On the Origin of Low-Angle Detachment Faults

Data from California's Whipple Mountains suggest this complex was formed by a succession of steep normal faults, challenging the paradigm that detachments are different types of faults.

Rheological transitions in the middle crust: insights from Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes

High-strain mylonitic rocks in Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes reflect ductile deformation in the middle crust, but in many examples it is unclear how these mylonites relate to the brittle detachments that overlie them. Field observations, microstructural analyses, and thermobarometric data from the footwalls of three metamorphic core complexes in the Basin and Range Province, USA (the Whipple Mountains, California; the northern Snake Range, Nevada; and Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range, Nevada), suggest the presence of two distinct rheological transitions in the middle crust: (1) the brittle–ductile transition (BDT), which depends on thermal gradient and tectonic regime, and marks the switch from discrete brittle faulting and cataclasis to continuous, but still localized, ductile shear, and (2) the localized–distributed transition, or LDT, a deeper, dominantly temperature-dependent transition, which marks the switch from localized ductile shear to distributed ductile flow. In this model, brittle normal faults in the upper crust persist as ductile shear zones below the BDT in the middle crust, and sole into the subhorizontal LDT at greater depths.In metamorphic core complexes, the presence of these two distinct rheological transitions results in the development of two zones of ductile deformation: a relatively narrow zone of high-stress mylonite that is spatially and genetically related to the brittle detachment, underlain by a broader zone of high-strain, relatively low-stress rock that formed in the middle crust below the LDT, and in some cases before the detachment was initiated. The two zones show distinct microstructural assemblages, reflecting different conditions of temperature and stress during deformation, and contain superposed sequences of microstructures reflecting progressive exhumation, cooling, and strain localization. The LDT is not always exhumed, or it may be obscured by later deformation, but in the Whipple Mountains, it can be directly observed where high-strain mylonites captured from the middle crust depart from the brittle detachment along a mylonitic front.

Rheological transitions in the middle crust: insights from Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes

High strain mylonitic rocks in Cordilleran metamorphic core complexes reflect ductile deformation in the middle crust, but in many examples it is unclear how these mylonites relate to the brittle detachments that overlie them. Field observations, microstructural analyses, and thermobarometric data from the footwalls of three metamorphic core complexes in the Basin and Range province, USA (the Whipple Mountains, California; the northern Snake Range, Nevada; and Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range, Nevada) suggest the presence of two distinct rheological transitions in the middle crust. (1) The brittle-ductile transition (BDT), which depends on thermal gradient and tectonic regime, and marks the switch from discrete brittle faulting and cataclasis to continuous, but still localized, ductile shear. (2) The localized-distributed transition or LDT, a deeper, dominantly temperature-dependent transition, which marks the switch from localized ductile shear to distributed ductile flow. In this model, brittle normal faults in the upper crust persist as ductile shear zones below the BDT in the middle crust, and sole into the subhorizontal LDT at greater depths. In metamorphic core complexes, the presence of these two distinct rheological transitions results in the development of two zones of ductile deformation: a relatively narrow zone of high-stress mylonite that is spatially and genetically related to the brittle detachment, underlain by a broader zone of high-strain, relatively low-stress rock that formed in the middle crust below the LDT, and in some cases before the detachment was initiated. In some examples (e.g. the Whipple Mountains) the lower zone is spatially distinct from the detachment, although high-strain rocks from the lower zone were subsequently exhumed along the detachment. The two zones show distinct microstructural assemblages, reflecting different conditions of temperature and stress during deformation, and contain superposed sequences of microstructures reflecting progressive exhumation, cooling, and strain localization.

Diversity of Microorganisms within Rock Varnish in the Whipple Mountains, California

ABSTRACT Rock varnish from Arizona's Whipple Mountains harbors a microbial community containing about 108 microorganisms g−1 of varnish. Analyses of varnish phospholipid fatty acids and rRNA gene libraries reveal a community comprised of mostly Proteobacteria but also including Actinobacteria, eukaryota, and a few members of the Archaea. Rock varnish represents a significant niche for microbial colonization.