the local maximum horizontal shear stress. The potential for fault reactivation of ancient continental rifts in general is analyzed considering both the local stress rotation and modification of horizontal shear stress for both thrust and strike‐slip stress regimes. In the Amazonas rift case, because the observed stress rotation only weakly constrains the ratio of the regional horizontal stress difference to the rift‐normal compression to be between 0.25 and 1.0, our analysis is inconclusive because the resultant normalized horizontal shear stress may be reduced (for ratios >0.5) or enhanced (for ratios <0.5). Additional information is needed on all three stress magnitudes to predict how a change in horizontal shear stress directly influences the likelihood of faulting in the thrust‐faulting stress regime in the vicinity of the Amazonas rift. A rift‐normal stress associated with the seismically active New Madrid ancient rift may be sufficient to rotate the horizontal stress field consistent with strike‐slip faults parallel to the axis of the rift, although this results in a 20–40% reduction in the local horizontal shear stress within the seismic zone. Sparse stress data in the vicinity of the seismically quiescent Midcontinent rift of the central United States suggest a stress state similar to that of New Madrid, with the local horizontal shear stress potentially reduced by as much as 60%. Thus the markedly different levels of seismic activity associated with these two subparallel ancient rifts is probably due to other factors than stress perturbations due to dense rift pillows. The modeling and analysis here demonstrate that rift‐normal compressive stresses are a significant source of stress acting on the lithosphere and that in some cases may be a contributing factor to the association of intraplate seismicity with old zones of continental extension.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Cyclic stressing and seismicity at strongly coupled subduction zones

We use the finite element method to analyze stress variations in and near a strongly coupled subduction zone during an earthquake cycle. Deformation is assumed to be uniform along strike (plane strain on a cross section normal to the trench axis), and periodic earthquake slip is imposed consistent with the long-term rate of plate convergence and degree of coupling. Simulations of stress and displacement rate fields represent periodic fluctuations in time superimposed on an average field. The oceanic plate, descending slab, and continental lithosphere are assumed here to respond elastically to these fluctuations, and the remaining mantle under and between plates is assumed to respond as Maxwell viscoelastic. In the first part of the analysis we find that computed stress fluctuations in space and time are generally consistent with observed earthquake mechanism variations with time since a great thrust event. In particular, trench-normal extensional earthquakes tend to occur early in the earthquake cycle toward the outer rise but occur more abundantly late in the cycle in the subducting slab downdip of the main thrust zone. Compressional earthquakes, when they occur at all, have the opposite pattern. Our results suggest also that the actual timing of extensional outer rise events is controlled by the rheology of the shallow aseismic portion of the thrust interface. The second part of the analysis shows the effects of mantle relaxation on the rate of ground surface deformation during the earthquake cycle. Models without relaxation predict a strong overall compressional strain rate in the continental plate above the main thrust zone, with the strain rate constant between mainshocks. However with significant relaxation present, a localized region of unusually low compressional, or even slightly extensional, strain rate develops along the surface of the continental plate above and somewhat inland from the downdip edge of the locked main thrust zone. The low strain rate starts in the middle or late part of the cycle, depending on position. This result suggests that the negligible or small contraction measured on the Shumagin Islands, Alaska, during 1980 to 1991, may not invalidate an interpretation of that region as being a moderately coupled subduction zone. In contrast, mantle relaxation causes only modest temporal nonuniformity of uplift rates in the overriding plate and of extensional stress rates in the subducting plate, even when the Maxwell time is an order of magnitude less than the recurrence interval.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Crustal structure of the Colorado Plateau, Arizona: Application of new long-offset seismic data analysis techniques

The Colorado Plateau is a large crustal block in the southwestern United States that has been raised intact nearly 2 km above sea level since Cretaceous marine sediments were deposited on its surface. Controversy exists concerning the thickness of the plateau crust and the source of its buoyancy. Interpretations of seismic data collected on the plateau vary as to whether the crust is closer to 40 or 50 km thick. A thick crust could support the observed topography of the Colorado Plateau isostatically, while a thinner crust would indicate the presence of an underlying low-density mantle. This paper reports results on long-offset seismic data collected during the 1989 segment of the U.S. Geological Survey Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment that extended from the Transition Zone into the Colorado Plateau in northwest Arizona. We apply two new methods to analyze long-offset data that employ finite difference travel time calculations: (1) a first-arrival time inverter to find upper crustal velocity structure and (2) a forward-modeling technique that allows the direct use of the inverted upper crustal solution in modeling secondary reflected arrivals. We find that the crustal thickness increases from 30 km beneath the metamorphic core complexes in the southern Basin and Range province to about 42 km beneath the northern Transition Zone and southern Colorado Plateau margin. We observe some crustal thinning (to ∼37 km thick) and slightly higher lower crustal velocities farther inboard; beneath the Kaibab uplift on the north rim of the Grand Canyon the crust thickens to a maximum of 48 km. We observe a nonuniform crustal thickness beneath the Colorado Plateau that varies by ∼15% and corresponds approximately to variations in topography with the thickest crust underlying the highest elevations. Crustal compositions (as inferred from seismic velocities) appear to be the same beneath the Colorado Plateau as those in the Basin and Range province to the southwest, implying that the plateau crust represents an unextended version of the Basin and Range. Some of the variability in crustal structure appears to correspond to preserved lithospheric discontinuities that date back to the Proterozoic Era.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Large-scale right-slip displacement on the East San Francisco Bay region fault system, California: Implications for location of late Miocene to Pliocene Pacific plate boundary

A belt of northwardly younging Neogene and Quaternary volcanic rocks and hydrothermal vein systems, together with a distinctive Cretaceous terrane of the Franciscan Complex (the Permanente terrane), exhibits about 160 to 170 km of cumulative dextral offset across faults of the East San Francisco Bay Region (ESFBR) fault system. The offset hydrothermal veins and volcanic rocks range in age from .01 Ma at the northwest end to about 17.6 Ma at the southeast end. In the fault block between the San Andreas and ESFBR fault systems, where volcanic rocks are scarce, hydrothermal vein system ages clearly indicate that the northward younging thermal overprint affected these rocks beginning about 18 Ma. The age progression of these volcanic rocks and hydrothermal vein systems is consistent with previously proposed models that relate northward propagation of the San Andreas transform to the opening of an asthenospheric window beneath the North American plate margin in the wake of subducting lithosphere. The similarity in the amount of offset of the Permanente terrane across the ESFBR fault system to that derived by restoring continuity in the northward younging age progression of volcanic rocks and hydrothermal veins suggests a model in which 80–110 km of offset are taken up 8 to 6 Ma on a fault aligned with the Bloomfield-Tolay-Franklin-Concord-Sunol-Calaveras faults. An additional 50–70 km of cumulative slip are taken up ≤ 6 Ma by the Rogers Creek-Hayward and Concord-Franklin-Sunol-Calaveras faults. An alternative model in which the Permanente terrane is offset about 80 km by pre-Miocene faults does not adequately restore the distribution of 8–12 Ma volcanic rocks and hydrothermal veins to a single northwardly younging age trend. If 80–110 km of slip was taken up by the ESFBR fault system between 8 and 6 Ma, dextral slip rates were 40–55 mm/yr. Such high rates might occur if the ESFBR fault system rather than the San Andreas fault acted as the transform margin at this time. Major transpression across the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates at about 3 to 5 Ma would have resulted in the transfer of significant slip back to the San Francisco Peninsula segment of the San Andreas fault. Since that time, the ESFBR fault system has continued to slip at rates of 11–14 mm/yr. If this interpretation is valid, the ESFBR fault system was the Pacific-North American plate boundary between 8 and 6 Ma, and this boundary has migrated both eastward and westward with time, in response to changing plate margin geometry and plate motions.

California↗
USGS1996

Patterns of late Cenozoic volcanic and tectonic activity in the West Antarctic rift system revealed by aeromagnetic surveys

Aeromagnetic surveys, spaced ≤5 km, over widely separated areas of the largely ice- and sea-covered West Antarctic rift system, reveal similar patterns of 100- to 1700-nT, shallow-source magnetic anomalies interpreted as evidence of extensive late Cenozoic volcanism. We use the aeromagnetic data to extend the volcanic rift interpretation over West Antarctica starting with anomalies over (1) exposures of highly magnetic, late Cenozoic volcanic rocks several kilometers thick in the McMurdo-Ross Island area and elsewhere; continuing through (2) volcanoes and subvolcanic intrusions directly beneath the Ross Sea continental shelf defined by marine magnetic and seismic reflection data and aeromagnetic data and (3) volcanic structures interpreted beneath the Ross Ice Shelf partly controlled by seismic reflection determinations of seafloor depth to (4) an area of similar magnetic pattern over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (400 km from the nearest exposed volcanic rock), where interpretations of late Cenozoic volcanic rocks at the base of the ice are controlled in part by radar ice sounding. North trending magnetic rift fabric in the Ross Sea-Ross Ice Shelf and Corridor Aerogeophysics of the Southeast Ross Transect Zone (CASERTZ) areas, revealed by the aeromagnetic surveys, is probably a reactivation of older rift trends (late Mesozoic?) and is superimposed on still older crosscutting structural trends revealed by magnetic terrace maps calculated from horizontal gradient of pseudogravity. Long-wavelength (∼ 100-km wide) magnetic terraces from sources within the subvolcanic basement cross the detailed survey areas. One of these extends across the Ross Sea survey from the front of the Transantarctic Mountains with an east-southeast trend crossing the north trending rift fabric. The Ross Sea-Ross Ice Shelf survey area is characterized by highly magnetic northern and southern zones which are separated by magnetically defined faults from a more moderately magnetic central zone. Aeromagnetic data in the south delineate the Ross fault of unknown age. The extension of the southern Central Basin south of the Ross fault is associated with an 825-nT magnetic anomaly over the Ross Ice Shelf requiring inferred late Cenozoic volcanic rock essentially at the seafloor at its south end, as shown by magnetic models. Models show that the thickness of magnetic volcanic rocks beneath Hut Point Peninsula at McMurdo Station is probably <2 km. The detailed surveys, combined with data from > 100,000 km of widely spaced aeromagnetic profiles, led to the interpretation of the mostly subglacial West Antarctic flood basalts(?) or their subglacially erupted and intruded equivalent. The volume of the exposed volcanos is small in contrast to the much greater volume (> 10 6 km³) of late Cenozoic magmatic rock remaining at volcanic centers beneath the continental shelf, Ross Ice Shelf and West Antarctic Ice Sheet. We suggest as an alternative or supplemental explanation to the previously proposed mantle plume hypothesis for the late Cenozoic volcanism significantly greater lower lithosphere (mantle) stretching resulting in greater decompression melting than the limited Cenozoic crustal extension allows. However, this implies a space problem that is not obviously resolved, because the Antarctic Plate is essentially surrounded by spreading centers.

Tectonics↗
USGS1996

Isotopic evolution of Mauna Kea volcano: Results from the initial phase of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project

We have examined the Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of Mauna Kea lavas recovered by the first drilling phase of the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project. These lavas, which range in age from ∼200 to 400 ka, provide a detailed record of chemical and isotopic changes in basalt composition during the shield/postshield transition and extend our record of Mauna Kea volcanism to a late-shield period roughly equivalent to the last ∼100 ka of Mauna Loa activity. Stratigraphic variations in isotopic composition reveal a gradual shift over time toward a more depleted source composition (e.g., higher 143 Nd/ 144 Nd, lower 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, and lower 3 He/ 4 He). This gradual evolution is in sharp contrast with the abrupt appearance of alkalic lavas at ∼240 ka recorded by the upper 50 m of Mauna Kea lavas from the core. Intercalated tholeiitic and alkalic lavas from the uppermost Mauna Kea section are isotopically indistinguishable. Combined with major element evidence (e.g., decreasing SiO 2 and increasing FeO) that the depth of melt segregation increased during the transition from tholeiitic to alkalic volcanism, the isotopic similarity of tholeiitic and alkalic lavas argues against significant lithosphere involvement during melt generation. Instead, the depleted isotopic signatures found in late shield-stage lavas are best explained by increasing the proportion of melt generated from a depleted upper mantle component entrained and heated by the rising central plume. Direct comparison of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa lavas erupted at equivalent stages in these volcanoes' life cycles reveals persistent chemical and isotopic differences independent of the temporal evolution of each volcano. The oldest lavas recovered from the drillcore are similar to modern Kilauea lavas, but are distinct from Mauna Loa lavas. Mauna Kea lavas have higher 143 Nd/ 144 Nd and 206 Pb/ 204 Pb and lower 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Higher concentrations of incompatible trace elements in primary magmas, lower SiO 2 , and higher FeO also indicate that Mauna Kea lavas formed through smaller degrees of partial melting at greater depth than Mauna Loa lavas. These chemical and isotopic differences are consistently found between volcanoes along the western “Loa” and eastern “Kea” trends and reflect large-scale variations in source composition and melting environment. We propose a simple model of a radially zoned plume centered beneath the Loa trend. Loa trend lavas generated from the hot plume axis reflect high degrees of partial melting from a source containing a mixture of enriched plume-source material and entrained lower mantle. Kea trend lavas, in contrast, are generated from the cooler, peripheral portions of the plume, record lower degrees of partial melting, and tap a source containing a greater proportion of depleted upper mantle.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1996

Shear wave velocity structure in North America from large-scale waveform inversions of surface waves

A two-step nonlinear and linear inversion is carried out to map the lateral heterogeneity beneath North America using surface wave data. The lateral resolution for most areas of the model is of the order of several hundred kilometers. The most obvious feature in the tomographic images is the rapid transition between low velocities in the tectonically active region west of the Rocky Mountains and high velocities in the stable central and eastern shield of North America. The model also reveals smaller-scale heterogeneous velocity structures. A high-velocity anomaly is imaged beneath the state of Washington that could be explained as the subducting Juan de Fuca plate beneath the Cascades. A large low-velocity structure extends along the coast from the Mendocino to the Rivera triple junction and to the continental interior across the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its shape changes notably with depth. This anomaly largely coincides with the part of the margin where no lithosphere is consumed since the subduction has been replaced by a transform fault. Evidence for a discontinuous subduction of the Cocos plate along the Middle American Trench is found. In central Mexico a transition is visible from low velocities across the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB) to high velocities beneath the Yucatan Peninsula. Two elongated low-velocity anomalies beneath the Yellowstone Plateau and the eastern Snake River Plain volcanic system and beneath central Mexico and the TMVB seem to be associated with magmatism and partial melting. Another low-velocity feature is seen at depths of approximately 200 km beneath Florida and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The inversion technique used is based on a linear surface wave scattering theory, which gives tomographic images of the relative phase velocity perturbations in four period bands ranging from 40 to 150 s. In order to find a smooth reference model a nonlinear inversion based on ray theory is first performed. After correcting for the crustal thickness the phase velocity perturbations obtained from the subsequent linear waveform inversion for the different period bands are converted to a three-layer model of S velocity perturbations (layer 1, 25–100 km; layer 2, 100–200 km; layer 3, 200–300 km). We have applied this method on 275 high-quality Rayleigh waves recorded by a variety of instruments in North America (IRIS/USGS, IRIS/IDA, TERRAscope, RSTN). Sensitivity tests indicate that the lateral resolution is especially good in the densely sampled western continental United States, Mexico, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS1997

Depth dependence of earthquake frequency-magnitude distributions in California: Implications for rupture initiation

Statistics of earthquakes in California show linear frequency-magnitude relationships in the range of M 2.0 to M 5.5 for various data sets. Assuming Gutenberg-Richter distributions, there is a systematic decrease in b value with increasing depth of earthquakes. We find consistent results for various data sets from northern and southern California that both include and exclude the larger aftershock sequences. We suggest that at shallow depth (∼0 to 6 km) conditions with more heterogeneous material properties and lower lithospheric stress prevail. Rupture initiations are more likely to stop before growing into large earthquakes, producing relatively more smaller earthquakes and consequently higher b values. These ideas help to explain the depth-dependent observations of foreshocks in the western United States. The higher occurrence rate of foreshocks preceding shallow earthquakes can be interpreted in terms of rupture initiations that are stopped before growing into the mainshock. At greater depth (9–15 km), any rupture initiation is more likely to continue growing into a larger event, so there are fewer foreshocks. If one assumes that frequency-magnitude statistics can be used to estimate probabilities of a small rupture initiation growing into a larger earthquake, then a small ( M 2) rupture initiation at 9 to 12 km depth is 18 times more likely to grow into a M 5.5 or larger event, compared to the same small rupture initiation at 0 to 3 km.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗