NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Paleomagnetism and tectonic interpretations of the Taos Plateau volcanic field, Rio Grande rift, New MexicoThe tectonic response of the Taos Plateau volcanic field in the southern San Luis basin to late stage extensional environment of the Rio Grande rift was investigate using paleomagnetic techniques. Sixty-two sites (533 samples) of Pliocene volcanic units were collected covering four major rock types with ages of 4.7 to 1.8 Ma. Twenty-two of these sites were from stratigraphic sections of the lower, middle and upper Servilleta Basalt collected in the Rio Grande gorge at two locations 19 km apart. Flows from the lower and middle members in the southern gorge record reversed polarities, while those in Garapata Canyon are normal with an excursion event in the middle of the sequence. The uppermost flows of the upper member at both sites display normal directions. Although these sections correlate chemically, they seem to represent different magnetic time periods during the Gilbert Reversed-Polarity Chron. The data suggest the Taos Plateau volcanic field, showing no rotation and some flattening in the south and east, has acted as a stable buttress and has been downwarped by overriding of the southeastern end of the plateau by the Picuris Mountains, which make up the northern corner of the counter-clockwise rotating Espanola block.
Document ID
19950046170
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Brown, Laurie L.
(Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA United States)
Caffall, Nancy M.
(Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA United States)
Golombek, Matthew P.
(California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
December 10, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 98
Issue: B12
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
95A77769
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available