Reference Directions, Rotations, and Magnetostratigraphy: Utilization of Oligocene Ignimbrite Paleomagnetism to Better Understand Walker Lane Tectonics, Western Nevada, USA

Abstract:

The Walker Lane accommodates ~20% of dextral strain between the Pacific and North American Plates on discontinuous sets of predominately northwest-striking right- and easterly striking left-lateral faults. Located west of dextral faults of the central Walker Lane and east of the Sierra Nevada frontal fault system is a region of normal faults and asymmetric basins where geodetic studies define ~5 mm/yr of northwest-directed dextral strain. As this region is devoid of major strike-slip fault systems, how strain is accommodated is poorly understood. To elucidate the long-term tectonic development of this region, we are compiling paleomagnetic data from late Oligocene ash-flow tuffs to determine magnitudes of vertical-axis rotation. This data set will be compared with ongoing and complementary studies of subsurface basin geometry and recent fault-slip motions to ultimately understand the tectonic development of this enigmatic part of the Walker Lane.

Paleomagnetic directions were collected from structural-blocks where multiple ash-flow tuffs crop out in stratigraphic succession, and at least one sampled unit has a previously established reference direction. This approach will allow for determination of the magnitude of vertical-axis rotation at each locality and provide an opportunity to infer paleomagnetic reference directions for other ash-flow tuffs. Preliminary paleomagnetic data have identified statistically-significant magnitudes of vertical-axis rotation (~20-50° clockwise) west of central Walker Lane dextral faults. Magnetostratigraphic correlations to the geomagnetic time scale have refined ages for several ash-flow tuffs, and span ~5 Ma of the late Oligocene (chrons: 6Cn.3n-10r). The results of this research will not only elucidate the manner in which dextral shear is accommodated in this portion of the Walker Lane, but also provide an extensive data set for establishing Oligocene ash-flow tuff paleomagnetic reference directions and regional correlations.