GP31A-3668:
Dimensionality and geological implications of a sparse magnetotelluric dataset
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Boe Derosier, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, United States, Kristen N Dennis, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, United States, Raymundo Omar Plata Martinez, UNAM National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, Mansoure Montahaei, University of Teheran, Teheran, Iran, Paul Bedrosian, USGS Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO, United States and Louise Pellerin, Green Geophysics, Berkeley, CA, United States
Abstract:
High-quality broadband magnetotelluric (MT) data (0.01-1000 s period) were acquired at four stations in Borrego Canyon within the Santo Domingo Basin of the Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico, during the 2014 Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) field program. MT response functions along the 10-km long NW trending profile are nearly identical with all stations showing a distinct mode split at 10 s period, suggesting a significant conductivity contrast is located roughly 10-20 km away from the profile based on skin depth estimates. Audiomagnetotelluric, polar diagrams, impedance skew, induction vectors and phase tensor analysis all indicate one-dimensional (1-D) structure at periods <10 sec, a predominantly two-dimensional (2-D) structure at intermediate depths (10-100 s) with a 60° geoelectric strike, and three-dimensional (3-D) structure at the longest periods. Inverse modeling of the data from 0.01–10 s reveals a three-layer electrical structure: a moderately resistive sediments from the surface to ~750 m depth, a conductive layer (weathered volcanoclastics) to 4 km depth, and below 4 km a highly resistive basement of Mesozoic and Precambrian rocks. A 2-D inverse model converged, but resulted in physically unrealistic structure. Hence a 3-D forward model study was performed using the 2014 data together with three additional MT stations acquired further to the east during SAGE 2010. Models that include a NE-trending conductive structure to the north of the profile show broad consistency between the measured and synthetic phase tensors and impedances. We infer our MT data to be on the conductive side of this contact, with the resistive material to the NW attributed to a heavily intruded crust beneath the Jemez lineament, and possibly the edge of the thick lithosphere beneath the Colorado Plateau. 3-D inversion of this sparse data set is being carried out to determine whether this conceptual model is consistent with the full impedance tensor and tipper data.
