The crustal structure of the Northwestern Basin and Range Province, Nevada, from wide‐angle seismic data

Holbrook, W. Steven

doi:10.1029/jb095ib13p21843

Cited by 53 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Overall, the results are in accord with those of other investigators of the region. Average crustal velocities obtained by 2-D survey lines across central NV agree with those of this study (e.g., Catchings and Mooney, 1991;Holbrook, 1990;Catchings, 1992;Potter et al, 1987). Similarly, a Moho depth of about 30 km obtained in the above studies is consistent with the tomographic results obtained here based upon P velocities reaching the upper 7 km/ s range near that depth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

P- and S-body wave tomography of the state of Nevada.

Preston¹

2010

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P-and S-body wave travel times collected from stations in and near the state of Nevada were inverted for P-wave velocity and the Vp/Vs ratio. These waves consist of Pn, Pg, Sn and Sg, but only the first arriving P and S waves were used in the inversion. Travel times were picked by University of Nevada Reno colleagues and were culled for inclusion in the tomographic inversion. The resulting tomographic model covers the entire state of Nevada to a depth of ~90 km; however, only the upper 40 km indicate relatively good resolution. Several features of interest are imaged including the Sierra Nevada, basin structures, and low velocities at depth below Yucca Mountain. These velocity structure images provide valuable information to aide in the interpretation of geothermal resource areas throughout the state on Nevada.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my colleagues, Glenn Biasi and Ileana Tibuleac, at the University of Nevada Reno for collecting and picking the data for this project.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

P- and S-body wave tomography of the state of Nevada.

Preston¹

2010

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“…Of note here is the absence in our interpretation of a discrete lower-crustal ''7.x'' km/s layer, commonly attributed to the presence of magmatic underplating [e.g., Catchings, 1992] and perhaps related to a zone of enhanced near-vertical reflectivity at the base of the crust [Klemperer et al, 1986]. Independent modeling of the 1986 PASSCAL survey ($130 km south of our survey, Figure 1) produced two separate interpretations of the velocity structure of western Nevada, one with and one without a lower-crustal 7.x layer (Catchings and Mooney [1991] and Holbrook [1990], respectively). Catchings and Mooney [1991] interpreted westward-thickening of the 7.x layer along the NW-SE PASSCAL transect, from $1 km in central Nevada, to $7 km in northwestern Nevada.…”

Section: Lower-crustal Velocitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crustal structure of the northwestern Basin and Range Province and its transition to unextended volcanic plateaus

Lerch¹,

Klemperer

Glen

et al. 2007

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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[1] The northwestern margin of the Basin and Range Province is characterized by a transition from lowmagnitude ($20%) extension in northwestern Nevada to relatively unextended volcanic plateaus in northeastern California. Seismic-velocity and potential-field modeling provides new control on the Mesozoic-to-present tectonic evolution of this poorly understood portion of the U.S. Cordillera. We document $20% crustal thinning associated with Basin and Range extension from a crustal thickness of $37 km under northeastern California to $31 km under northwestern Nevada that is consistent with the amount of extension recorded in the upper crust in northwestern Nevada, suggesting the crustal response to extension was relatively homogeneous over the entire crustal column. Our modeling also shows a welldefined, 80-km-wide zone of unusually low upper-crustal velocities ($5.9-6.1 km/s) that coincide with the surface location of sparse Cretaceous granites, locating the elusive northern extension of the Sierra Nevada batholith through northwestern Nevada for the first time in the subsurface. Combining geological and geophysical data, we reconstruct the late Cretaceous-to-present crustal evolution of this region, documenting an interplay between magmatic addition to the crust, erosional exhumation, sedimentation, and extension that has reversed the direction of crustal thinning from a west-facing continental margin to an east-facing interior basin margin over this time interval. Finally, we find no evidence in northwestern Nevada for unusually thick crust (>40 km) prior to Basin and Range extension.

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“…The latter may be consistent with intrusion of mantle melts into the lower crust (Lachenbrach and Sass Okaya and Thompson 1986). An important feature of this region is the anomalously lowvelocity, low-density upper mantle with P-wave velocities of 7.6 and 7.9 km-sec-' (Priestley et al 1982;Benz et al 1990;Holbrook 1990). emphasized that there is not a close correlation between buoyancy of the crustal column and degree of crustal extension.…”

Section: -8mentioning

confidence: 99%

Status of volcanism studies for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

Crowe¹,

Perry²,

Murrell³

et al. 1995

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; ifs unique idenfzfier assigned to fhis appendix is LA-EES-13-LV-12-95-002. To obtain rgerences bgore fhe appendix is issued, confacf Kean Finnegan at (7021-794-7273 ABSTRACTChapter 1 introduces the volcanism issue for the Yucca Mountain site and provides the reader with an overview of the organization, content, and significant conclusions of this report. The risk of future basaltic volcanism is the primary topic of concern including both events that intersect a potential repository and events that occur near or within the waste isolation system of a repository. Future volcanic events cannot be predicted with certainty but instead are estimated using formal methods of probabilistic volcanic hazard assessment. Chapter 2 describes the volcanic history of the Yucca Mountain region (YMR) and emphasizes the Pliocene and Quaternary volcanic record, the interval of primary concern for volcanic risk assessment. The distribution, eruptive history, and geochronology of Plio-Quaternary basalt centers are described by individual center emphasizing the two cycles of the Postcaldera basalt, the Older postcaldera basalt and the Younger postcaldera basalt. The Lathrop Wells volcanic center is described in detail because it is the youngest basalt center in the YMR, it has been problematic to establish the geochronology of the center; and it probably formed during multiple, timeseparate eruptive events, an unexpected difference from typical monogenetic basaltic volcanic centers. Chapter 3 describes the tectonic setting of the YMR and presents and assesses the significance of multiple alternative tectonic models. The Crater Flat volcanic zone is defined and described as one of many alternative models of the structural controls of the distribution of Plio-Quaternary basalt centers in the YMR. Geophysical data are described for the YMR and are used as an aid to understand the distribution of basaltic volcanic centers. Chapter 4 discusses the petrologic and geochemical features of basaltic volcanism in the YMR, the southern Great Basin and the Basin and Range province. Geochemical and isotopic data are described that indicate basalt of the southern Great Basin was derived from ancient lithospheric mantle. The long time of activity and characteristic small volume of the Postcaldera basalt of the YMR result in one of the lowest eruptive rates in a volcanic field in the southwest United States. Quaternary lavas of the YMR lack plagioclase phenocrysts and fractionated at high pressure in the lower crust or upper mantle before ascent and eruption. The compositional variation of the Lathrop Wells center provides strong evidence of formation from separate and unrelated magma batches. Chapter 5 summarizes current concepts of the segregation, ascent, and eruption of basalt magma. Magma ascending as dikes probably followed northwest-trending structure at depth and diverted at shallow depths following the direction of maximum compressive stress. Chapter 6 summarizes the history of volcanism studies (1979 through early 1994), including work f...

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The crustal structure of the Northwestern Basin and Range Province, Nevada, from wide‐angle seismic data

Cited by 53 publications

References 83 publications

P- and S-body wave tomography of the state of Nevada.

P- and S-body wave tomography of the state of Nevada.

Crustal structure of the northwestern Basin and Range Province and its transition to unextended volcanic plateaus

Status of volcanism studies for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

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