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Active foundering of a continental arc root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada in California

Author

Listed:
  • George Zandt

    (University of Arizona)

  • Hersh Gilbert

    (University of Arizona)

  • Thomas J. Owens

    (University of South Carolina)

  • Mihai Ducea

    (University of Arizona)

  • Jason Saleeby

    (California Institute of Technology)

  • Craig H. Jones

    (University of Colorado)

Abstract

Seismic data provide images of crust–mantle interactions during ongoing removal of the dense batholithic root beneath the southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The removal appears to have initiated between 10 and 3 Myr ago with a Rayleigh–Taylor-type instability, but with a pronounced asymmetric flow into a mantle downwelling (drip) beneath the adjacent Great Valley. A nearly horizontal shear zone accommodated the detachment of the ultramafic root from its granitoid batholith. With continuing flow into the mantle drip, viscous drag at the base of the remaining ∼35-km-thick crust has thickened the crust by ∼7 km in a narrow welt beneath the western flank of the range. Adjacent to the welt and at the top of the drip, a V-shaped cone of crust is being dragged down tens of kilometres into the core of the mantle drip, causing the disappearance of the Moho in the seismic images. Viscous coupling between the crust and mantle is therefore apparently driving present-day surface subsidence.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:431:y:2004:i:7004:d:10.1038_nature02847
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02847
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Matthijs A. Smit & Kira A. Musiyachenko & Jeroen Goumans, 2024. "Archaean continental crust formed from mafic cumulates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Haijiang Zhang & Qing-Tian Lü & Xiao-Lei Wang & Shoucheng Han & Lijun Liu & Lei Gao & Rui Wang & Zeng-Qian Hou, 2023. "Seismically imaged lithospheric delamination and its controls on the Mesozoic Magmatic Province in South China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.

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