Impact of the Yakutat indentor corner on present-day tectonics and fault activity in SE Alaska – SW Yukon

Abstract:

We present an active tectonic model of the SE Alaska – SW Yukon region based principally on the integration of recent GPS velocity data and new fault-slip rates derived from geomorphology. In this region, the Yakutat collision results in complex tectonics with patterns of strain localization and strain partitioning that strongly vary across the various mountain ranges and active faults. We propose that deformation and fault activity in the St. Elias and Chugach Mountains are primarily controlled by the eastern syntaxis of the Yakutat collision, which produces a semi-radial tectonic pattern: Velocities, principal horizontal shortening rates, and maximum horizontal stress orientations rotate by 60 – 80 ° around the syntaxis, from roughly parallel to the relative Pacific – North America motion at the front of the collision to roughly orthogonal southeast of the syntaxis. The interaction between this strain pattern and major inherited tectonic structures inland of the collision zone (i.e., Denali and Duke River Faults) results in various reactivation modes of these structures. Specifically, the Denali Fault shows a very pronounced lateral variations of activity from ~12 mm/a of dextral slip rate in its central section to ~1 mm/a of mostly shortening slip rate along its southern section. This marked change of activity is associated with a possible relay system where the Duke River and Totschunda Faults accommodate a major part (8 – 12 mm/a) of the inland strain transfer directly in front of the syntaxis. This new tectonic model retains some questions, in particular regarding the mechanisms of deformation and strain transfer (1) from the syntaxis to the Duke River – Totschunda system and (2) at the junction between Totschunda and Denali Faults. Numerical models of present-day deformation may help address these issues and provide information about relative strength of the various crustal and inherited fault elements of this system.