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Basin record of a Miocene lithosphere drip beneath the Colorado Plateau

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  • John J. Y. He

    (University of Arizona)

  • Paul Kapp

    (University of Arizona)

Abstract

The sinking of gravitationally unstable lithosphere beneath high-elevation plateaus is proposed to be a key driver of their uplift. Numerical geodynamic models predict that lithosphere removal can lead to transient, dynamic topographic changes that could be preserved in the surface record, particularly in sedimentary deposits of lakes or playas that are subsequently inverted. However, few such examples have been documented. Here we show that the Miocene Bidahochi Basin, which was partially and intermittently filled by the Hopi Paleolake, preserves a record of the quasi-elliptical surface response to a viscous drip of lithosphere >100 km beneath the Colorado Plateau. New detrital zircon U-Pb, Lu-Hf, and trace-element data reveal systematic isotopic, geochemical, temperature and fO2 transitions in magmatism proximal to the basin. Integration of geophysical, geochemical, and geological evidence supports a spatially and temporally varying record of subsidence and uplift that is consistent with models of progressive dripping beneath plateaus with thick lithosphere. We demonstrate that dynamic topography at the scale of individual lithosphere drips can be recognized on the Colorado Plateau, despite the strength of its lithosphere.

Suggested Citation

  • John J. Y. He & Paul Kapp, 2023. "Basin record of a Miocene lithosphere drip beneath the Colorado Plateau," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-40147-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40147-7
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    1. Min Chen & Fenglin Niu & Jeroen Tromp & Adrian Lenardic & Cin-Ty A. Lee & Wenrong Cao & Julia Ribeiro, 2017. "Lithospheric foundering and underthrusting imaged beneath Tibet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, August.
    2. George Zandt & Hersh Gilbert & Thomas J. Owens & Mihai Ducea & Jason Saleeby & Craig H. Jones, 2004. "Active foundering of a continental arc root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada in California," Nature, Nature, vol. 431(7004), pages 41-46, September.
    3. A. Levander & B. Schmandt & M. S. Miller & K. Liu & K. E. Karlstrom & R. S. Crow & C.-T. A. Lee & E. D. Humphreys, 2011. "Continuing Colorado plateau uplift by delamination-style convective lithospheric downwelling," Nature, Nature, vol. 472(7344), pages 461-465, April.
    4. Oğuz H. Göğüş & Russell N. Pysklywec & A. M. C. Şengör & Erkan Gün, 2017. "Drip tectonics and the enigmatic uplift of the Central Anatolian Plateau," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-9, December.
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