Evolution of a highly dilatant fault zone in the grabens of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA – integrating fieldwork, ground-penetrating radar and airborne imagery analysis

Kettermann, M. and Grützner, C. and van Gent, H. W. and Urai, J. L. and Reicherter, K. and Mertens, J. (2015) Evolution of a highly dilatant fault zone in the grabens of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA – integrating fieldwork, ground-penetrating radar and airborne imagery analysis. Solid Earth, 6 (3). pp. 839-855. ISSN 1869-9529 DOI https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-839-2015

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Abstract

Abstract. The grabens of Canyonlands National Park are a young and active system of sub-parallel, arcuate grabens, whose evolution is the result of salt movement in the subsurface and a slight regional tilt of the faulted strata. We present results of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in combination with field observations and analysis of high-resolution airborne imagery. GPR data show intense faulting of the Quaternary sediments at the flat graben floors, implying a more complex fault structure than visible at the surface. Direct measurements of heave and throw at several locations to infer fault dips at depth, combined with observations of primary joint surfaces in the upper 100 m, suggest a highly dilatant fault geometry. Sinkholes observed in the field as well as in airborne imagery give insights in local dilatancy and show where water and sediments are transported underground. Based on correlations of paleosols observed in outcrops and GPR profiles, we argue that either the grabens in Canyonlands National Park are older than previously assumed or that sedimentation rates were much higher in the Pleistocene.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	2015AREP, IA69,
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Divisions:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics 07 - Gold Open Access
Journal or Publication Title:	Solid Earth
Volume:	6
Page Range:	pp. 839-855
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-839-2015
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2015 10:17
Last Modified:	25 Aug 2015 14:33
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/3415

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