Geological Society of America

16 Upper Crustal Deformation across Continental Interiors from the Mesozoic to the Present

Tuesday, 14 March 2017
10:35 AM - 12:15 PM
Grand Ballroom A

A PALEOMAGNETIC ANALYSIS OF VERTICAL AXIS ROTATION ALONG THE TASCOTAL MESA FAULT IN FAR WEST TEXAS

Paper number: 16-4
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 11:35 AM – 11:55 AM

Authors

Jacob Helesic Presenting Author
Biology, Geology and Physical Sciences, Alpine, TX
Michael Petronis
New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM
Jesse Kelsch
Department of Biology, Geology, and Physical Sciences, Alpine, TX
Patricia W. Dickerson
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Kevin M. Urbanczyk
Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX
David Rohr
Sul Ross State Univ, Alpine, TX

Abstract

The Tascotal Mesa transfer zone (TMTZ), as described by Dickerson (1995), is an east-west trending zone expressing ~290 million years of tectonic and magmatic activity since the late Paleozoic. The Tascotal Mesa Fault (TMF) lies within the TMTZ as a right-lateral strike-slip fault expressing ~1 km of dextral offset and ~735 m of normal dip-slip motion within the last ~30 million years (Dickerson, 1995). The TMF is at the southeastern margin of the Basin and Range extensional province and functions as a transfer zone within the Rio Grande rift in west Texas (Dickerson, 2013; Henry, 1998; Henry et al., 1991). Ideal horizontal extension should cause the crust to undergo only vertical motion or rotation about a horizontal axis, but vertical-axis rotations have been documented in volcanic flows within the TMTZ, by the use of paleomagnetism (Sager et al., 1992). The methods for a detailed paleomagnetic analysis on the TMF represent a combination of techniques including large-scale geologic field mapping, paleomagnetism field core drilling, GPS point accumulation, thin-section characterization, and rock-magnetization analysis. The goal of this study is to interpret the role of the Tascotal Mesa Fault in accommodating crustal deformation through a quantitative vertical-axis rotation paleomagnetic analysis.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2017SC-289353

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