Colorado Plateau: Geoid and Means of Isostatic Support

Chase, Clement G.; Libarkin, J. A.; Sussman, A. J.

doi:10.2747/0020-6814.44.7.575

Cited by 32 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Figure 1C shows the result of applying a band-pass spherical harmonic fi lter to the geoid anomaly data in order to examine buoyancy contributions from density contrasts in the upper mantle at depths between ~40 and 400 km. Buoyancy variations at these depths, which produce characteristic surface wavelengths (at 40°N) in the range of 85-1750 km, are examined by fi ltering the geoid signal from degree and order between 17 and 360 (using the fi ltering methodology described in Chase et al, 2002). This fi ltered geoid is referred to as the "lithospheric geoid" (Chase et al, 2002), and it isolates the geoid anomaly derived from upper-mantle density contrasts.…”

Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Buoyancy variations at these depths, which produce characteristic surface wavelengths (at 40°N) in the range of 85-1750 km, are examined by fi ltering the geoid signal from degree and order between 17 and 360 (using the fi ltering methodology described in Chase et al, 2002). This fi ltered geoid is referred to as the "lithospheric geoid" (Chase et al, 2002), and it isolates the geoid anomaly derived from upper-mantle density contrasts. The lithospheric geoid in the Colorado Rockies region is characterized by a positive 5-10 m anomaly relative to the Colorado Plateau and the Great Plains.…”

Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lithospheric geoid in the Colorado Rockies region is characterized by a positive 5-10 m anomaly relative to the Colorado Plateau and the Great Plains. Analyses of the geoid anomalies is preferred to gravity analysis for evaluating the depth of compensation because they are sensitive to the distribution of mass with depth and are proportional to 1/r (where r is the distance to the compensating mass), whereas gravity is proportional to 1/r 2 (Chase et al, 2002). Thus, geoid anomalies "see" deeper than gravity anomalies.…”

Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mantle-driven dynamic uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau and its surface response: Toward a unified hypothesis

et al. 2012

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The correspondence between seismic velocity anomalies in the crust and mantle and the differential incision of the continental-scale Colorado River system suggests that signifi cant mantle-to-surface interactions can take place deep within continental interiors. The Colorado Rocky Mountain region exhibits low-seismic-velocity crust and mantle associated with atypically high (and rough) topography, steep normalized river segments, and areas of greatest differential river incision. Thermochronologic and geologic data show that regional exhumation accelerated starting ca. 6-10 Ma, especially in regions underlain by low-velocity mantle. Integration and synthesis of diverse geologic and geophysical data sets support the provocative hypothesis that Neogene mantle convection has driven long-wavelength surface deformation and tilting over the past 10 Ma. Attendant surface uplift on the order of 500-1000 m may account for ~25%-50% of the current elevation of the region, with the rest achieved during Laramide and mid-Tertiary uplift episodes. This hypothesis highlights the importance of continued multidisciplinary tests of the nature and magnitude of surface responses to mantle dynamics in intraplate settings.

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Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Geophysical and Geological Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mantle-driven dynamic uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau and its surface response: Toward a unified hypothesis

et al. 2012

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“…(2) The upwelling of anomalously hot asthenosphere may push the lithosphere upwards, thus provoking dynamic uplift and bending of the lithosphere above the anomaly (LithgowBertelloni and Silver 1998; Jones et al 2002) (Fig. 4e). (3) Thermal erosion of the base of the lithosphere may decrease the average density of the lithosphere, thus generating uplift and bending of the whole lithosphere above the thermal anomaly (Chase et al 2002). The geometrical signature of the last two processes is a dome both for the top and for the base of the crust (Fig.…”

Section: Intraplate Bucklingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Separation of rifting and lithospheric folding signatures in the NW-Alpine foreland

Bourgeois

Ford

Diraison

et al. 2007

Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch)

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International audienceThe development of the Alpine mountain belt has been governed by the convergence of the African and European plates since the Late Cretaceous. During the Cenozoic, this orogeny was accompanied with two major kinds of intraplate deformation in the NW-European foreland: (1) the European Cenozoic Rift System (ECRIS), a left-lateral transtensional wrench zone striking NNE-SSW between the western Mediterranean Sea and the Bohemian Massif; (2) long-wavelength lithospheric folds striking NE and located between the Alpine front and the North Sea. The present-day geometry of the European crust comprises the signatures of these two events superimposed on all preceding ones. In order to better define the processes and causes of each event, we identify and separate their respective geometrical signatures on depth maps of the pre-Mesozoic basement and of the Moho. We derive the respective timing of rifting and folding from sedimentary accumulation curves computed for selected locations of the Upper Rhine Graben. From this geometrical and chronological separation, we infer that the ECRIS developed mostly from 37 to 17 Ma, in response to north-directed impingement of Adria into the European plate. Lithospheric folds developed between 17 and 0 Ma, after the azimuth of relative displacement between Adria and Europe turned counter-clockwise to NW SE. The geometry of these folds (wavelength = 270 km; amplitude = 1,500 m) is consistent with the geometry, as predicted by analogue and numerical models, of buckle folds produced by horizontal shortening of the whole lithosphere. The development of the folds resulted in ca. 1,000 m of rock uplift along the hinge lines of the anticlines (Burgundy Swabian Jura and Normandy Vogelsberg) and ca. 500 m of rock subsidence along the hinge line of the intervening syncline (Sologne Franconian Basin). The grabens of the ECRIS were tilted by the development of the folds, and their rift-related sedimentary infill was reduced on anticlines, while sedimentary accumulation was enhanced in synclines. We interpret the occurrence of Miocene volcanic activity and of topographic highs, and the basement and Moho configurations in the Vosges Black Forest area and in the Rhenish Massif as interference patterns between linear lithospheric anticlines and linear grabens, rather than as signatures of asthenospheric plumes

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“…In contrast, the lithospheric (or upper-mantle) geoid (Fig. 3B), as defined in Chase et al (2002) and Coblentz et al (2011Coblentz et al ( , 2015, exhibits a large number of long-wavelength features along the ridge segments that reflect uppermantle density variations and are presumably associated with upper-mantle convection. The difference between the two geoid fields (Fig.…”

Section: Stress Fields and Lithospheric Strengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ridge-push force and the state of stress in the Nubia-Somalia plate system

Mahatsente

Coblentz

2015

Lithosphere

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We assessed the relative contribution of ridge-push forces to the stress state of the Nubia-Somalia plate system by comparing ridge-push forces with lithospheric strength in the oceanic part of the plate, based on estimates from plate cooling and rheological models. The ridgepush forces were derived from the thermal state of the oceanic lithosphere, seafloor depth, and crustal age data. The results of the comparison show that the magnitude of the ridge-push forces is less than the integrated strength of the oceanic part of the plate. This implies that the oceanic part of the plate is very little deformed; thus, the ridge-push forces may be compensated by significant strain rates outside the oceanic parts of the plate. We used an elastic finite element analysis of geoid gradients of the upper mantle to evaluate stresses associated with the gravitational potential energy of the surrounding ridges and show that these stresses may be transmitted through the oceanic part of the plate, with little modulation in magnitude, before reaching the continental regions. We therefore conclude that the present-day stress fields in continental Africa can be viewed as the product of the gravitational potential energy of the ridge ensemble surrounding the plate in conjunction with lateral variations in lithospheric structure within the continent regions.

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Colorado Plateau: Geoid and Means of Isostatic Support

Cited by 32 publications

References 22 publications

Mantle-driven dynamic uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau and its surface response: Toward a unified hypothesis

Mantle-driven dynamic uplift of the Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau and its surface response: Toward a unified hypothesis

Separation of rifting and lithospheric folding signatures in the NW-Alpine foreland

Ridge-push force and the state of stress in the Nubia-Somalia plate system

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