Transtensional rifting in the proto-Gulf of California near Bahia Kino, Sonora, Mexico

Bennett, Scott; Oskin, M. E.; Iriondo, Alexander

doi:10.1130/b30676.1

Cited by 49 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Using the lowest slip rate estimate of V = 46.0 ± 0.9 mm/yr allows a higher deformation rate of 2.2 mm/yr and requires a minimum of 0.4 mm/yr to be accommodated on faults east of Angel de la Guarda Island. These generally low rates agree with studies that documented the westward migration of motion in the Gulf of California, inactivity of faults in the Tiburon Basin and on the coast of Sonora, and low deformation rates (<1 mm/yr) for faults on Tiburon Island [Gastil et al, 1975;Gastil and Krummenacher, 1977;Aragon-Arreola and Martin-Barajas, 2007;Martin-Barajas et al, 2013;Bennett et al, 2013]. Additional GPS data in central Baja California between site VIEJ and the Vizcaino peninsula, and on the islands east of the Ballenas Channel and in coastal Sonora, would provide better constraints on the slip rate of the Ballenas Fault, but our data clearly point to this fault accommodating the great majority of plate motion at this fault location.…”

Section: 1002/2015jb011959supporting

confidence: 88%

Space geodetic observation of the deformation cycle across the Ballenas Transform, Gulf of California

et al. 2015

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The Gulf of California, Mexico, accommodates ~90% of North America‐Pacific plate relative motion. While most of this motion occurs on marine transform faults and spreading centers, several fault segments in the central Gulf come close to peninsular Baja California. Here we present Global Positioning System and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data near the Ballenas transform fault, separating the peninsula from Angel de la Guarda Island. We observe interseismic motion between June 2004 and May 2009 and displacements associated with the 3 August 2009 Mw 6.9 earthquake. From the interseismic data we estimate a locking depth of 9–12.5 km and a slip rate of 44.9–48.1 mm/yr, indicating that faults east of Angel de la Guarda deform at negligible rates and that the Ballenas Transform accommodates virtually all of the relative motion between the North American plate and the Baja California microplate. Our preferred model for coseismic slip on a finite rectangular fault plane suggests 1.3 m of strike‐slip displacement along a vertical rupture plane that is 60 km long and extends from the surface to a depth of 13 km in the eastern Ballenas Channel, striking parallel to Baja California‐North America relative plate motion. These estimates agree with the seismic moment tensor and the location of the major foreshock and aftershocks and are compatible with the fault location identified from high‐resolution bathymetric mapping. The geodetic moment is 33% higher than the seismic moment in part because some afterslip and viscous flow in the first month after the earthquake are included in the geodetic estimate. Coulomb stress changes for adjacent faults in the Gulf are consistent with the location of smaller aftershocks following the 2009 main shock and suggest potential triggering of the 12 April 2012 Mw 6.9 Guaymas earthquake.

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Section: 1002/2015jb011959supporting

confidence: 88%

Space geodetic observation of the deformation cycle across the Ballenas Transform, Gulf of California

et al. 2015

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“…11A: Umhoefer 2011;Sutherland et al 2012;Bennett et al 2013; also see Bryan et al 2014), while the Gulf of California evolved on top of the previous and deceased arc system (Fig. 11A;Umhoefer 2011;Bennett et al 2013). Basin opening and strike-slip translation have also been related to the evolution of thick-slab subduction that transitions to strike-slip faulting in Alaska, also over a short time period (Trop et al 2012).…”

Section: An Alternative Model: Terrane Translationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 million years, Baja has been dextrally transported at least 300 km north and west of its origin (Fig. 11A: Umhoefer 2011;Sutherland et al 2012;Bennett et al 2013; also see Bryan et al 2014), while the Gulf of California evolved on top of the previous and deceased arc system (Fig. 11A;Umhoefer 2011;Bennett et al 2013).…”

Section: An Alternative Model: Terrane Translationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronostratigraphy of the Hottah terrane and Great Bear magmatic zone of Wopmay Orogen, Canada, and exploration of a terrane translation model

et al. 2015

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Abstract:The Paleoproterozoic Hottah terrane is the westernmost exposed bedrock of the Canadian Shield and a critical component for understanding the evolution of the Wopmay Orogen. Thirteen new high-precision U-Pb zircon crystallization ages are presented and support field observations of a volcano-plutonic continuum from Hottah terrane through to the end of the Great Bear magmatism, from >1950 to 1850 Ma. The new crystallization ages, new geochemical data, and newly published detrital zircon U-Pb data are used to challenge hitherto accepted models for the evolution of the Hottah terrane as an exotic arc and microcontinent that arrived over a west-dipping subduction zone and collided with the Slave craton at ca. 1.88 Ga. Although the Hottah terrane does have a tectonic history that is distinct from that of the neighbouring Slave craton, it shares a temporal history with a number of domains to the south and east -domains that were tied to the Slave craton by ca. 1.97 Ga. It is interpreted herein that Hottah terrane began to the south of its current position and evolved in an active margin over an always east-dipping subduction system that began prior to ca. 2.0 Ga and continued to ca. 1.85 Ga, and underwent tectonic switching and migration. The stratigraphy of the ca. 1913-1900 Ma Hottah plutonic complex and Bell Island Bay Group includes a subaerial rifting arc sequence, followed by basinal opening represented by marginal marine quartz arenite and overlying ca. 1893 Ma pillowed basalt flows and lesser rhyodacites. We interpret this stratigraphy to record Hottah terrane rifting off its parental arc crust -in essence the birth of the new Hottah terrane. This model is similar to rapidly rifting arcs in active margins -for example, modern Baja California. These rifts generally occur at the transition between subduction zones (e.g., Cocos-Rivera plates) and transtensional shear zones (e.g., San Andreas fault), and we suggest that extension-driven transtensional shearing, or, more simply, terrane translation, was responsible for the evolution of Bell Island Bay Group stratigraphy and that it transported this newly born Hottah terrane laterally (northward in modern coordinates), arriving adjacent to the Slave craton at ca. 1.88 Ga. Renewed east-dipping subduction led to the Great Bear arc flare-up at ca. 1876 Ma, continuing to ca. 1869 Ma. This was followed by voluminous Great Bear plutonism until ca. 1855 Ma. The model implies that it was the westerly Nahanni terrane and its subducting oceanic crust that collided with this active margin, shutting down the >120 million year old, east-dipping subduction system.

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“…4) that comprise the Sierra Libre and Kino Bay outcrops, which are separated by more than 100 km. Recently, Bennett (2009) has proposed the existence of a rapid Late Miocene west-northwest-directed transtensional displacement across the Kino Bay area, which could represent some of the Pacific-North America (PAC-NAM) plate boundary deformation. However, this dextral shear zone localized within the Kino Bay area is not sufficient to successfully accommodate the ~150 km missing after the paleo-tectonic restoration of the post-6.1 Ma PAC-NAM plate boundary position (Oskin et al, 2001).…”

Section: Regional Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, an ignimbritic sequence has been widely recognized on both sides of the Gulf of California (Fig. 1), in Baja California where it is known as the Tuff of San Felipe (Stock et al 1999;Oskin et al 2001;Bennett, 2009;Olguin-Villa, 2010;OlguinVilla et al, 2010), and in the state of Sonora where it is described as peralkaline ignimbrite , 2007, 2008aBarrera-Guerrero and Vidal-Solano, 2010;Gómez-Valencia and Vidal-Solano, 2010). This ignimbritic episode, whose outcrops span an area of at least 50.000 km 2 , has been attributed to a possible megaeruption that occurred during Middle Miocene time (Vidal-Solano et al, 2008b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical characteristics of the extensive peralkaline pyroclastic flow deposit of NW Mexico based on conventional and handheld X-ray fluorescence. Geochemical and tectonic implications in a regional context.

Vidal-Solano

Cruz

Zamora

et al. 2013

Journal of Iberian Geology

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Geochemistry of the extensive peralkaline pyroclastic flow deposit of NW Mexico, based on conventional and handheld X-ray fluorescence. Implications in a regional context Geoquímica del extenso depósito de flujo piroclástico hiperalcalino del NW de México, basada en fluorescencia de rayos X convencional y portátil. Implicaciones en un contexto regional Abstract Chemical analyses conducted on the surface of rock slabs under a combination of two X-ray spectrometry methods, wavelength dispersive XRF and energy dispersive XRF, are used to establish a geochemical correlation between the studied samples. This proves to be an excellent method for the characterization of volcanic glasses, particularly when particles of exotic origin are present, because the effect of these is not easily eliminated by conventional whole rock analysis. Analyses of glassy rhyolites (ignimbrites and lava flows) in northwestern Mexico establish a geochemical signature for the samples, providing criteria that allow us to: a) correlate them with a peralkaline volcanic event, previously reported, that occurred during Middle Miocene time; b) distinguish them from other metaluminous varieties in the region and, c) propose a correlation between all the peralkaline vitrophyres that crop out within the studied area, of at least 50.000 km 2 , validating the hypothesis that they are related to the same volcanic event. Finally, based on the results of this study and previous geological investigations, it is proposed that a distance of more than 100 km between the geographical location of the thickest peralkaline deposits in Sonora, is probably related to a displacement along transtensional dextral faults during the Late Miocene.. Keywords: Geochemical correlation, ignimbrites, peralkaline rhyolites, NW México ResumenEl análisis químico realizado en secciones de roca bajo la combinación de dos métodos de espectrometría de fluorescencia de rayos x, por dispersión de longitudes de onda y por dispersión de energías, permitió establecer una correlación geoquímica entre las muestras estudiadas, resultando ser un excelente método para la caracterización de vidrios volcánicos, en particular cuando contie-

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Transtensional rifting in the proto-Gulf of California near Bahia Kino, Sonora, Mexico

Cited by 49 publications

References 85 publications

Space geodetic observation of the deformation cycle across the Ballenas Transform, Gulf of California

Space geodetic observation of the deformation cycle across the Ballenas Transform, Gulf of California

Chronostratigraphy of the Hottah terrane and Great Bear magmatic zone of Wopmay Orogen, Canada, and exploration of a terrane translation model

Geochemical characteristics of the extensive peralkaline pyroclastic flow deposit of NW Mexico based on conventional and handheld X-ray fluorescence. Geochemical and tectonic implications in a regional context.

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