Sedimentation and crustal recycling along an active oblique-rift margin: Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California

Abstract

Research Article| May 01, 2010 Sedimentation and crustal recycling along an active oblique-rift margin: Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California Rebecca J. Dorsey Rebecca J. Dorsey * Department of Geological Sciences, 1272 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1272, USA *E-mail: [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Rebecca J. Dorsey * Department of Geological Sciences, 1272 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1272, USA *E-mail: [e-mail]. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 15 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 25 Nov 2009 Accepted: 02 Dec 2009 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2010 Geological Society of America Geology (2010) 38 (5): 443–446. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30698.1 Article history Received: 15 Sep 2009 Revision Received: 25 Nov 2009 Accepted: 02 Dec 2009 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Rebecca J. Dorsey; Sedimentation and crustal recycling along an active oblique-rift margin: Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California. Geology 2010;; 38 (5): 443–446. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30698.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Transtensional basins embedded in the San Andreas fault system of Southern California (United States) and northwestern Mexico are filled with sediment derived from the Colorado River, which drains a large area of the western U.S. interior. The sediment is rapidly buried, heated, and mingled with intrusions in the deep basins to form a new generation of recycled crust along the active plate boundary. Using a range of values for total basin depth, relative volume of mantle-derived intrusions, and composition of early rift deposits, the volume of Colorado River–derived sediment in the basins is bracketed between 2.2 and 3.4 × 105 km3, similar to the volume of rock that likely was eroded from the Colorado River catchment over the past 5–6 m.y. The volumetric rate of crustal growth by sedimentation is ∼80–130 km3/m.y./km, comparable to growth rates in subduction-related island arcs and slow seafloor spreading centers. Sedimentary and basinal processes thus play a major role in crustal evolution and recycling in this setting, and may be important at other rifted margins where a large river system is captured following tectonic collapse of a prerift orogenic highland. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.