Neogene tectonic evolution of the Sierra Nevada–Basin and Range transition zone at the latitude of Carson City, Nevada

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia H Cashman ◽  
James H Trexler ◽  
Thomas W Muntean ◽  
James E Faulds ◽  
John N Louie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Basin And Range

Microseismicity and tectonics of the Nevada Seismic Zone

1971 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1413-1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank J. Gumper ◽  
Christopher Scholz
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Mono Lake ◽  
Tectonic Activity ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
Owens Valley ◽  
Western Basin ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solutions ◽  
Composite Focal Mechanism

abstract Microseismicity, composite focal-mechanism solutions, and previously-published focal parameter data are used to determine the current tectonic activity of the prominent zone of seismicity in western Nevada and eastern California, termed the Nevada Seismic Zone. The microseismicity substantially agrees with the historic seismicity and delineates a narrow, major zone of activity that extends from Owens Valley, California, north past Dixie Valley, Nevada. Focal parameters indicate that a regional pattern of NW-SE tension exists for the western Basin and Range and is now producing crustal extension within the Nevada Seismic Zone. An eastward shift of the seismic zone along the Excelsior Mountains and left-lateral strike-slip faulting determined from a composite focal mechanism indicate transform-type faulting between Mono Lake and Pilot Mountain. Based on these results and other data, it is suggested that the Nevada Seismic Zone is caused by the interaction of a westward flow of mantle material beneath the Basin and Range Province with the boundary of the Sierra Nevada batholith.

scholarly journals Two-phase westward encroachment of Basin and Range extension into the northern Sierra Nevada

Tectonics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-1-2-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin E. Surpless ◽  
Daniel F. Stockli ◽  
Trevor A. Dumitru ◽  
Elizabeth L. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Range Extension ◽  
Two Phase

Signal penetration In the COCORP Basin and Range‐Colorado Plateau survey

Geophysics ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1050-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Mayer ◽  
Larry D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Sedimentary Cover ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Eastern Basin ◽  
Arrival Times ◽  
Reflection Data ◽  
Temporal Decay ◽  
On Line ◽  
Seismic Sections

Seismic sections from COCORP’s 1982 survey from the eastern Basin and Range to the Colorado Plateau of central Utah exhibit distinct cutoff times after which reflections are rare to nonexistent. In the eastern Basin and Range, this cutoff time is approximately 11 s (33 km), but beneath the central Colorado Plateau it exceeds 15 s (45 km). These depths appear to correspond to the base of the crust (Moho), with the lack of reflections from greater depths indicating mantle homogeneity. In general, absence of deeper reflections may be due either to geologic homogeneity or to lack of signal penetration. COCORP line 3 in the Colorado Plateau‐Basin and Range transition zone shows that variations in penetration are significant. On line 3 few reflections are evident below the structurally complex sedimentary cover, which extends to only 4 s (8 km), and virtually none are identifiable later than 7 s (21 km). Lateral variations in the temporal decay of source‐generated energy, together with estimates of corresponding ambient noise levels, infer that limited signal penetration, rather than geologic homogeneity, causes the lack of subsedimentary reflections within the transition zone. Deep reflections, if any, from beneath the westernmost Colorado Plateau appear to be masked by unusually high local environmental noise. In contrast, continued decay of source‐generated energy at traveltimes significantly greater than Moho arrival times within the Basin and Range and Colorado Plateau suggests (though it cannot confirm) that the underlying mantle is seismically transparent. Variations in signal penetration, such as those documented here, severely constrain interpretations of nonreflective zones in deep reflection data and should be a standard estimation in any interpretational procedure.

scholarly journals Contemporary vertical velocity of the central Basin and Range and uplift of the southern Sierra Nevada

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah P. Fay ◽  
Richard A. Bennett ◽  
Sigrún Hreinsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Basin And Range ◽  
Central Basin
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