scholarly journals Nature of the continental upper-mantle/lower-crust transition beneath Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust

scholarly journals The petrology of the lower crust and upper mantle beneath southeastern chihuahua, mexico: a progress report

1986 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-116
Author(s):  
G. J. Nimz ◽  
K. L. Cameron ◽  
M. Cameron ◽  
S. L. Morris
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Progress Report ◽  
Crust And Upper Mantle ◽  
San Luis ◽  
San Luis Potosi ◽  
La Joya ◽  
San Carlos ◽  
San Luis Potosí

En el basalto alcalino de la mina de peridotita La Olivina (localizada ~150 km al SE de Chihuahua, Chih.), se encuentran granulitas y nódulos ultramáficos del manto superior o la corteza inferior bajo la forma de xenolitos. Estos xenolitos ultramáficos pertenecen a tres grupos que se diferencian por su composición de clinopiroxenos: grupo I, alto magnesio (Mg/Mg+ Fe=0.90) y alto Cr203; grupo II, moderado magnesio (Mg/Mg+ Fe=0.76), alto Al203 y alto TiO2; y grupo III, con composición intermedia entre I y II (grupo de transición). Los análisis de minerales primarios muestran que los xenolitos son similares a los de San Carlos, Arizona, E.U., Xalapasco de la Joya, San Luis Potosi, México y Kilburne Hole, New Mexico, E.U. Los xenolitos del manto de La Olivina perte- necen a tres grupos con distinta textura: grupo I, granoblástica (¿metamórfica?); grupo II, granular allotriomórfica (¿ígnea?); y grupo III, granular allotriomórfica (¿ígnea?) con algunas texturas porfiroclasticas (¿metamórfica?). Los xenolitos de corteza inferior de La Olivina son predominantemente gneises pelíticos y granulitos de piroxeno. Los gneises pelíticos presentan ensambles uniformes de granate + cuarzo + plagioclasa + sanidina + silimanita + rutilo + grafito. La mayoría de las granulitas de piroxeno tienen plagioclasa, aunque algunas presentan escapolita en vez de plagioclasa. Estas muestras del manto inferior son idénticas en ensamble de minerales y muy simi- lares en geoquímica a los xenolitos del Kilburne Hole. Las granulitas y los gneises peliticos tienen edades modelo de Nd de 1.1 a 1.2 m.a., usando un cociente inicial de condritas, o bien 1.6 m.a. si se usa el modelo de fuente empobrecida. La edad de 1.6 m.a. concuerda muy bien con las edades del Kilbourne Hole, de aquí que se extiendan bajo el norte de México, al menos hasta el área de La Olivina, rocas precámbricas cratónicas, similares en edad, historia metamórfica y composición de protolito a las que están bajo Kilbourne Hole.

Crustal structure in central New Mexico interpreted from the gasbuggy explosion

1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-886
Author(s):  
Tousson R. Toppozada ◽  
Allan R. Sanford
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Seismic Profile ◽  
Rio Grande Rift ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Crustal Velocity ◽  
Crustal Model ◽  
Mantle Velocity ◽  
Record Section

abstract Interpretation of a seismic profile extending 548 km southward from the GASBUGGY nuclear test of December 10, 1967 resulted in a crustal model for central New Mexico. The crust is 39.9 km thick below the Paleozoic “basement”. It consists of an upper crust 18.6 km thick having P velocity 6.15 km/sec, and a lower crust 21.3 km thick having P velocity 6.5 km/sec. The apparent upper mantle velocity is 8.12 km/sec. This model applies near the crossover distance, 50 km west of Albuquerque. Additional information from earthquakes and explosions suggests that the upper crustal velocity drops to 5.8 km/sec in the Rio Grande rift, and that the true upper mantle velocity is 7.9 km/sec. The low upper crustal velocity in the Rio Grande rift can be detected on the record section of the GASBUGGY profile.

Reconnaissance seismic refraction-reflection surveys in northwestern New Mexico

1984 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1263-1274
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Jaksha ◽  
David H. Evans
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Wave Velocity ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Uppermost Mantle ◽  
P Wave Velocity ◽  
Crustal Thinning

Abstract A velocity model of the crust in northwestern New Mexico has been constructed from an interpretation of direct, refracted, and reflected seismic waves. The model suggests a sedimentary section about 3 km thick with an average P-wave velocity of 3.6 km/sec. The crystalline upper crust is 28 km thick and has a P-wave velocity of 6.1 km/sec. The lower crust below the Conrad discontinuity has an average P-wave velocity of about 7.0 km/sec and a thickness near 17 km. Some evidence suggests that velocity in both the upper and lower crust increases with depth. The P-wave velocity in the uppermost mantle is 7.95 ± 0.15 km/sec. The total crustal thickness near Farmington, New Mexico, is about 48 km (datum = 1.6 km above sea level), and there is evidence for crustal thinning to the southeast.

Preliminary report on some aftershocks of the December 28, 1966 earthquake in Northern Chile

1968 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 843-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Pitt ◽  
James O. Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Preliminary Report ◽  
Main Shock ◽  
Geodetic Survey ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
The U.S

abstract Epicenters of aftershocks of the December 28, 1966 earthquake in northern Chile lie in a 75-km north-trending zone 20 to 30 km off the coastline. The epicenter for the main shock, as determined by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, is about 10 km north of the southern end of the aftershock zone. The aftershocks are about 30 km deep in the model used for locations; this places them in the lower crust or upper mantle. The aftershocks have no apparent relation to any surface faults.

scholarly journals Constraints on the rheology of the lower crust in a strike-slip plate boundary: evidence from the San Quintín xenoliths, Baja California, Mexico

Solid Earth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211-1239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas van der Werf ◽  
Vasileios Chatzaras ◽  
Leo Marcel Kriegsman ◽  
Andreas Kronenberg ◽  
Basil Tikoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Upper Mantle ◽  
Lower Crust ◽  
Baja California ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Volcanic Field ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Flow Laws

Abstract. The rheology of lower crust and its transient behavior in active strike-slip plate boundaries remain poorly understood. To address this issue, we analyzed a suite of granulite and lherzolite xenoliths from the upper Pleistocene–Holocene San Quintín volcanic field of northern Baja California, Mexico. The San Quintín volcanic field is located 20 km east of the Baja California shear zone, which accommodates the relative movement between the Pacific plate and Baja California microplate. The development of a strong foliation in both the mafic granulites and lherzolites, suggests that a lithospheric-scale shear zone exists beneath the San Quintín volcanic field. Combining microstructural observations, geothermometry, and phase equilibria modeling, we estimated that crystal-plastic deformation took place at temperatures of 750–890 °C and pressures of 400–560 MPa, corresponding to 15–22 km depth. A hot crustal geotherm of 40 ° C km−1 is required to explain the estimated deformation conditions. Infrared spectroscopy shows that plagioclase in the mafic granulites is relatively dry. Microstructures are interpreted to show that deformation in both the uppermost lower crust and upper mantle was accommodated by a combination of dislocation creep and grain-size-sensitive creep. Recrystallized grain size paleopiezometry yields low differential stresses of 12–33 and 17 MPa for plagioclase and olivine, respectively. The lower range of stresses (12–17 MPa) in the mafic granulite and lherzolite xenoliths is interpreted to be associated with transient deformation under decreasing stress conditions, following an event of stress increase. Using flow laws for dry plagioclase, we estimated a low viscosity of 1.1–1.3×1020 Pa ⋅ s for the high temperature conditions (890 °C) in the lower crust. Significantly lower viscosities in the range of 1016–1019 Pa ⋅ s, were estimated using flow laws for wet plagioclase. The shallow upper mantle has a low viscosity of 5.7×1019 Pa ⋅ s, which indicates the lack of an upper-mantle lid beneath northern Baja California. Our data show that during post-seismic transients, the upper mantle and the lower crust in the Pacific–Baja California plate boundary are characterized by similar and low differential stress. Transient viscosity of the lower crust is similar to the viscosity of the upper mantle.

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