Journal article
Where did the Arizona-Plano Go? Protracted Thinning Via Upper- to Lower-Crustal Processes
Gilby Jepson, Barbara Carrapa, Sarah WM George, Lauren J Reeher, Paul A Kapp, George H Davis, Stuart N Thomson, Chiara Amadori, Christopher Clinkscales, Sean Jones, Andrew JW Gleadow, Barry P Kohn
Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth | American Geophysical Union | Published : 2022
DOI: 10.1029/2021JB023850
Abstract
Mesozoic‐Cenozoic subduction of the Farallon slab beneath North America generated a regionally extensive orogenic plateau in the southwestern US during the latest Cretaceous, similar to the modern Central Andean Plateau. In Nevada and southern Arizona, estimates from whole‐rock geochemistry suggest crustal thicknesses reached ∼60–55 km by the Late Cretaceous. Modern crustal thicknesses are ∼28 km, requiring significant Cenozoic crustal thinning. Here, we compare detailed low‐temperature thermochronology from the Catalina metamorphic core complex (MCC) to whole rock Sr/Y crustal thickness estimates across southern Arizona. We identify three periods of cooling. A minor cooling phase occurred p..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Awarded by US National Science Foundation
Funding Acknowledgements
Tim Carter is thanked for the contribution of AFT data for the UoM samples obtained under Australian Research Council Grant DP0345931. Barbara Carrapa would like to acknowledge US National Science Foundation grant EAR Tectonics 1,919,179. Paul Kapp would like to acknowledge US National Science Foundation grant EAR 2048656. Jon Spencer is thanked for his invaluable support and guidance about the geology during fieldwork and valuable insights on an early draft. Asaf Raza provided assistance with sample preparation. The University of Melbourne Thermochronology Laboratory receives operation support through the AuScope program of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). We thank editor Isabelle Manighetti, the associate editor, reviewer M. Odlum, and an anonymous reviewer for their thoughtful comments which improved this manuscript.