Exhumation of the southern Sierra Nevada-eastern tehachapi Mountains constrained by low-temperature thermochronology: Implications for the initiation of the Garlock fault

Lithosphere

Volumn 5, Issue 3, 2013, Pages 321-327

  Blythe, A E ^a   Longinotti, N ^a,b  

^a OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

APATITE; COOLING; LANDFORMS; SILICATE MINERALS; TEMPERATURE; ZIRCON;

APATITE FISSION TRACK AGES; LOW TEMPERATURES; MOJAVE DESERT; RAPID COOLING; SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA; THERMAL HISTORY; THERMOCHRONOLOGY; ZIRCON FISSION TRACKS;

FISSION REACTIONS;

APATITE; COOLING; EXHUMATION; FAULTING; FISSION TRACK DATING; SLIP; THERMOCHRONOLOGY;

CALIFORNIA; SIERRA NEVADA [CALIFORNIA]; TEHACHAPI MOUNTAINS; UNITED STATES;

EID: 84878925508     PISSN: 19418264     EISSN: 19474253     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1130/L252.1     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. Ague, J.J., and Brimhall, G.H., 1988, Magmatic arc asymmetry and distribution of anomalous plutonic belts in the batholiths of California: Effects of assimilation, crustal thickness, and depth of crystallization: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 100, p. 912-927, doi: 10.1130/0016-7606(1988)1000912:MAAADO2.3.CO;2.
2. Argus, D.F., and Gordon, R.G., 1991, Current Sierra Nevada-North America motion from very long baseline interferometry: Implications for the kinematics of the western United States: Geology, v. 19, p. 1085-1088, doi:10.1130 /0091-7613(1991)0191085:CSNNAM2.3.CO;2.
3. Bateman, P.C., and Wahrhaftig, C., 1966, Geology of the Sierra Nevada, in Bailey, E.H., ed., Geology of Northern California: California Division of Mines and Geology Bulletin 190, p. 107-172.
4. Bennett, R.A., Wernicke, B.P., Niemi, N.A., Friedrich, A.M., and Davis, J.L., 2003, Contemporary strain rates in the northern Basin and Range Province from GPS data: Tectonics, v. 22, 1008, doi:10.1029/2001TC001355.
5. Brady, R.J., Ducea, M.N., Kidder, S.B., and Saleeby, J.B., 2006, The distribution of radiogenic heat production as a function of depth in the Sierra Nevada batholith, California: Lithos, v. 86, p. 229-244, doi:10.1016/j.lithos.2005.06.003.
6. Burbank, D.W., and Whistler, D.P., 1987, Temporally constrained tectonic rotations derived from magnetostratigraphic data: Implications for the initiation of the Garlock fault, California: Geology, v. 15, p. 1172-1175, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1987)151172:TCTRDF2.0.CO;2.
7. Cassel, E.J., Graham, S.A., and Chamberlain, C.P., 2009, Cenozoic tectonic and topographic evolution of the northern Sierra Nevada, California, through stable isotope paleoaltimetry in volcanic glass: Geology, v. 37, p. 547-550, doi:10.1130/G25572A.1.
8. Cecil, M.L., Ducea, M.N., Reiners, P.W., and Chase, C.G., 2006, Cenozoic exhumation of the Sierra Nevada, California, from (U-Th)/He thermochronology: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 118, no. 11/12, p. 1481-1488, doi:10.1130/B25876.1.
9. Chapman, A.D., Kidder, S., Saleeby, J.B., and Ducea, M.N., 2010, Role of extrusion of the Rand and Sierra de Salinas schists in Late Cretaceous extension and rotation of the southern Sierra Nevada and vicinity: Tectonics, v. 29, TC5006, doi:10.1029/2009TC002597.
10. Chapman, A.D., Saleeby, J.B., Wood, D.J., Piasecki, A., Farley, K.A., Kidder, S., and Ducea, M.N., 2012, Late Cretaceous gravitational collapse of the southern Sierra Nevada batholith, California: Geosphere, v. 8, p. 314-341, doi:10.1130/GES00740.1.
11. Chen, J.H., and Moore, J.G., 1982, Uranium-lead isotopic ages from the Sierra Nevada batholith: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 87, p. 4761-4784, doi:10.1029/ JB087iB06p04761.
12. Clark, M.K., Maheo, G., Saleeby, J., and Farley, K., 2005, The non-equilibrium landscape of the southern Sierra Nevada, California: GSA Today, v. 15, no. 9, doi:10:1130 /1052-5173.
13. Davis, G.A., and Burchfiel, B.C., 1973, Garlock fault: An intracontinental transform structure, southern California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 84, no. 4, p. 1407-1422, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1973)841407:GFAITS2.0.CO;2.
14. Davis, T.L., and Lagoe, M.B., 1988, A structural interpretation of major tectonic events affecting the western and southern margins of the San Joaquin Valley, California, in Graham, S.A., ed., Studies of the Geology of the San Joaquin Basin: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Pacific Section, v. 60, p. 65-87.
15. Dixon, T.H., Miller, M., Farina, F., Wang, H., and Johnson, D., 2000, Present-day motion of the Sierra Nevada block and some tectonic implications for the Basin and Range Province, North American Cordillera: Tectonics, v. 19, p. 1-24, doi:10.1029/1998TC001088.
16. Ducea, M.N., and Saleeby, J.B., 1996, Buoyancy sources for a large, unrooted mountain range, the Sierra Nevada, California: Evidence from xenolith thermobarometry: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 101, p. 8229-8244, doi:10.1029/95JB03452.
17. Ducea, M.N., and Saleeby, J.B., 1998, The age and origin of a thick mafic-ultramafic keel from beneath the Sierra Nevada batholith: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 133, p. 169-185, doi:10.1007/s004100050445.
18. Dumitru, T.A., 1990, Subnormal Cenozoic geothermal gradients in the extinct Sierra Nevada magmatic arc: Consequences of Laramide and post-Laramide shallow-angle subduction: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 95, no. B4, p. 4925-4941, doi:10.1029/JB095iB04p04925.
19. Evernden, J.F., and Kistler, R.W., 1970, Chronology of Emplacement of Mesozoic Batholithic Complexes in California and Western Nevada: U.S. Geological Society Professional Paper 623, 42 p.
20. Farley, K.A., 2002, (U-Th)/He dating: Techniques, calibrations, and applications: Mineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, v. 47, p. 819-844, doi:10.2138/rmg.2002.47.18.
21. Figueroa, A.M., and Knott, J.R., 2010, Tectonic geomorphology of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains (California): Evidence for uplift and basin formation: Geomorphology, v. 123, p. 34-45, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.06.009.
22. Garver, J.I., 2002, Discussion: Metamictization of natural zircon: Accumulation versus thermal annealing of radioactivity-induced damage: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 143, p. 756-757.
23. Glazner, A.F., Walker, J.D., Bartley, J.M., and Fletcher, J.M., 2002, Cenozoic evolution of the Mojave block of southern California, in Glazner, A.F., Walker, J.D., and Bartley, J.M., eds., Geologic Evolution of the Mojave Desert and Southwestern Basin and Range: Geological Society of America Memoir 195, p. 19-41.
24. Gleadow, A.J.W., and Fitzgerald, P.G., 1987, Uplift history and structure of the Transantarctic Mountains: New evidence from fission track dating of basement apatites in the Dry Valleys area, southern Victoria Land: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 82, p. 1-14, doi:10.1016/0012-821X(87)90102-6.
25. Goodman, E.D., and Malin, P.E., 1992, Evolution of the southern San Joaquin Basin and mid-Tertiary transitional tectonics, central California: Tectonics, v. 11, p. 478-498, doi:10.1029/91TC02871.
26. Hamilton, W.B., 1969, California and the underflow of Pacific mantle: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 2409-2430, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1969)80[2409:MCA TUO]2.0.CO;2.
27. House, M.A., Wernicke, B.P., and Farley, K.A., 1998, Dating topographic uplift of the Sierra Nevada, California, using apatite (U-Th)/He ages: Nature, v. 396, p. 66-69, doi:10.1038 /23926.
28. House, M.A., Wernicke, B.P. and Farley, K.A., 2001, Paleogeomorphology of the Sierra Nevada, California, from (U-Th)/He ages in apatite: American Journal of Science, v. 301, p. 77-102, doi:10.2475/ajs.301.2.77.
29. Huber, N.K., 1981, Amount and Timing of Late Cenozoic Uplift and Tilt of the Central Sierra Nevada, California-Evidence from the Upper San Joaquin River Basin: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1197, 28 p.
30. Jacobson, C.E., Grove, M., Vucic, A., Pedrick, J.N., and Ebert, K.A., 2007, Exhumation of the Orocopia schist and associated rocks of southeastern California; relative roles of erosion, synsubduction tectonic denudation, and middle Cretaceous extension, in Cloos, M., et al., eds., Convergent Margin Terranes and Associated Regions: A Tribute to W.G. Ernst: Geological Society of America Special Paper 419, p. 1-37.
31. Ketcham, R.A., 2005. Forward and inverse modeling of lowtemperature thermochronometry data, in Reiners, P., and Ehlers, T., eds., Low-Temperature Thermochronology: Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, v. 58, p. 275-314.
32. Ketcham, R.A., Donelick, R.A., and Carlson, W.D., 1999, Variability of apatite fission-track annealing kinetics: III. Extrapolation to geologic time scales: The American Mineralogist, v. 84, p. 1235-1255.
33. Mahéo, G., Saleeby, J., Saleeby, Z., and Farley, K.A., 2009, Tectonic controls on southern Sierra Nevada topography, California: Tectonics, v. 28, TC6006, doi:10.1029/2008TC002340.
34. Malin, P.E., Goodman, E.D., Henyey, T.L., Li, Y.G., Okaya, D.A., and Saleeby, J.B., 1995, Significance of seismic reflections beneath a tilted exposure of deep continental crust, Tehachapi Mountains, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 100, no. B2, p. 2069-2087, doi:10.1029 /94JB02127.
35. McGill, S.F., Wells, S.G., Fortner, S.K., Kuzma, H.A., and McGill, J.D., 2009, Slip rate of the western Garlock fault, at Clark Wash, near Lone Tree Canyon, Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 121, p. 536-554, doi:10.1130/B26123.1.
36. McPhillips, D., and Brandon, M.T., 2012, Topographic evolution of the Sierra Nevada measured directly by inversion of low-temperature thermochronology: Ameri can Journal of Science, v. 312, p. 90-116, doi:10.2475 /02.2012.02.
37. Monastero, F.C., Sabin, A.E., and Walker, J.D., 1997, Evidence for post-early Miocene initiation of movement on the Garlock fault from offset of the Cudahy Camp Formation, east-central California: Geology, v. 25, no. 3, p. 247-250, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1997)0250247:EFPEMI2.3.CO;2.
38. Monastero, F.C., Walker, J.D., Katzenstein, A.M., and Sabin, A.E., 2002, Neogene evolution of the Indian Wells Valley, east-central California, in Glazner, A.F., Walker, J.D., and Bartley, J.M., eds., Geologic Evolution of the Central Mojave Desert and Southern Basin and Range: Geological Society of America Memoir 195, p. 199-228.
39. Mulch, A., Graham, S.A., and Chamberlain, C.P., 2006, Hydrogen isotopes in Eocene river gravels and paleoelevation of the Sierra Nevada: Science, v. 32, p. 167-181.
40. Nadin, E.S., and Saleeby, J.B., 2010, Quaternary reactivation of the Kern Canyon fault system, southern Sierra Nevada, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 122, p. 1671-1685, doi:10.1130/B30009.1.
41. Naeser, C.W., 1979, Fission track dating and geologic annealing of fission tracks, in Jager, E., and Hunziker, J.C., eds., Lectures in Isotope Geology: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 154-169.
42. Pickett, D.A., and Saleeby, J.B., 1993, Thermobarometric constraints on the depth of the exposure and conditions of plutonism and metamorphism at deep levels of the Sierra Nevada batholith, Tehachapi Mountains, California: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 98, p. 609-629, doi:10.1029/92JB01889.
43. Ross, D.C., 1989, The Metamorphic and Plutonic Rocks of the Southernmost Sierra Nevada, California, and their Tectonic Framework: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1381, 159 p., 2 plates.
44. Saleeby, J., 2003, Segmentation of the Laramide slab-Evidence from the southern Sierra Nevada region: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 115, p. 655-668, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(2003)1150655:SOTLSF2.0.CO;2.
45. Saleeby, J., Farley, K.A., Kistler, R.W., and Fleck, R., 2007, Thermal evolution and exhumation of deep-level batholithic exposures, southernmost Sierra Nevada, California, in Cloos, M., Carlson, M.D., Gilbert, M.C., Liou, J.G., and Sorenson, S.S., eds., Convergent Margin Terranes and Associated Regions: A Tribute to W.G. Ernst: Geological Society of America Special Paper 419, p. 39-66, doi:10.1130/2007.2419(02).
46. Saleeby, J.B., Ducea, M.N., Busby, C.J., Nadin, E.S., and Wetmore, P.H., 2008, Chronology of pluton emplacement and regional deformation in the southern Sierra Nevada batholith, California, in Wright, J.E., and Shervais, J.W., eds., Ophiolites, Arcs, and Batholiths: A Tribute to Cliff Hopson: Geological Society of America Special Paper 438, p. 397-427.
47. Saleeby, J.B., Saleeby, Z., Nadin, E., and Maheo, G., 2009, Step-over in the structure controlling the regional west tilt of the Sierra Nevada microplate: Eastern escarpment system to Kern Canyon system: International Geology Review, v. 51, p. 634-669, doi:10.1080 /00206810902867773.
48. Saleeby, J., Le Pourhiet, L., Saleeby, Z., and Gurnis, M., 2012, Epeirogenic transients related to mantle lithosphere removal in the southern Sierra Nevada region, California: Part I. Implications of thermomechanical modeling, in Saleeby, J., ed., Geodynamics and Consequences of Lithospheric Removal in the Sierra Nevada, California: Geosphere, v. 8, themed issue, p. 1286-1309, doi:10.1130 /GES00746.1.
49. Sharry, J., 1981, The Geology of the Western Tehachapi Mountains, California [Ph.D. thesis]: Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 215 p., 3 plates.
50. Smith, G.I., 1962, Large lateral displacement on the Garlock fault, California, as measured from offset dike swarms: The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 46, p. 85-104.
51. Stern, T., Bateman, B.A., Morgan, A., Newell, M.F., and Peck, D.L., 1981, Isotopic U-Pb Ages of Zircon from the Granitoids of the Central Sierra Nevada, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1185, 17 p.
52. Tagami, T., 2005, Zircon fission track dating and application to fault studies, in Reiners, P., and Ehlers, T., eds., Low-Temperature Thermochronology: Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, v. 58, p. 95-122.
53. Unruh, J.R., 1991, The uplift of the Sierra Nevada and implications for late Cenozoic epeirogeny in the western Cordillera: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 103, p. 1395-1404, doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1991)1031395: TUOTSN2.3.CO;2.
54. Unruh, J.R., Humphrey, J., and Barron, A., 2003, Transtensional model for the Sierra Nevada frontal fault system, eastern California: Geology, v. 31, p. 327-330.
55. Wakabayashi, J., and Sawyer, T.L., 2001, Stream incision, tectonics, uplift, and evolution of topography of the Sierra Nevada, California: The Journal of Geology, v. 109, p. 539-562, doi:10.1086/321962.
56. Wernicke, B., and Snow, J.K., 1998, Cenozoic extension in the central Basin and Range: Motion of the Sierran-Great Valley block: International Geology Review, v. 40, p. 403-410, doi:10.1080/00206819809465217.
57. Wolf, R.A., Farley, K.A., and Silver, L.T., 1996, Helium diffusion and low temperature thermochronometry of apatite: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 60, p. 4231-4240, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(96)00192-5.
58. Wolf, R.A., Farley, K.A., and Kass, D.M., 1998, A sensitivity analysis of the apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometer: Chemical Geology, v. 148, p. 105-114, doi:10.1016 /S0009-2541(98)00024-2.
59. Wood, D.J., 1997, Geology of the Eastern Tehachapi Mountains and Late Cretaceous-Early Cenozoic Tectonics of the Southern Sierra Nevada Region, Kern County, California [Ph.D. thesis]: Pasadena, California, California Institute of Technology, 287 p.
60. Wood, D.J., and Saleeby, J.B., 1997, Late Cretaceous-Paleocene extensional collapse and disaggregation of the southernmost Sierra Nevada batholith: International Geology Review, v. 39, p. 973-1009.