Terrestrial heat flow and crustal radioactivity in northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado

Edwards, Charles L.; Reiter, Marshall; Shearer, Charles; Young, Wesley

doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<1341:thfacr>2.0.co;2

Cited by 58 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…South of the Jemez lineament, the Rio Grande rift changes trend and character, and the horizontal extension of the rift increases significantly[Cordell, 1978]. Also south of the lineament, deformation and heat flow are much greater, while the crust is thinner than in the "stable" Colorado Plateau[Aldrich and Laughlin, 1984;Edwards et al, 1978;Reiter et al, 1975]. These data indicate more tectonic activity to the south than to the north of the Jemez lineament and support the lineament being the tectonic boundary of the southeastern Colorado Plateau.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

A tomographic glimpse of the upper mantle source of magmas of the Jemez Lineament, New Mexico

Spence¹,

Gross

1990

J. Geophys. Res.

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The 800-km-long Jemez lineament is the most active volcanic feature in the southwestern United States. It is the southeastern tectonic boundary of the Colorado Plateau and crosses the Rio Grande rift at the Jemez Mountains. The primary volcanism of the lineament is basaltic and has occurred in the last 4.5 m.y. To infer spatial distributions of partial melt in the upper mantle source zones for the Rio Grande rift and the Jemez lineament, we investigated the lateral variations of P wave velocity in the upper mantle beneath these features. We used teleseismic P wave delays recorded at a 22-station network to perform a damped least squares, three-dimensional inversion for these lateral variations. Our technique employed velocity interpolation within a three-dimensional grid of points, rather than using blocks of constant P wave velocity. This method allows highly realistic computation of seismic ray paths as well as accurate computation of the matrix elements in our system of equations. Determinations of resolution of results were done in two independent ways, both of which gave consistent estimates of resolution. In our best resolved volume the inversion showed no significant concentration of relative low velocity for P waves beneath the Rio Grande rift. However, directly beneath the Jemez lineament there is a -• 100-km-wide, 1-2% low-velocity feature in the depth range of 50-160 km. Because of the association of the low P wave velocity with the Jemez volcanic lineament but not with the Rio Grande rift, because lowered P wave velocity can be associated with increased partial melt, and because the volume of recent volcanism at the lineament greatly exceeds that at the rift, we infer that a large magmatic source zone exists beneath the Jemez lineament but not beneath the Rio Grande rift. This implies that the volcanic potential of the Jemez lineaments continues to greatly exceed that of the Rio Grande rift. The mantle source zones for volcanics of the Jemez lineament are not overridden by, but rather track, the motion of the North American plate; this implies that these sources are within the lithospheric plate, as is clarified in the discussion. The magmatic source zones of the Jemez lineament are modeled as due to clockwise rotation of the Colorado Plateau about a pole in northeastern Colorado. This rotation caused extension of the lithosphere beneath the Jemez lineament, permitting concentration there of partially melted rock in the upper mantle. ], crossing the Rio Grande rift at the Jemez volcanic center. Most of the volcanism along the lineament has occurred within the last 4.5 m.y. [Lipman, 1981; Aldrich and Laughlin, 1984; Smith and Luedke, 1984; Baldridge et al., 1987; Perry et al., 1987, 1988]. Hamilton and Myers [1966] indicate that changes in direction of extension within the Basin and Range led to a clockwise rotation of the Colorado Plateau, and Aldrich and Laughlin [1984] indicate that the timing of these changes corresponds to the timing of volcanism along the Jemez lineament. The Jemez lineament is t...

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confidence: 72%

A tomographic glimpse of the upper mantle source of magmas of the Jemez Lineament, New Mexico

Spence¹,

Gross

1990

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…The geothermal gradient in the Rio Hondo watershed is 30°C km −1 [ Reiter et al ., ; Edwards et al ., ; Nathenson and Guffanti , ], while the geothermal gradient for the Saguache Creek watershed is 50°C km −1 [ Berkman and Watterson , ]. We estimate the maximum uncertainty in groundwater circulation depths by assuming that the geothermal gradients in both watersheds vary by ±5°C km −1 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field estimates of groundwater circulation depths in two mountainous watersheds in the western U.S. and the effect of deep circulation on solute concentrations in streamflow

Frisbee

Tolley

Wilson

2017

Water Resources Research

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Estimates of groundwater circulation depths based on field data are lacking. These data are critical to inform and refine hydrogeologic models of mountainous watersheds, and to quantify depth and time dependencies of weathering processes in watersheds. Here we test two competing hypotheses on the role of geology and geologic setting in deep groundwater circulation and the role of deep groundwater in the geochemical evolution of streams and springs. We test these hypotheses in two mountainous watersheds that have distinctly different geologic settings (one crystalline, metamorphic bedrock and the other volcanic bedrock). Estimated circulation depths for springs in both watersheds range from 0.6 to 1.6 km and may be as great as 2.5 km. These estimated groundwater circulation depths are much deeper than commonly modeled depths suggesting that we may be forcing groundwater flow paths too shallow in models. In addition, the spatial relationships of groundwater circulation depths are different between the two watersheds. Groundwater circulation depths in the crystalline bedrock watershed increase with decreasing elevation indicative of topography‐driven groundwater flow. This relationship is not present in the volcanic bedrock watershed suggesting that both the source of fracturing (tectonic versus volcanic) and increased primary porosity in the volcanic bedrock play a role in deep groundwater circulation. The results from the crystalline bedrock watershed also indicate that relatively deep groundwater circulation can occur at local scales in headwater drainages less than 9.0 km2 and at larger fractions than commonly perceived. Deep groundwater is a primary control on streamflow processes and solute concentrations in both watersheds.

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“…The apparent denudation rates derived from the fission track age data from each traverse examined in this study for the past 14-15 m.y. were calculated using the heat flow data of Reiter et al [1975] and Edwards et al [1978]. The approximate present elevation of the 100 ø + 25øC isotherm (and hence zero age) can be found from heat flow data using the thermal resistance method of Bullard [1939], given a reasonable estimate of the surface temperature and assuming that the thermal conductivity decreases 10% in the 0ø-100øC range [Birch and Clark, 1940].…”

Section: Summary Of Uplift Data For Northern New Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary tectonic history of the northern Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

Kelley¹,

Duncan²

1986

J. Geophys. Res.

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Apatite fission track ages for samples collected from three mountain ranges on the eastern margin of the Rio Grande rift are used to examine the late Cretaceous to middle Miocene uplift and erosional history of north central New Mexico. The dates indicate that uplift and erosion was in progress in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque and in the Taos Range portion of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Taos at least 30-35 m.y. ago. Uplift and erosion continued in the Sandia Mountains at a relatively constant rate (81 m/m.y.) until 15 Ma; the rate of uplift and erosion in this area has approximately tripled in the past 15 m.y. (230 m/m.y.). Igneous activity in the Taos Range has largely obscured the early Tertiary uplift and erosional history of this portion of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. A fission track date from one of the middle Tertiary intrusions in the Taos Range is used to calculate the cooling rate due to uplift and erosion in this area for the past 14 m.y. (210 m/m.y.). The uplift and erosion rates derived from the fission track data for the past 14-15 m.y. are similar to those obtained from other geological evidence. In contrast to the Oligocene to Miocene ages found in the other two areas, the apatite fission track ages from the Santa Ire Range portion of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Santa Fe are Late Cretaceous to early Eocene. These dates record the cooling of the area due to uplift and erosion during the Laramide event. The preservation of these older ages indicates that the Santa Fe Range was a low-lying area during the Oligocene to Miocene, while the surrounding areas (Sandia Mountains and Taos Range) underwent uplift and erosion. Volcanic activity occurred in the vicinity of the two areas of positive relief. Localized crustal extension associated with the volcanism may have contributed, in part, to the uplift of these areas. Using simple, two-dimensional thermal models, we found that the apparent denudation rates derived from the fission track age data may represent true denudation rates, given certain geologic conditions that may have existed during the uplift and erosion of the Sandia Mountains in the middle Tertiary and the Santa Fe Range in the late Cretaceous. However, the interpretation of sphene ages is subject to error because fission tracks in sphene etch anisotropically due to the annealing of the alpha damage in sphene [Gleadow, 1978]. Gleadow [1978] discovered that fission tracks in sphene will etch out isotropically only after a large amount of alpha damage due to the radioactive decay of uranium in the mineral has taken place. The alpha damage anneals at temperatures lower than those required to anneal fission tracks in 6246 KELLEY AND DUNCAN' TECTONIC HISTORY OF THE NORTHERN RIO GRANDE RIFT 6247 DENVER N ALBUQUE COt OIq ADO N[ W ME XICO LAS CRUCES SCALE aO km

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Terrestrial heat flow and crustal radioactivity in northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado

Cited by 58 publications

References 0 publications

A tomographic glimpse of the upper mantle source of magmas of the Jemez Lineament, New Mexico

A tomographic glimpse of the upper mantle source of magmas of the Jemez Lineament, New Mexico

Field estimates of groundwater circulation depths in two mountainous watersheds in the western U.S. and the effect of deep circulation on solute concentrations in streamflow

Late Cretaceous to middle Tertiary tectonic history of the northern Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico

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