Abstract
To unravel the forces and better understand the processes that drive continental rifting, and to understand the role of sedimentation in promoting the rifting process, we compare; the different geological features of two narrow rifts, the Salton Trough and Death Valley, California. According to our models, the Moho is 22 km deep to the southwest of the Salton Sea on US-Mexico border and it deepens to 30 km in the region west of the Salton Trough. In Death Valley, the Moho is 24 km deep in the central part of the basin and it deepens to 32 km outside of the basin. The dome shaped Moho in both rifts is suggested to be primarily the product of magmatic activity in the lower crust and upper mantle. Death Valley is narrow rift in the initial stage of rifting with several sedimentary basins 2 - 4 km deep. In Death Valley magmatic (thermal) forces appears to drive the rifting process. The Salton Trough is wider than Death Valley and is moving toward sea floor spreading. The depth of the sedimentary basins ranges from 8 - 10 km and a combination of thermal and sedimentation appears to drive rifting processes in the Salton Trough.
Highlights
Rifts have developed in continents at least since plate tectonic was established early in earth’s history [1]
The present day Salton Trough differs from analogous structures to the south in the Gulf of California primarily because of the large volume of sediments deposited in the Colorado River delta during the past 5 m.y. [14]
Thermal a magmatic body which is inferred to be a mixture of lower crust and upper mantle material, to fit this body to our models we presumed the density of this body to be 3100 kg/m3, this deeper magma extends for at least 160 km in NW-SE direction in Death Valley [29] and extends for 70 km in SW-NE direction in Salton Trough
Summary
Rifts have developed in continents at least since plate tectonic was established early in earth’s history [1]. Comparative studies of rifts are a useful way to organize what is known, recognize what is not known, and improve our understanding of the processes which led to continental rifting [3]. Magmatism resulting from such rifting can help refine our understanding of the strength of the lithosphere, the state of the underlying mantle and the transformation from rifting to sea floor spreading [4]. Detailed subsurface modeling of multiple data sets can provide information on the driving forces of rifting, the structure and magmatic history, and the characteristics that determine whether and how a rift might evolve into the stage as either an abandoned continental rift or an ocean basin. We combine receiver function and gravity data with pre-existing seismic models to illustrate the role of sedimentation rate and sediments flux in promoting the rifting process
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