Late Quaternary faulting in the Sevier Desert driven by magmatism.

ABSTRACT: Seismic hazard in continental rifts varies as a function of strain accommodation by tectonic or magmatic processes. The nature of faulting in the Sevier Desert, located in eastern Basin and Range of central Utah, and how this faulting relates to the Sevier Desert Detachment low-angle normal fault, have been debated for nearly four decades. Here, we show that the geodetic signal of extension across the eastern Sevier Desert is best explained by magma-assisted rifting associated with Plio-Pleistocene volcanism. GPS velocities from 14 continuous sites across the region are best-fit by interseismic strain accumulation on the southern Wasatch Fault at c. 3.4 mm yr^-1 with a c. 0.5 mm yr^-1 tensile dislocation opening in the eastern Sevier Desert. The characteristics of surfa

SUBMITTER: Stahl T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5349561 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature