Geodetic extension across the southern Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Broermann ◽  
Richard A. Bennett ◽  
Corné Kreemer ◽  
Geoffrey Blewitt ◽  
Philip A Pearthree
Keyword(s):  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Southern Basin

scholarly journals Heat Flow Data in an Area of the Eastern Southern Basin and Range in Arizona Contribute to an Analysis of Neogene Lithosphere Thinning Greater than 100 Km

Lithosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Marshall Reiter
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Mantle Lithosphere ◽  
Flow Data ◽  
Southern Basin ◽  
Vertical Advection ◽  
Lithosphere Thinning ◽  
Tectonic Development ◽  
Paleotemperature Gradient

Abstract Heat flow data and thermochronologic derived paleotemperature gradient data are examined to calculate heat flow ~25 Ma and, at present, for a southern Basin and Range location north of Tucson, Arizona. An increase in the surface heat flow is estimated from ~25 Ma to the present; changing from ~47 to ~83 mW m-2. Steady-state conduction temperature vs. depth profiles provide estimates of lithosphere thicknesses both for the present and for ~25 Ma. Different heat transfer models for present heat flow predict present LAB depth that agrees with seismic studies. From these temperature profiles, lithosphere thinning from ~184 km to ~70 km is suggested during the Neogene. Mantle lithosphere thinning caused by thermal phenomena is likely a fundamental driving force for southern Basin and Range extension. Because the mantle lithosphere has likely thinned much more than the crust, it is shown that additional vertical advection, such as an asthenosphere plume, delaminating part of the mantle lithosphere, convection cells, and rising magmas along conduits, add to the vertical advection component of upper mantle lithosphere extension. Interestingly, values of heat flow 25 Ma, lithosphere thicknesses 25 Ma, and Neogene lithosphere thinning are somewhat similar for the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau and the southern Basin and Range, even though Neogene tectonic development was quite different, i.e., no Neogene extension in the Colorado Plateau vs. ~57% in the southern Basin and Range. Neogene lithosphere thinning phenomena are likely different in the two regions.

scholarly journals Crustal Motion and Strain Rates in the Southern Basin and Range Province

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Sidder
Keyword(s):  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Strain Rates ◽  
Earthquake Hazards ◽  
Basin And Range Province ◽  
Southern Basin ◽  
Crustal Motion ◽  
New Research

New research teases out variations in strain rates and explores potential earthquake hazards across the southern Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document