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At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Paleomagnetic results from the Lassiter Coast, Antarctica, and a test for oroclinal bending of the Antarctic Peninsula

Paleomagnetic results from 17 magnetically stable units of Upper Cretaceous (‘Andean’) plutons and dikes of the Lassiter Coast, on the southern Antarctic Peninsula, define a mean paleomagnetic pole at 87°S, 131°W (α 95 = 11.5°). This indicates that little latitudinal movement of the southern Antarctic Peninsula has occurred during the past 100 m.y. All magnetically stable intrusives are normally polarized and are believed to have been emplaced during the Late Cretaceous epoch of predominantly normal polarity. There is no evidence of postemplacement remagnetization. The uncertainty in declination at the 95% confidence level is computed for both the Lassiter Coast data and those data available from other Andean sites in the Antarctic Peninsula. Within the limits of uncertainty, data from four localities north of 68°S support the contention of Dalziel et al. (1973) that there has not been any apparent post‐Late‐Cretaceous oroclinal bending in the northern half of the peninsula. For sites to the south in the Lassiter Coast, the uncertainty in declination, due to steep inclinations, is too large to support reliably or deny any large‐scale structural bending.

Antarctic Peninsula, Lassiter Coast↗
USGS2012

Geodimeter measurements of strain during the Southern California Uplift

A review of geodimeter measurements made along the ‘big‐bend’ section of the San Andreas fault in southern California indicates no significant increment in strain during the period of major uplift (late 1959 to mid‐1963). Specifically, no evidence of an increment in compressional strain normal to the San Andreas fault at the time of the uplift was found. Geodolite measurements at four networks along the big bend independently indicate that the strain rate during the 1974–1977 episode of subsidence was essentially a uniaxial north‐south compression at the rate of about ⅓ μstrain/yr. Whether the 1974–1977 rate is significantly different from earlier rates determined by triangulation is not clear owing to a rather large variability in the earlier determinations.

California↗
USGS2012

Revised geomagnetic polarity time scale for the interval 0–5 m.y. B.P.

A change in the constants used in K‐Ar dating and a significant increase in new data have made a recompilation and recomputation of data used to define the Late Cenozoic K‐Ar polarity time scale highly desirable at this time. All available data in the range 0–5 m.y. have been recalculated using the refined constants, with 354 data points in this time interval now meeting the minimum criteria for acceptability. Recalculation of the major polarity epoch boundaries has yielded ages of 0.73 m.y. for the Brunhes‐Matuyama, 2.48 m.y. for the Matuyama‐Gauss, and 3.40 m.y. for the Gauss‐Gilbert boundaries. A revised polarity time scale has been constructed based on available K‐Ar data and information obtained from marine magnetic anomalies and deep‐sea sedimentary cores.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Deformation across the Salton Trough, California, 1973-1977

A trilateration network extending across the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore faults in the vicinity of the Salton Sea, California, has been surveyed to very high precision several times in the 5‐year interval 1973–1977. The average strain across the entire network is essentially a uniaxial north‐south contraction at the rate of about 0.3 μstrain/a. There is no substantial strain perpendicular to the Salton trough, indicating no tendency to either open or close that rift. The observed uniaxial north‐south contraction differs from a pure shear parallel to the major faults by a uniform dilatation of about −0.25 μstrain/a that is only partly explained. The shear strain across the network reaches a maximum near the San Jacinto fault and could be explained by right lateral slip at depth on that fault. The displacement pattern also suggests right lateral slip at depth on the San Jacinto fault with total right lateral relative movement near 50 mm/a across the 120‐km breadth of the network. The deformation appears to be uniform in time in the 1973–1977 interval. A dislocation model of the deformation suggests about 50±15 mm/a of relative right lateral slip at depth distributed between the San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore faults and demonstrates that a significant average dilatation can be generated by pure strike slip on several subparallel faults.

California↗
USGS2012

Comparison of the TRM of the Yellowstone Group and the DRM of some Pearlette ash beds

Air fall ash beds (Pearlette) originating from rhyolitic eruptions in the Yellowstone‐Island Park region of Wyoming and Idaho are discontinuous but widespread throughout the western United States. Accumulation and deposition of ashes occurred in low‐energy fluvial and lacustrine environments. These ash beds have been correlated, according to their chemistry and remanent magnetism, with specific eruptions of tuffs of the Pleistocene Yellowstone Group. Type O Pearlette ash beds are normally magnetized and correlate with the Lava Creek Tuff (0.60 m.y.), whereas type S Pearlette ash beds are reversely magnetized and correlate with the Mesa Falls Tuff (1.22 m.y.). The mean direction of detrital remanent magnetization (DRM) of 11 type O Pearlette ash beds is identical to the mean direction of thermal remanent magnetization (TRM) of the Lava Creek Tuff after correcting for differences in site latitude and longitude. Considered separately, only 2 of the 13 Pearlette ash beds studied possess mean inclinations significantly shallower than, and only 4 have mean declinations significantly different from, those of their correlative tuffs. Identical directions of magnetization measured from evenly laminated and highly contorted type O ash suggest that a readjustment of magnetic grains in water‐saturated ash shortly after deposition may account for the close agreement of TRM and DRM.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
USGS2012

Strain accumulation rates in the western United States between 1970 and 1978

The rate of dilatation and the rate and direction of shear have been determined from trilateration data for 23 Geodolite networks in the western United States. Sixteen nets are located along the San Andreas fault system between Point Reyes, California, and the United States‐Mexico border. Other locations are across the Garlock fault in California; across Puget Sound near Seattle, Washington; near Hanford in eastern Washington; near Hebgen Lake in Montana; across the Wasatch fault at Ogden, Utah; across the Rio Grande rift at Socorro, New Mexico; and Dixie Valley in Nevada; and at the northern end of Owens Valley on the California‐Nevada border. Implicit in the treatment are the assumptions that the strain was accumulating at a constant rate over the time period (within the interval 1970–1978) and over the local area (usually about 50‐km diameter) covered by the surveys. Of the nets located away from the San Andreas fault, only Ogden and Hebgen show significant strain accumulation. At Ogden the deformation is principally an east‐west compression of 0.23±0.05 μstrain/yr and at Hebgen Lake a northeast‐southwest extension of 0.17±0.03 μstrain/yr. Along the San Andreas fault system the rate of shear is 0.2 to 0.4μ/yr. The direction of shear agrees very well with the surface strike of nearby faults. This agreement is maintained even in regions like the ‘big bend,’ where both the fault strike and the observed shear direction are more westerly than they are elsewhere. Shear strain in northern California appears to be concentrated more closely on the faults, whereas in southern California the strain is a broader, smoother feature. In the San Francisco Bay area the strain data indicate slip at depth on both the San Andreas and the Calaveras faults. In addition to the observed shear the nets in California indicate a negative dilatation (areal decrease) of about 0.2 μstrain/yr. This dilatation is unexplained, but the following sources appear unlikely: (1) systematic survey error, (2) an association with the southern California uplift, (3) an association with the big bend in the San Andreas fault in Southern California, or (4) the result of the superposition of a uniaxial strain on the Pacific‐North American plate boundary shear.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Regional deformation of the Sierra Nevada, California, on conjugate microfault sets

Strike slip microfaults are pervasive throughout the granitic rocks of the eastern Sierra Nevada. Offsets typically range from less than a millimeter to several tens of centimeters but exceed 100 m in some places. The spacing between microfaults varies from a few tens of centimeters to a few tens of meters throughout much of the high Sierra Nevada. Many of these microfaults are loci of slickensided, compact fault gouge, and they are commonly mineralized by quartz veinlets with minor amounts of epidote, chlorite, and rare sulphide minerals. The microfaults are oriented in two nearly vertical conjugate sets; a north to northeast striking set showing right lateral offset and an east to northeast striking set showing left lateral offset. Microfaults with left lateral offset are more common than microfaults with right lateral offset. Most lineaments visible on aerial photographs are microfaults. The age of this microfaulting is not precisely known. It developed after consolidation of the youngest granitic plutons in the Sierra (79 m.y. B.P.) and is known to cut a late Miocene volcanic dike in one area. Slickensides along the microfaults are subhorizontal but show a slight (about 3°) westward plunging average inclination, suggesting that much of the deformation occurred prior to the westward tilting of the Sierran block in late Tertiary time. The direction of maximum horizontal extensional strain (determined as the bisector of average microfault trends) changes systematically from north to south (WNW at 38.5°N; NW at 36.5°N). A pure shear constant volume solution based on a detailed study of microfaults at 37°20′N indicates a maximum extension of 2.3% in a N61°W direction. These extension directions are remarkably parallel to late Mesozoic to present‐day tectonic extension directions in the Basin and Range province. The pattern of microfaulting demonstrates that the supposedly monolithic Sierran terrane was also affected by the late Cenozoic and possibly earlier regional extension of western North America and provides an independent criterion for determining extensional strain directions.

California↗
USGS2012

Geodolite measurements of deformation near Hollister, California, 1971-1978

A 24‐station trilateration network spanning the San Andreas and Calaveras faults near Hollister, California, has been surveyed each year between 1971 and 1978, inclusive. Two moderate ( M L = 5) earthquakes have occurred within the network during the interval. No convincing preseismic or coseismic anomalies associated with those earthquakes have been identified. The deformation of the network can be described roughly by rigid body motion of the three blocks bounded by the two faults with accommodation occurring by right‐lateral strike slip on the San Andreas (13±2 mm/a) and Calaveras (17±2 mm/a) faults. The required slip rates are within the range of the observed fault creep on those faults. A more detailed analysis of the deformation indicates appreciable strain accumulation (0.4 μstrain/a tensor shear) within the block lying between the San Andreas and Calaveras faults. Many of the features of the observed deformation can be produced by an elementary dislocation model, indicating that most of the deformation is associated directly with slip on the major faults. The network is not extensive enough to define uniquely the relative motion across the San Andreas fault system, but the data are consistent with a value of about 38 mm/a. The rate of deformation in 1971–1978 was not uniform but rather appears to have been higher than normal in 1973–1974 and lower than normal in 1975–1976.

California↗
USGS2012

Early acquisition of characteristic magnetization in red beds of the Moenkopi Formation (Triassic), Gray Mountain, Arizona

Four discrete magnetizations associated with events occurring during deposition, early diagenesis, recent weathering, and cloud to ground lightning have been identified in rocks of the Moenkopi Formation at Gray Mountain, Arizona. A paleomagnetic study of more than 800 samples tied closely to the physical stratigraphy of the Moenkopi indicates that most of the magnetization remaining after partial alternating field and thermal demagnetization was acquired during and shortly after deposition. Directions of this remaining (characteristic) magnetization, in both normally and reversely magnetized rock, are closely similar to directions reported for the Moenkopi elsewhere on the Colorado Plateau. Sampling across the Moenkopi Formation at Gray Mountain has revealed two reversed magnetozones separating three normal magnetozones. Generally sharp boundaries of the magnetozones, their close concordance with physical stratigraphic units, and the rarity of anomalous directions of magnetization within the magnetozones indicate that most of the secondary components of the characteristic magnetization were acquired within 10 4 –10 5 years after deposition. A conglomerate test based on siltstone clasts in sandstone shows highly scattered but not completely random directions of magnetization following partial thermal demagnetization. A secondary Triassic normal magnetization appears to be superimposed on some of the clasts, as suggested by the approximate coincidence of the resultant magnetic vector from the clasts with a Triassic normal direction. A fold test based on samples from highly deformed silty clay stone and sandstone in an intraformational landslide shows that these rocks acquired most of their stable magnetization before folding. A component of Triassic normal magnetization acquired after deformation also occurs in some of these rocks.

Arizona↗
USGS2012

Late Cenozoic volcanism, geochronology, and structure of the Coso Range, Inyo County, California

The Coso Range lies at the west edge of the Great Basin, adjacent to the southern part of the Sierra Nevada. A basement complex of pre‐Cenozoic plutonic and metamorphic rocks is partly buried by ∼35 km 3 of late Cenozoic volcanic rocks that were erupted during two periods, as defined by K‐Ar dating: (1) 4.0–2.5 m.y., ∼31 km 3 of basalt, rhyodacite, dacite, andesite, and rhyolite, in descending order of abundance, and (2) ≤1.1 m.y., nearly equal amounts of basalt and rhyolite, most of the rhyolite being ≤0.3 m.y. old. Vents for the volcanic rocks of the younger period are localized on and near a horst of basement rocks within a concavity defined by the distribution of vents of the older period. The alignment of many vents and the presence of a considerable number of roughly north‐trending normal faults of late Cenozoic age reflect basin and range tectonics dominated by roughly east‐west lithospheric extension. Fumaroles, intermittently active thermal springs, and associated altered rocks occur within and immediately east of the central part of the field of Quaternary rhyolite, in an area characterized by various geophysical anomalies that are evidently related to an active hot‐water geothermal system. This system apparently is heated by a reservoir of silicic magma at ≥8‐km depth, itself produced and sustained through partial melting of crustal rocks by thermal energy contained in mantle‐derived basaltic magma that intrudes the crust in response to lithospheric extension.

California↗
USGS2012

Aeromagnetic and gravity surveys in the Coso Range, California

The effect of an underlying magma reservoir cannot be identified within the complex gravity pattern in the Coso Range, California. Rather, linear gravity contours, which suggest a regional tectonic origin, enclose the location of most of the volcanic activity of the Coso Range. Faults along the edges of northwest trending, magnetic blocks probably provided paths of minimum resistance to the ascending viscous magma that was extruded as rhyolite domes. Dense, magnetic rocks associated with a complex mafic pluton 9 km in diameter form a relatively impermeable north border of the Pleistocene volcanic field. A heat flow high nearly coincides with the west half of a 6‐km‐diameter magnetic low. A 2‐km‐diameter outcrop of a pre‐Cenozoic silicic pluton, which has low magnetization compared to the surrounding metamorphic rocks, presumably typifies the rocks that underlie the magnetic low and heat flow high. Hydrothermal fluids may have destroyed some magnetite in the more magnetic wall rock, further reducing the magnetic intensity.

California↗
USGS2012

Tectonic relations of carbon dioxide discharges and earthquakes

CO 2 ‐rich springs occur worldwide along major zones of seismicity. They are mostly in young orogenic belts, but some are in areas of rifting continental platforms. Analyses of 13 C content indicate that much of the CO 2 is derived from the mantle and that other important sources are the metamorphism of marine carbonate‐bearing sedimentary rocks and the degradation of organic material. The presence of calc‐silicate minerals, such as pumpellyite in metagraywacke, is evidence of former conversion of carbonate‐bearing rocks into calc‐silicate minerals and release of CO 2 . The CO 2 pressure in fractured rocks of a fault zone reduces the effective normal stress and, if it is sufficiently great, allows the fault to slip. If the pressure were maintained at a sufficiently high level, the fault behavior might be characterized by frequent small earthquakes and aseismic creep such as occur along active segments of the San Andreas system. The presence of CO 2 ‐rich springs may indicate a potentially hazardous seismic region. Monitoring of CO 2 discharges could be useful in earthquake prediction.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Magnetic effects of maghemitization of oceanic crust

Both theoretical considerations and available experimental results indicate that magnetic effects of maghemitization are strongly dependent on the grain size of the originally unoxidized titanomagnetite. Maghemitization of single‐domain titanomagnetite results in a decrease in coercivity, an increase in susceptibility, and a large decrease in Q ratio. Maghemitization of multidomain titanomagnetite results in an increase in coercivity, a decrease in susceptibility, and no large changes in Q ratio. Single‐domain titanomagnetite is probably resistant to the development of a chemical remanent magnetization (CRM), whereas multidomain titanomagnetite can acquire a CRM during maghemitization. The behavior of pseudo‐single‐domain titanomagnetite, which is the main carrier of remanence in submarine extrusive rocks, is investigated by comparing the magnetic properties of the French‐American Mid‐Ocean Undersea Study (FAMOUS) (less than 0.1 m.y. old) and the Leg 37 (3.5 m.y. old) pillow basalts recovered from the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge near 37°N. Combining electron microprobe analyses, Curie temperature measurements, and cell edge determinations, we find that the FAMOUS rocks are already oxidized ( z = 0.38), possibly as a result of some high‐temperature maghemitization during cooling of the magma. Comparison with the more highly oxidized ( z = 0.7) Leg 37 pillow basalts indicates that low‐temperature maghemitization of such rocks does not result in appreciable changes of coercivity and susceptibility, although the Q ratio does decrease and CRM seems to be acquired. Such a CRM could account for the anomalously low magnetic inclinations observed at most of the Leg 37 sites.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Deep volcanic tremor and magma ascent mechanism under Kilauea, Hawaii

Deep harmonic tremor originating at depths around 40 km under Kilauea was studied using records accumulated since 1962 at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory of the U.S. Geological Survey. The deep source of the tremor was determined by onset times and confirmed by the relative amplitude across the island-wide network of seismometers. The period of tremor was conclusively shown to be determined by the source effect and not by the path or station site effect because the period would change considerably in time but maintained uniformity across the seismic net during the tremor episode. The tremor appeared to be primarily composed of P waves. We interpret the observed period and amplitude in terms of the stationary crack model of Aki et al. (1977) and find that the seismic moment rates for deep tremors are considerably larger than those for shallow-tremors suggesting more vigorous transport for the former. We propose a kinematic source model which may be more appropriate for deep tremor. According to this model, a measurable quantity called ‘reduced displacement’ is directly proportional to the rate of magma flow. A systematic search for deep tremor episodes was made for the period from 1962 through 1979, and the amplitude, period, and duration of the tremor were tabulated. We then constructed a cumulative reduced-displacement plot over the 18-year period. The result shows a generally steady process which does not seem to be significantly affected by major eruptions and large earthquakes near the surface. The total magma flow estimated from the reduced displacement is however, one order of magnitude smaller than that estimated by Swanson (1972). It may be that most channels transport magma aseismically, and only those with strong barriers generate tremor.

Hawaii↗
USGS2012

Geodetic measurement of crustal deformation on the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras faults near San Francisco, California

Analysis of a geodetic network of 115 lines crossing the San Andreas, Hayward, and Calaveras faults in the vicinity of San Francisco Bay and measured repeatedly between 1970 and 1980 has revealed details about the accommodation of relative plate motion in this area. The most striking result is that the deformation is not uniformly distributed across the area. In the east bay, along the Hayward and Calaveras faults, all motion appears to take place as slip directly on the fault, with no accumulation of strain in the adjacent crust. On both the Calaveras and the Hayward faults the rate obtained for the 1970 to 1980 period agrees with geologic rates spanning a few million years and with creep rates spanning a few decades. The Hayward fault slip rate is 7 ± 1 mm/yr. The Calaveras fault slip rate is 7 ± 1 mm/yr, with perhaps half of this slip distributed across a zone a few kilometers wide, probably as inelastic deformation of weak near‐surface material. The absence of strain accumulation in the east bay is surprising since the Hayward and Calaveras faults have been the site of large earthquakes in the past. A block located east of the Calaveras fault and south of the Las Positas fault has been rotating clockwise at a rate of 0.3 ± 0.1 μrad/yr with very little internal deformation. Along the San Francisco peninsula no detectable slip occurs (less than 1.5 mm/yr) at the surface, but appreciable strain is accumulating. Near fault shear strain rates are 0.6 ± 0.1 μstrain/yr (engineering) with direction N47°W ± 9. The slip rate near the San Andreas fault is 12.2 ± 3.9 mm/yr distributed across a broad zone. The relative motion across the whole region during the period 1970–1980 is 32.1 ± 7.4 mm/yr.

California↗
USGS2012

Application of wave field continuation to the inversion of refraction data

Three examples of the inversion of refraction data by downward continuation illustrate the applicability of the method to field data. The first example is a refraction profile from the Mojave Desert, California. These data are spatially aliased and contain clear evidence of lateral inhomogeneity. The inversion in this case produces a broken image in the slowness‐depth domain due to the lateral inhomogeneity, but a useful average velocity model is still obtained. The second example is a shallow marine reflection profile. Here, the truncation effects due to the finite horizontal aperture of the recording cable produce artifacts in the slowness‐depth domain. The velocity model is, however, distinct from these artifacts, and the presence of strong precritical reflections aids in the inversion. The third example is another shallow marine reflection profile. The inversion of these data illustrate the utilization of constraints provided by multiples as well as primary arrivals.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

The Yellowstone-Snake River Plain seismic profiling experiment: Crustal structure of the Eastern Snake River Plain

Seismic refraction profiles recorded along the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) in southeastern Idaho during the 1978 Yellowstone-Snake River Plain cooperative seismic profiling experiment are interpreted to infer the crustal velocity and attenuation (Q-1) structure of the ESRP. Travel-time and synthetic seismogram modeling of a 250 km reversed refraction profile as well as a 100 km detailed profile indicate that the crust of the ESRP is highly anomalous. Approximately 3 to 6 km of volcanic rocks (with some interbedded sediments) overlie an upper-crustal layer (compressional velocity ≅6.1 km/s) which thins southwestward along the ESRP from a thickness of 10 km near Island Park Caldera to 2 to 3 km beneath the central and southwestern portions of the ESRP. An intermediate-velocity (≅6.5 km/s) layer extends from ≅10 to ≅20 km depth. A thick (≅22 km) lower crust of compressional velocity 6.8 km/s, a total crustal thickness of ≅42 km, and a P n velocity of ≅7.9 km/s is observed in the ESRP, similar to the western Snake River Plain and the Rocky Mountains Provinces. High attenuation is evident on the amplitude corrected seismic data due to low-Q values in the volcanic rocks (Q p = 20 to 200) and throughout the crust (Q p = 160 to 300). Based on these characteristics of the crustal structure and volcanic-age progression data, it is suggested that the ESRP has resulted from an intensive period of intrusion of mantle-derived basaltic magma into the upper crust generating explosive silicic volcanism and associated regional uplift and caldera collapse. This activity began about 15 m.y. ago in southwestern Idaho and has migrated northeast to its present position at Yellowstone. Subsequent cooling of the intruded upper crust results in the 6.5 km/s velocity intermediate layer. Crustal subsidence and periodic basaltic volcanism as represented by the ESRP complete the sequence of crustal evolution.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2012

Terranes and suture zones in east central Alaska

East central Alaska, with its 17 terranes, forms a part of the mosaic of allochthonous terranes that join the North American and Siberian plates. These terranes range from continental and continental margin, such as the Tatonduk with its thick well-bedded succession of marine shelf rocks, to seamount, arc, and ocean floor terranes. The Yukon crystalline terrane, the largest described here, is a composite of at least four subterranes juxtaposed across the Tintina fault with the Tatonduk terrane, a northwestern extension of the North American plate in Alaska. Inboard of the Yukon crystalline terrane are packets of closely appressed microterranes separated from the Tatonduk and other terranes belonging to North America by major suture zones. These microterranes lie between North America and the mosaic of accretionary terranes that form the more southerly part of Alaska. The most obviously allochthonous microterranes within the suture zones are the Woodchopper Canyon, an Early Devonian basaltic seamount, and the White Mountains, an Ordovician volcanic arc terrane capped by Silurian and Devonian carbonate bank deposits. The nearest counterpart of these terranes is the Alexander terrane in southeastern Alaska. The Tintina fault of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age, like the Denali fault, primarily follows old suture zones that separate terranes. Strike slip faulting developed after collision in places where further convergence was oblique to the terrane margins. Where terranes met head-on, their leading edges lie along a multiple set of high-angle faults that outline microterranes in accretion zones.

Alaska↗