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- All Subjects: Geophysics
- All Subjects: thermochronology
- Creators: Semken, Steven
Description
Understanding the evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen is important because of its purported effects on global geodynamics, geochemistry and climate. It is surprising that the timing of initiation of this canonical collisional orogen is poorly constrained, with estimates ranging from Late Cretaceous to Early Oligocene. This study focuses on the Ladakh region in the northwestern Indian Himalaya, where early workers suggested that sedimentary deposits of the Indus Basin molasse sequence, located in the suture zone, preserve a record of the early evolution of orogenesis, including initial collision between India and Eurasia. Recent studies have challenged this interpretation, but resolution of the issue has been hampered by poor accessibility, paucity of robust depositional age constraints, and disputed provenance of many units in the succession. To achieve a better understanding of the stratigraphy of the Indus Basin, multispectral remote sensing image analysis resulted in a new geologic map that is consistent with field observations and previously published datasets, but suggests a substantial revision and simplification of the commonly assumed stratigraphic architecture of the basin. This stratigraphic framework guided a series of new provenance studies, wherein detrital U-Pb geochronology, 40Ar/39Ar and (U-Th)/He thermochronology, and trace-element geochemistry not only discount the hypothesis that collision began in the Early Oligocene, but also demonstrate that both Indian and Eurasian detritus arrived in the basin prior to deposition of the last marine limestone, constraining the age of collision to older than Early Eocene. Detrital (U-Th)/He thermochronology further elucidates the thermal history of the basin. Thus, we constrain backthrusting, thought to be an important mechanism by which Miocene convergence was accommodated, to between 11-7 Ma. Finally, an unprecedented conventional (U-Th)/He thermochronologic dataset was generated from a modern river sand to assess steady state assumptions of the source region. Using these data, the question of the minimum number of dates required for robust interpretation was critically evaluated. The application of a newly developed (U-Th)/He UV-laser-microprobe thermochronologic technique confirmed the results of the conventional dataset. This technique improves the practical utility of detrital mineral (U-Th)/He thermochronology, and will facilitate future studies of this type.
ContributorsTripathy, Alka (Author) / Hodges, Kip V (Thesis advisor) / Semken, Steven (Committee member) / Van Soest, Matthijs C (Committee member) / Whipple, Kelin X (Committee member) / Christensen, Philip R. (Philip Russel) (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
For the geoscience community to continue to grow, students need to be attracted to the field. Here we examine the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program to understand how the participants' experiences' affects their interest in geoscience and educational and career goals. Eleven interns over two years (2013-2014) were interviewed prior to the start of their internship, after their internship, and after presenting their research at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting. This internship program is of particular interest because many of the interns come into the REU with non-geoscience or geophysics backgrounds (e.g., physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering). Both a priori and emergent codes are used to convert interview transcripts into quantitative data, which is analyzed alongside demographic information to understand how the REU influences their decisions. Increases in self-efficacy and exposure to multiple facets of geoscience research are expressed as primary factors that help shape their future educational and career goals. Other factors such as networking opportunities and connections during the REU also can play a role in their decision. Overall, REU participants who identified as geosciences majors solidified their decisions to pursue a career in geosciences, while participants who identified as non-geosciences majors were inclined to change majors, pursue geosciences in graduate school, or explore other job opportunities in the geosciences.
ContributorsGossard, Trey Marshall (Author) / Semken, Steven (Thesis director) / Garnero, Edward (Committee member) / Reynolds, Stephen (Committee member) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Aquifers host the largest accessible freshwater resource in the world. However, groundwater reserves are declining in many places. Often coincident with drought, high extraction rates and inadequate replenishment result in groundwater overdraft and permanent land subsidence. Land subsidence is the cause of aquifer storage capacity reduction, altered topographic gradients which can exacerbate floods, and differential displacement that can lead to earth fissures and infrastructure damage. Improving understanding of the sources and mechanisms driving aquifer deformation is important for resource management planning and hazard mitigation.
Poroelastic theory describes the coupling of differential stress, strain, and pore pressure, which are modulated by material properties. To model these relationships, displacement time series are estimated via satellite interferometry and hydraulic head levels from observation wells provide an in-situ dataset. In combination, the deconstruction and isolation of selected time-frequency components allow for estimating aquifer parameters, including the elastic and inelastic storage coefficients, compaction time constants, and vertical hydraulic conductivity. Together these parameters describe the storage response of an aquifer system to changes in hydraulic head and surface elevation. Understanding aquifer parameters is useful for the ongoing management of groundwater resources.
Case studies in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, focus on land subsidence from groundwater withdrawal as well as distinct responses to artificial recharge efforts. In Christchurch, New Zealand, possible changes to aquifer properties due to earthquakes are investigated. In Houston, Texas, flood severity during Hurricane Harvey is linked to subsidence, which modifies base flood elevations and topographic gradients.
Poroelastic theory describes the coupling of differential stress, strain, and pore pressure, which are modulated by material properties. To model these relationships, displacement time series are estimated via satellite interferometry and hydraulic head levels from observation wells provide an in-situ dataset. In combination, the deconstruction and isolation of selected time-frequency components allow for estimating aquifer parameters, including the elastic and inelastic storage coefficients, compaction time constants, and vertical hydraulic conductivity. Together these parameters describe the storage response of an aquifer system to changes in hydraulic head and surface elevation. Understanding aquifer parameters is useful for the ongoing management of groundwater resources.
Case studies in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, focus on land subsidence from groundwater withdrawal as well as distinct responses to artificial recharge efforts. In Christchurch, New Zealand, possible changes to aquifer properties due to earthquakes are investigated. In Houston, Texas, flood severity during Hurricane Harvey is linked to subsidence, which modifies base flood elevations and topographic gradients.
ContributorsMiller, Megan Marie (Author) / Shirzaei, Manoochehr (Thesis advisor) / Reynolds, Stephen (Committee member) / Tyburczy, James (Committee member) / Semken, Steven (Committee member) / Werth, Susanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The collision of India and Eurasia constructed the Himalayan Mountains. Questions remain regarding how subsequent exhumation by climatic and tectonic processes shaped the landscape throughout the Late Cenozoic to create the complex architecture observed today. The Mount Everest region underwent tectonic denudation by extension and bestrides one of the world’s most significant rain shadows. Also, glacial and fluvial processes eroded the Everest massif over shorter timescales. In this work, I review new bedrock and detrital thermochronological and geochronological data and both one- and two-dimensional thermal-mechanical modeling that provides insights on the age range and rates of tectonic and erosional processes in this region.
A strand of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS), a series of prominent normal-sense structures that dip to the north and strike along the Himalayan spine, is exposed in the Rongbuk valley near Everest. Using thermochronometric techniques, thermal-kinematic modeling, and published (U-Th)/Pb geochronology, I show exhumation rates were high (~3-4 mm/a) from at least 20 to 13 Ma because of slip on the STDS. Subsequently, exhumation rates dropped drastically to ≤ 0.5 mm/a and remain low today. However, thermochronometric datasets and thermal-kinematic modeling results from Nepal south of Everest reveal a sharp transition in cooling ages and exhumation rates across a major knickpoint in the river profile, corresponding to the modern-day Himalayan rainfall transition. To the north of this transition, exhumation histories are similar to those in Tibet. Conversely, < 3 km south of the transition, exhumation rates were relatively low until the Pliocene, when they increased to ~4 mm/a before slowing at ~3 Ma. Such contrasting exhumation histories over a short distance suggest that bedrock exhumation rates correlate with modern precipitation patterns in deep time, however, there are competing interpretations regarding this correlation.
My work also provides insights regarding how processes of glacial erosion act in a glacio-fluvial valley north of Everest. Integrated laser ablation U/Pb and (U-Th)/He dating of detrital zircon from fluvial and moraine sediments reveal sourcing from distinctive areas of the catchment. In general, the glacial advances eroded material from lower elevations, while the glacial outwash system carries material from higher elevations.
A strand of the South Tibetan detachment system (STDS), a series of prominent normal-sense structures that dip to the north and strike along the Himalayan spine, is exposed in the Rongbuk valley near Everest. Using thermochronometric techniques, thermal-kinematic modeling, and published (U-Th)/Pb geochronology, I show exhumation rates were high (~3-4 mm/a) from at least 20 to 13 Ma because of slip on the STDS. Subsequently, exhumation rates dropped drastically to ≤ 0.5 mm/a and remain low today. However, thermochronometric datasets and thermal-kinematic modeling results from Nepal south of Everest reveal a sharp transition in cooling ages and exhumation rates across a major knickpoint in the river profile, corresponding to the modern-day Himalayan rainfall transition. To the north of this transition, exhumation histories are similar to those in Tibet. Conversely, < 3 km south of the transition, exhumation rates were relatively low until the Pliocene, when they increased to ~4 mm/a before slowing at ~3 Ma. Such contrasting exhumation histories over a short distance suggest that bedrock exhumation rates correlate with modern precipitation patterns in deep time, however, there are competing interpretations regarding this correlation.
My work also provides insights regarding how processes of glacial erosion act in a glacio-fluvial valley north of Everest. Integrated laser ablation U/Pb and (U-Th)/He dating of detrital zircon from fluvial and moraine sediments reveal sourcing from distinctive areas of the catchment. In general, the glacial advances eroded material from lower elevations, while the glacial outwash system carries material from higher elevations.
ContributorsSchultz, Mary Hannah (Author) / Hodges, Kip V (Thesis advisor) / Whipple, Kelin X (Committee member) / Semken, Steven (Committee member) / Heimsath, Arjun M (Committee member) / Till, Christy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017