Saturday, March 6, 2010

CORIOLIS TECTONICS DISCOVERY AT Hf: Spiraling Magmas, Reverse faulting for rising vs. cooling volcanoes, & rotating Crustal cells with lateral faults

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.

CORIOLIS TECTONICS DISCOVERY at Hurricane fault: Spiraling Magma Chambers, Reverse faulting for rising versus cooling volcanoes, rotating Crustal Cells, Regional Lateral Faulting, Uplift of Colorado Plateau vs. Sinking of Basin and Range, Heat of Brittle Friction in shearing Crust (hot springs), Arcuate River Patterns, and Fracture-dominated subsurface fluid paths.

I WILL PRESENT THE FIELD INVESTIGATIONS, MADE BY MYSELF, WHICH LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF CORIOLIS TECTONICS. I HAD FEW INITIAL IDEAS OF MY OWN AND GENERALLY HAD ONLY THE IMPRESSION THAT THE HURRICANE FAULT REGION WAS AN AREA WHERE DYNAMICS OF THE EARTH WERE PRESENTLY BEING EXHIBITED; THE THESES FORMULATED WERE REALLY ONLY ENUNCIATED AFTER REFERRING TO GOOGLE EARTH AND THE VAST INFORMATION IT PRESENTS. THERE IS STILL A NUMBER OF UNSOLVED PROBLEMS, AND I HAVE FOUND ERRORS OF MY OWN WHICH HAVE TO BE CORRECTED AFTER SOME PRESENTATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. I AM FITTING EVERYTHING INTO A UNITED FABRIC, AS I AMASS MORE CASE HISTORIES. YOU MAY STILL FIND ERRORS IN PREVIOUS BLOGS, AND IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF CONMENTS WERE MADE BY THE READERS.


Above is a classic example of a rotating spiral forming in response to two movements: CCW rotation of the 500 km diameter Colorado Plateau, CP, and the CW rotation of the 30 km diameter Grass Valley cell- which forms a circular pattern from the WA fault in Washington City, under the Virgin River to Virgin Town, to Gooseberry Mesa, and finally to Ft. Pierce wash. This rotation makes arcuate canyons, lateral faulting, horizontal striations on slickensides, side-wise shear of concrete slabs, and HEAT FROM BRITTLE FRICTION, as in the PAH TEMPE HOT SPRINGS.
NOTICE THAT THE CELL IS NOT AN ELLIPSE, BUT A REGULAR CIRCLE. WHEN THE MOVEMENT IS FASTER ALONG ONE VECTOR THAN A SECONDARY ONE, THE CELL WILL BE DISTORTED TO FORM AN ELLIPSE. THIS LATTER CASE IS DEMONSTRATED AT GOULD'S CANYON, WHERE THERE IS LITTLE ROTATION FROM THE EAST; THE DRAG OCCURS MOSTLY FROM THE CP CCW ROTATION. BEFORE THIS IS SHOWN, BELOW ARE SOME CLASSIC PHOTOS, MADE BY ME, WHICH SHOW THE STRIATIONS ON SLICKENSIDES, SO THAT ONE CAN FIND THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT- WHETHER LATERAL OR VERTICAL, OR SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN (AS FOR TWO STRESS VECTORS):
MY PROOF FOR A LOT OF THE CONCLUSIONS LIES WITH THE DIRECTION OF STRIATIONS FOR LATERAL SLICKENSIDES (WHICH SHOWS EITHER CW OR CCW ROTATION), AS SHOWN IN THE BELOW IMAGE FROM HONEYMOON CANYON; KEEP IN MIND THAT A ROTATION CW, FOR A PARTICULAR CELL WILL HAVE THE ADJOINING CELL ROTATING IN THE OPPOSITE MODE- CCW, IF THERE IS NO HEAT GENERATED:


THE SPIRAL CANYON HAS SLICKENSIDES, EVEN THOUGH ITS DIAMETER IS LESS THAN A KILOMETER. THE AGE OF THE SPIRAL WOULD BE THE SAME AS FOR THE GRASS VALLEY CELL- ON THE ORDER OF A MILLION YEARS OR LESS (SINCE THE KOLOB 1 M.Y. BASALT HAS SHOWN THAT THERE WAS NO Hf SCARP AT THAT BASALT AGE- THAT PINE VALLEY BOULDERS FROM THE MIOCENE INTRUSION ROLLED DOWN THE WASH, WHICH IS NOW UNDER THE BASALT MESA JUST NORTH OF VIRGIN TOWN).
GOULD'S CANYON ELLIPSE:
AN ELLIPSE FOR A REACTIONARY CELL ALSO IS SHOWN FOR THE FROG HOLLOW CANYON NEAR THE HURRICANE AIRPORT:
I followed the circular pattern from the original discovery graben above Laverkin to features near the Verde River- not realizing that there was a lateral fault lying along the track of the river. There were a number of anomalous features- which GEOLOGISTS explain away by classification- but which I saw didn’t fit into the normal terminology. The HOGBACK west of the Ash Creek, near the Virgin river on the north side, was unstable as noticed by open fissures orienting N-S and making right-angle turns. These fissures were in loose soil, but the erosion filling them didn’t keep up with the enlargement of the foot-deep cracks. This told me that something was very active about the hogback- that it was tilting up to the west now.

Compare this photo with those above the Virgin River, near the town of Virgin (THESE COULD BE EXPLAINED BY GRAVITY-SLUMPING INTO THE RIVER, EXCEPT FOR THE OBVIOUS ORTHOGONAL ONES- BUT NOT THE ONES IMPRESSED IN THE LAVERKIN HOGBACK):


BELOW IS SHOWN THE LARGER VIEW OF THE LAVERKIN SINK, WITH THE HOGBACK ON THE LEFT SIDE, AND PVM ON THE HORIZON- THIS AREA IS UNDER EXTENSION, INCLUDING PINE VALLEY MOUNTAINS- WHICH IS AN INTRUSION-LACCOLITH: EXPANDED VIEWS OF THE LAVERKIN HOGBACK ARE SHOWN BELOW; NOTE THAT THE TOWN OF LAVERKIN SITS IN A LOW AREA OF THE LAVERKIN AND ASH CREEKS- NAMED THE LAVERKIN SINK:


Everything so far was puzzling to someone looking at the details; the literature has a vast terminology, and I still used it mainly to guide me. This proved to be frustrating, since one not only has to have a prodigious memory, but there was little order in the classification process. Geologists prefer to subdivide and classify, rather than resort to analysis. This method is valuable for fields such as entomology or stamp collecting, but does not result in an understanding of the processes involved. I gradually realized that one must start over- particularly after finding that the Plate Tectonic Theory did not apply to CRUSTAL LANDMASSES. Rather, the crust investigated seemed to portray circular features of various diameters, particularly for river paths. In the Hurricane fault region, this was very noticeable, and I now see that there are many Coriolis cells, wherever the crust is segmented by linears (straight line slices, or faulting, when viewed on a local to regional scale- but not on a scale of more than 100 km).

I began to broaden my investigation, to determine if the small Coriolis rotations were part of something larger. I was influenced by the observation that for weather cells in meteorology, that a local storm was part of the great jet stream which guided it. Both of these are circular in nature, and are determined by Coriolis Force over the oceans, and additionally by thermal (heat) and frictional (protrusions of hills and mountains) influences over landmasses.
I viewed the larger features of the Pine Valley Mountains, PVM, and found them to exhibit large and small cells, and that the entire range seem to be not only linearly arranged, but indicate sheared and rotated crust from circular river valleys and lateral displacement.

I NOTICED THAT THE DRAINAGES FROM PVM WERE ARCUATE- THE LIGHT WAS BEGINNING TO FLICKER IN MY OVERALL ASSESSMENT, SINCE I HAD STUDIED CORIOLIS FORCE IN MY METEOROLOGY TRAINING WITH THE USAF NAVIGATION PROGRAM, SOME 50 YEARS PREVIOUSLY:
FROM MY PREVIOUS WORK WITH NASA, AND HAVING BEEN IN THE BOWELS OF 2 SALT DOMES, I KNEW THAT THESE LOW DENSITY NaCl-CaSO4 SALTS WOULD ONLY RISE IN THE CRUST (AND NOT SINK, BECAUSE OF THE SURROUNDING HEAVIER ROCKS); HENCE I LOOKED AT A DOME I HAD ENTERED TO FIND THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION. IF IT SHOULD BE CCW, MY PREVIOUS CONCLUSIONS WOULD BE CORRECT ON THIS SCORE: NOTICE THAT THE ROTATION, AS SHOWN BY THE LEADING EDGE OF THE MOVEMENT IS CCW; I GAINED SOME CONFIDENCE, ENOUGH TO LOOK AT AN ACTIVELY RISING VOLCANO- MT. ST. HELENS:
NOTICE THAT A SMALL STREAM, ENTERING A LARGER ONE, LIES ON A CIRCULAR PATH. THIS PATH DIVERTS THE LARGER STREAM TO THE WEST. THIS WOULD BE A CCW ROTATION OF THE CRUST TO THE NORTH- RISING:


THE NEXT TEST I GAVE MYSELF CONCERNS THE LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE B&R, CW, AROUND THE PVM FROM THE WASATCH LINE TO THE THRUSTS ALREADY MAPPED AT THE VALLEY OF FIRE, NV. SHOULD THIS BE A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT, THEN THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT LARGER CORIOLIS ROTATIONS WERE OCCURRING CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT TIME, AND I COULD THEN CALCULATE AN APPROXIMATE ROTATION RATE FROM PVM TO NV- ALONG THE VIRGIN RIVER (I AM STILL USING 1 MM/YEAR, WHENEVER I HAVE NO BETTER INFORMATION). THE OVERTON ARM, MUDDY CREEK, AND VIRGIN RIVER CONSTITUTE A TRIPLE JUNCTION. THESE OCCUR WHEREVER THERE IS A JUNCTION OF WATERWAYS- SUCH AS FOR THE RED SEA, DEAD SEA SINK, AND GULF OF AQABA AND SUEZ
THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS FOR LARGE AND SMALL STREAM JUNCTIONS, AND I LATER FOUND THAT IT PRODUCED REPLICATED ANALYSES FOR LITTLEFIELD, SANTA CLARA, AND FT. PIERCE JUNCTIONS WITH THE VIRGIN RIVER. CONTINUING TO LARGER GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS, THE WESTERN USA HAS SEVERAL OBVIOUS LARGE ROTATIONS- SUCH AS THE B&R-CP COUPLET, THE SIERRAS ELLIPSE, AND THE ROCKY MT CHAIN ALONG THE INTERIOR OF THE USA:
WHEN THE LARGER VIEW IS TAKEN OF THE USA, THE MOUNTAIN RANGES, OLD AND YOUNG, CAN BE SEEN TO HAVE CURVATURE (AND NOT JUST DUE TO A TWO-DIMENSIONAL PRESENTATION OF A 3-DIMENSIONAL EARTH):
ANOTHER TEST FOR MYSELF WAS TO FIND TWO EXTINCT VOLCANOES, SIDE-BY-SIDE, AND TO FIND WHETHER THERE WAS A GEOTHERMAL EXPRESSION BETWEEN THE TWO- A CONFIRMATION OF BRITTLE-FRICTION HEATING (THIS PRODUCES CW ROTATION FOR BOTH SINKING VOLCANOES). I SELECTED THE ISLAND OF MAUI, WHERE THE "HOTSPOT" HAS MOVED ON TO THE ISLAND OF HAWAII. INDEED, HALEAKALA AND ITS WEST MAUI NEIGHBOR ARE BELIEVED TO BE OF AGES .75 AND 1.76 M.Y., AND THE WAIKAPU VENT HAS ARISEN SINCE THEIR DEMISE. IT NOW IS A TROPICAL NURSERY, AND CAN BE SEEN NEAR THE DRAINAGE BETWEEN THE TWO OLDER FEATURES BELOW (HOT SPRINGS, GEOTHERMAL EXPRESSIONS, AND REJUVENATION VENTS OCCUR AT WATERWAYS OR AT THE BEACHES- WHERE THEY INCUR BRITTLE FRICTION WITH ADJOINING CRUST,WHICH IS MORE STAGNANT:

I NOW HAD ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO "ATTACK" LARGER PUZZLES, WHICH GEOLOGISTS HAD NEVER BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND: THE PROGRESSION OF ISLANDS AND SEAMOUNTS KNOWN AS THE HAWAIIAN-EMPEROR CHAIN, AND THE PUZZLE OF YELLOWSTONE RHYOLITIC EXTRUSIONS. I FOUND RATHER RAPIDLY THAT THE TECTONIC PLATE THEORY DIDN'T APPLY TO THE PACIFIC BASIN EITHER. THERE WAS NO STATIONARY "HOTSPOT" OR MANTLE PLUME. RATHER THE FOLLOWING GOOGLE PHOTO SHOWS THAT THERE IS A ROTATION OF OCEANIC CRUST FORMING AN "HOURGLASS" OVER MOST OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC,AND THAT THE SYMMETRY OF THE FIGURE IS DUE TO ROTATION AND NOT TO MOVING RECTANGULAR "PLATES".
SOLVING THE YELLOWSTONE PUZZLE REQUIRED THAT I ANALYZE THE ENTIRE WESTERN USA, WHERE THE SIERRAS WESTWARD MOVEMENT AND ROTATION HAVE CREATED THE DEATH VALLEY ELLIPSE, THE EXTENSION OF THE BASIN AND RANGE, B&R, AND THE SHEAR BETWEEN THE TOP OF THE EQUATORIAL BULGE AT ROUGHLY 40N LATITUDE AND THE ZONE TO THE NORTH WHERE THERE IS NO EB, AND WHERE THE CRUST IS MOVING RELATIVELY EASTWARD COMPARED TO B&R:

AT THIS JUNCTURE, I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT A PICTURE WAS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS, AND THAT MODELS AND DIAGRAMS WERE NECESSARY TO SHOW THE IMPORTANT FEATURES- WHICH WOULD ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY DETAILS- WHICH WERE THE STOCK AND TRADE OF THOSE "LOST IN THE FOREST, LOOKING AT TOO MANY TREES":
FURTHER, I FOUND THAT THERE WERE TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF A CORIOLIS CELL:
1. AN INDEPENDENTLY-MOVING LINEAR, SUCH AS THE NORTHERN BORDER OF EB, AT 40N, ACTUATES CORIOLIS ROTATION; AND,
2. THE CELL WILL ROTATE CW ON THE SINKING SIDE, AND CCW ON THE RISING SIDE, WHERE THE LINEAR IS SEEN TO DIVIDE THE CELL IN TWO PARTS (NOTED BY THE CENTERLINE,c/l):

I REDUCED THE WESTERN USA, OF CA TO WA, TO A SET OF DIAGRAMS:



AND I REDUCED THE "MANTLE PLUMES, HOTSPOTS, AND RECTANGULAR PLATES" FOR THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TO A SET OF ROTATING CORIOLIS CELLS, FOR NOT ONLY HI, BUT ALSO THE ENTIRE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN: IN THE NORTH PACIFIC, THERE ARE E-W TRANSFORMS (DUE TO CONTRASTING MOVEMENTS OF THE NORTH AMERICA CRUST) WHICH SHEAR THE BASIN FLOOR AND CRUST. MOUNTAIN RANGES CAUSE WESTWARD SHEAR, DUE TO TIDAL SHOVE, AND RELATIVELY LOW ELEVATION PARTS OF THE CONTINENTS HAVE RELATIVE EASTWARD MOVEMENT:
NOTICE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IS A DIVIDER FOR THE CONTINENT- NOT ONLY IS THERE A SHEAR ZONE FOR WEATHER (THE PILOTS TELL ME), BUT THE APPALACHIAN OROGENY SEEMS TO BE ISOLATED FROM THE CENTRAL USA BY THE RIVERS; IT SEEMS THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER ELLIPSE, FORMED BY INTERFERENCE FROM TWO FEATURES- THE 41N EB BOUNDARY AND THE WESTWARD SHOVE OF THE APPALACHIANS, DUE TO TIDAL FORCES. ALSO NOTE THAT LONG ISLAND IS ORIENTED ALMOST E-W, DUE TO THE SHEAR AT THE NORTHERN BORDER OF EB:
SHOWN BELOW IS THE NORTH PACIFIC, WHERE THE CORIOLIS ROTATION IS MORE OBVIOUS THAN IN THE SOUTH (WHERE OTHER BULGES, IN THE PEAR-SHAPED EARTH CAUSE INTERFERENCE), THAN FOR THE NORTH PACIFIC:
THEN I REDUCED THE WESTERN USA, FOR B&R AND CP, TO A SIMPLE DIAGRAM, WHERE THE WASATCH LINE COULD BE EXPLAINED (THE LINEAR CENTERLINE), AND THE E-W ORIENTATION OF THE UINTA MOUNTAINS COULD BE UNDERSTOOD:
THE RHYOLITIC TRACK OF THE YELLOWSTONE EXTRUSIONS IS SHOWN BELOW, AND IT IS CREATED BY THE EXPANSION OF THE B&R, AS THE SIERRAS ARE SHOVED WESTWARD BY TIDAL DRAG, AND EACH MAJOR VALLEY (AN EXTENSION OR OPENING FROM WHICH MAGMA CAN BE EXTRUDED) OF B&R IS CONCOMITANT WITH AN ERUPTION OF THESE VIOLENT EXTRUSIONS (13-14 EXTRUSIONS WITH 14 MAJOR VALLEYS IN NV AND UT, TO IDAHO):
HOW THIS ALL FITS INT THE "BIG PICTURE" IS SHOWN IN THE DIAGRAM BELOW:

THE YELLOWSTONE REGION IS A VIOLENT ONE, AND HAS ERUPTED 13 TIMES, ACCORDING TO RHYOLITE SITES, BUT IT CAN PROCEED EASTWARD NO FURTHER, BEING SHOVED WESTWARD AT THE SAME RATE BY THE ROCKIES AS THE SIERRAS ARE SHOVED (BECAUSE OF HIGH MOUNTAIN PEAKS, WHICH INCREASE TIDAL DRAG). IT IS NOW REDUCED TO SHOVING AGAINST THE ROCKIES, WHICH SHOVE BACK, AND ONLY VENTS WILL OCCUR HENCEFORWARD (NOTICE HOW THE PATH OF THE SNAKE RIVER RESULTS FROM THE INTERFERENCE AT THE 40N+ LATITUDES):
THE YELLOWSTONE EXTRUSIONS ARE NOW "BATTERING AGAINST" THE WALL OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND THE ROCKIES ARE SHOVING BACK, DUE TO TIDAL DRAG OF THE HIGH MOUNTAINS. THEY PROHIBIT THE YELLOWSTONE VIOLENT ERUPTIONS FROM PROCEEDING EASTWARD, AND THE ERUPTIONS WILL BE CONFINED TO SMALLER VENTS- NOT BEING ABLE TO PENETRATE THE ROCKY BARRIER (HEAT WILL STILL BE GENERATED, SO LONG AS THE SIERRAS PUSH WESTWARD FASTER THAN THE ROCKIES, BUT THE WEDGE OPENED BY THE B&R FAULTING HAS NOW TERMINATED):
BELOW ARE GOOGLE EARTH PHOTOS, SHOWING THE CIRCULAR FEATURES OF ROTATING CELLS, PRESUMABLY CCW IN DIRECTION FOR YELLOWSTONE:


Development and Value of a Diagram, or Model
Above is a diagram, made by referring to a Google Earth photo, which allows the fashioner (accent on FASHION) to insert features- later to be modified when more information is amassed.
In this case, I have worked and lived in the Central USA, storing data and anomalies from the various oil basins- in which I have been stimulated to remember odd features. I looked at features on a MACROSCOPIC TO MEGASCOPIC SCALE, using county-wide appraisals from well logs and water analyses, while doing field work with geological techniques. I noticed that the odds of getting a prediction to success were very low- 1/11 for wildcats. Sometimes, the target was poor, while the log analyst would find oil in a completely separate horizon or depth than anticipated for the exploration geologist. Chance played a great role, and the geologist who drilled more wells was successful because luck assists you whenever you are persistent.
It struck me in those days that the EARTH was portraying features, in which the operating geologist was uninterested. I mapped entities such as the top of the high pressure zone (shown by the calcite cap on well logs), abnormal temperature from springs, high concentration of TDS in shallow well water, unusual salinity gradients from logs, and gradients of HCO3- as seen by the conductivity of shales above expected oil sands. These features had continuous variations- not abrupt changes, as expected for unconformities and faulting (these could be noticed also). A map could be made on the top of abnormal pressure (Gp> .5 psi./ft) for an entire county, and the feature would isolate a large cell of high pressure. I formed the opinion that the earth was exhibiting cells of activity, which had definite boundaries and lineations. I named these borders linears, and they could be found with the simple technique of measuring conductivity with a meter in the field or by scanning well logs for a whole county- just for the calcite cap, or decrease with depth of the SP curve in well logs. This led me to investigate fracture patterns, which were noticed whenever there was a linear along which I found anomalous spring water. There is quite a regularity in fracture patterns, and I now see that they are responding to stress direction and changes at cell boundaries.
I investigated many features which could be measured or mapped in the field, and one which I still value is the REDOX POTENTIAL, measured by using platinum electrodes with drill cuttings or slurries made from them. These show anomalous sulfur, uranium, or black oil (which has adsorbed unstable ions on its surface).
Keeping these anomalies in mind, one can now look at the earth surface to correlate chemical and pressure or stress oddities with abnormal shear and Coriolis cell changes. Google Earth shows only the results of mechanical forces on the Crust, and one must use other hints to find THERMAL ANOMALIES.
Keeping these features in mind, look at my initial diagram, and look for features on Google Earth, which can augment the picture. This procedure will start with an over-simplified drawing, which can be improved as information is found to improve it. This is a technique which analysts can easily develop.
Testing the model on an area known to me (I lived in Eagle Nest, NM for 18 years- doing field trips and geology hikes weekly; rainbow fishing was also the greatest, with several hundred caught yearly), but as yet unincorporated.
Here is the sequence known to me, and which we will attempt to fit into the aabove model for the 4 state Colorado Plateau and its surroundings:
1. After the KT strike and the Laramide progeny, the San Juan Mountains begin to rise on the east side of CP;
2. This rise initiates a CCW rotation of CP, and the shear develops in the Rio Grande rift, at about 41 m.y. (as seen by extrusions in the Llano Quemado area, near Taos, NM;
3. This vulcanism, in the form of vents, propagates along the present Rio Grande river, influenced by the CCW-moving shear zone;
4. The shear zone turns west at Albuquerque, NM and proceeds westward to the Mogollon rim. Major extrusions occur at the White Mountains and San Francisco peaks, near Flagstaff, due to the shear and rotation of CP;
5. Meanwhile, the Rocky mountains are sheared off in the Madrid area of NM, and now there is a separation between the Sandias and the main chain at Santa Fe. The chain continues to the south, but is now separate from the CP;
6. The Sandias are shoved westward by tidal forces, and the Estancia Basin forms on the east side of the mountains;
7. CP rotates rather than moves westward, but there is still a small westward movement, as seem at the Hurricane Cliffs of about 1 mm/year. This is at the ground surface, and the Mantle beneath is dragging the base eastward, so that vulcanism develops along Hf; and,
8. Heat of brittle friction still occurs along the Rio Grand rift, because of shear and rotation along the southern part of the Rockies.
There are some unknowns in this sequence, such as:
a. Why does a rift valley (Rio Grande) exist on the west side of the Sandias, if the chain is shoved to the west by tidal forces?
b. Why does the Rio Grande continue southward, if the CCW shear develops westward at Albuquerque?
c. How has the Arkansas River penetrated the Rocky chain in Colorado, when the Rockies should be compressing that region: and,
d. How is the Capulin and the extrusive salient to the east connected to the Arkansas and eastward rotations in southern CO?

The Arkansas River enters the Rockies, below Colorado Springs, evidently due to circular breach in the mountain chain. This is shown on a LARGER VIEW, SO THAT THERE EXISTS A CORIOLIS ROTATION IN THIS AREA. We will enter this domain with geological information to determine what the source of the shear is- there must be a determination of the direction of rotation as indicated by the drag on the surrounding rocks:
THE PUZZLE OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER BREACHING THE ROCKY MTN. IS SOLVED WHEN WE NOTICE THAT THE CORIOLIS ROTATION SURROUNDS THE LINEAR AT 40N LATITUDE. AT THIS TOP OF THE EQUATORIAL BULGE, EB (ACTUALLY MOST OF THE DATA SHOWS THE BULGE IS SOMEWHAT HIGHER IN LATITUDE), THE MOUNTAINS AND EB INCUR TIDAL WEST SHOVE, RELATIVE TO THAT NORTH OF 40N. HENCE THE 40+ ZONE MOVES EASTWARD RELATIVE TO 40-, AND WE CAN NOW BE CERTAIN OF THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION FOR THIS RARE CASE. MOST OF THE TIME, THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION MUST BE DETERMINED BY STRIATIONS ON SLICKENSIDES, IN WRENCHING OF CONCRETE SLABS, OR BY COMPARING THE DRAG ON THE BANKS OF RIVERS. THIS CW MOVEMENT FITS WITH THE NORMAL ROTATION OF SINKS, BASINS, OR LOW ELEVATION FEATURES, WHERE THERE IS LITTLE TIDAL DRAG FOR THE THINNER CRUST:
Now the rotation rate of the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Arkansas River (about the centerline of 40N )can be calculated: 34 km/65 m.y. = .52 mm/year. It could be that the age of the start could be diminished to 41 m.y., in which case the rotation rate would be .83 mm/year:


THIS WILL BE CONTINUED.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

GRASS VALLEY EXTRUSIONS ABOUT HURRICANE FAULT, Hf, AND IMPROVED DIAGRAM

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.

THIS DIAGRAM PERTAINS TO THE CORIOLIS ROTATIONS NOTICED IN THE FOLLOWING GOOGLE EARTH PHOTO:
Tilt of the CRUST near the Hurricane Fault, Hf
The above model shows that the base of the crust is moved to the east by the relative faster movement of the Mantle. This is anticipated to be faster due to the lesser tidal effect there, because of the further distance from the moon, and also due to the protrusion of the Crust into the atmosphere- where it can incur more friction, both tidal-ly and by drag.
There are other movements of the Crust near Hf, such as:
a. Slicing CCW of the Colorado Plateau, CP, relative to the transition zone;
b. The movement of magma, both rising and later cooling;
c. The normal faulting of the Basin and Range, B&R, relative to the uplifting CP;
d. Rotation of the 30 km Grass Valley Coriolis cell; and,
e. Rebound, due to the loss of mass as erosion of CP transpires.

Taking these in turn, a. has been measured by the striations on slickensides nearby, and it is about 1 mm/year (1 kilometer/million years); b. is a bit more difficult to handle, since the magma rotates CCW when rising and CW when cooling and shrinking. These movements may occur along the same fault planes (and have been found to do so by field geologists), and introduce an uncertainty because of both features occurring in a given canyon wall. Below is a photo taken on the plateau above Hf:


Although the lateral striations indicate side-wise movement, it is not clear whether they move left or right, without finding cat steps or claw indications from chert of other hard rock digging into the opposing rock face. Was the rotation to the left of right?
c. can be solved by normal field measurements by geologists using displacement of a particular layer or bed.
d. Rotation of the Grass Valley is obvious from photos showing circular canyons. Additional information is found by the placement of monoclines due to the compressional force near canyons, and by extensional grabens or sinks on the opposite side of the rotating cell.

e. Rebound can be measured by GPS, as at Fredonia, AZ, but this is a catch-all term, and a net result of all of the other movements combined.
What’s the CONCLUSION regarding the tilting and dipping of sedimentary beds along Hf?
The most general include:
1. The Divide vulcanism, east of the Grass Valley extrusion, represents the high elevation of the dead? local magma chamber. It is high on both sides of Hf, and the AZ roadway can be seen visually as the high point of topography on the low side of Hf. In addition, the basalt from the Divide vulcanism spills out over Hf at this same location.
2. Coriolis cells east of Hf dip-down toward the Virgin River, as does Gooseberry mesa, and we will check whether this dip generally reverses on the southern part of the cell (near the AZ border, where outcrops near the wash dip to SE along a 15 degree dip plane.
THE LATERAL SHEAR MAY BE SEEN IN A NEARBY LOCATION- IN THE SAME WASH:
3. The Mantle drags the base of the crust eastward, but this only shows up at slices near creek junctions and is not indicated for the whole Grass Valley cell. A possibility is that the eastward movement is there, but that it is works on small blocks of crust and is incremental- though prevalent.
THE GROUND SURFACE IS MOVING WESTWARD, RELATIVE TO THE BASE OF THE CRUST, AT THE BELOW LOCATION. THIS CAUSES THE TILT TO THE HURRICANE FAULT EASTWARD WITH DEPTH, AND THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT OF Hf CAN BE SEEN IN THE SPACING OF TERRACES EAST OF THE PRESENT Hf, AT THE HIWAY 9 SWITCHBACKS. THIS IS ABOUT .22 KM/CYCLE, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 5 CYCLES I HAVE DOCUMENTED FOR THE LAST MILLION YEARS. THIS YIELDS ABOUT 200 K.YEARS PER CYCLE, SINCE THE HURRICANE FAULT HAS BEEN ACTUATED. I FURTHER FIND FROM THE KOLOB MESA OF ABOUT 1 M.Y. BASALT, THAT THERE ARE PVM (21 M.Y. INTRUSIVE) ROCKS JUST BELOW THIS BASALT MESA TOP- SHOWING THAT THERE WAS NO Hf AT THAT TIME (SINCE THE ROCKS ROLLED THROUGH STREAM BEDS ACROSS WHAT IS NOW Hf):

THE 5 TERRACES, REPRESENTING 5 SURGES OF Hf, MAY BE SEEN IN THE 5 SLUMPS OF ABOUT EQUAL SPACING ABOVE VIRGIN TOWN, BELOW THE KOLOB MESA; I EXPECT THAT THIS IS SIMULTANEOUS WITH THE MAGNETIC REVERSAL, STRIPING, AND SURGING OF Hf EACH 200 K.YEARS OR SO (THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS THE NORMAL MOVEMENT OF THE HURRICANE FAULT DOWNWARD- WHICH IS LESS THAN A MILLIMETER YEARLY, BELOW Hf):
4. The circular portion of the Virgin River, from Virgin town to the Washington fault, represents an uplift due to magma rise in the past. This is now shrinking and cooling, but the reduction of elevation is now offset by rebound, so that the rotation may be measured but the shrinking cannot. Features such as the Laverkin sink and the Hiway graben exhibit the downdrop, but it is highly local.
PART OF THE LAVERKIN SINK AND THE GRABEN TO THE EAST CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO TAKEN ALONG HIWAY 9- GOING TO VIRGIN TOWN AND ZION NP (NOTE SLICKENSIDES ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD- TO THE EAST; THESE CAN BE USED TO FIND THAT THERE IS NOT ONLY DOWNWARD DISPLACEMENT ALONG THE GRABEN WALL, BUT ALSO MOVEMENT TO THE RIGHT, WHICH IS THE CCW MOVEMENT OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU):

Friday, February 26, 2010

Kanab, Utah to the Grand Canyon: Following the Great Faults

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.

LOOKING MORE CLOSELY AT THE DIVERSIONS OF THE WESTWARD-TRENDING COLORADO RIVER, THERE ARE GREAT LATERAL FAULTS (CCW-ROTATING CP) WHICH HAVE DIVERTED THE COLORADO TO THE SE. THESE HAVE DISPLACEMENT, BUT IN THE LONG RUN HAVE A LATERAL MOVEMENT TRANSITING THE CANYON. THIS IS THE REASON WHY THE RIVER HAS BEEN LATE IN CONNECTING TO THE WESTERN PART, AND WE CAN NOW SOLVE THE RIDDLE OF THE LATE DEVELOPMENT OF GRAVELS (MIOCENE OR LATE OLIGOCENE) NEAR HUALAPAI RESERVATION:

The above Google photo shows that the faulting at the near-western edge of the Colorado Plateau, CP, not only has vertical displacement, but also lateral movement. They have displaced the Colorado River to the south along a significant path. These faults trace down to the Town of Flagstaff- evidently responsible for the huge basaltic and rhyolitic extrusions there (and the rejuvenation cone of the 1015-dated crater). See an earlier blog for a classification of extrusions, related to anomalous Coriolis rotations and HEAT FROM BRITTLE FRICTION IN THE CRUST.
The great faults shown above are those in the CP proper, not counting the Hurricane fault, Hf, and transition zone faulting which is influenced by extension of the Basin and Range, B&R. That there is lateral movement can be confirmed by viewing slickensides which have lateral (sidewise) striations, wrenching of concrete slabs, dragging of river meanders relatively from one side along the bank, and shallow hot springs along river courses.

BELOW IS SHOWN THE CALCULATION OF THE RATE OF BASALTIC VENT MOVEMENT TOWARD THE CITY OF HURRICANE,, STARTING AT THE RIO GRANDE RIFT IN LLANO QUEMADO NEAR TAOS, NM AT OLIGOCENE TIME:
THIS RATE OF 24 MM/YEAR ROTATION OF THE CP WILL BE USED FOR THE CONCENTRIC CIRCLE- SOMEWHAT SMALLER- RUNNING THROUGH THE EASTERN GRAND CANYON. THIS ALLOWS A CALCULATION OF THE TIME REQUIRED TO DISRUPT THE CIRCULAR COURSE TO THE PRESENT TIME. WE CAN THEN DETERMINE WHEN THE WESTERN DISRUPTION WAS INITIATED- TO FORM THE GRAVELS OUTCROPPING iN THE GRAND CANYON AT THE HUALAPAI LOCATION. THESE GRAVELS ARE ABOUT THE SAME AGE AS THOSE I HAVE ANALYZED EXTENSIVELY IN THE VERDE RIVER GRABEN AT THE MOGOLLON RIM NEAR CORNVILLE, AZ.
THE COLORADO HAS BEEN DIVERTED BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT ROTATING CELLS, SO THAT ITS PATH IS VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN EXPECTED BY A SIMPLE DOWNHILL MOTION. IT EVIDENTLY HAS CHANGED COURSE DUE TO THE 2 MAIN DIVERSIONS OF ABOUT 70 KM EACH. THIS INDICATES THAT THE CALCULATED 24 MM/YEAR RATE IS CLOSE TO THAT FOR THE WHOLE COLORADO PLATEAU:
I WILL MAKE A DEPARTURE FROM THE ABOVE SEQUENCE, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HIGHLY VARIABLE RESULTS I OBTAINED IN THE FLAGSTAFF VOLCANIC AREA- WHERE I DID RESISTIVITY TRAVERSES TO FIND SUBSURFACE WATER FOR CLIENTS. SOME WERE PUZZLING, AND I NOW SEE THAT THE PERMEABILITY (paths for fluids) DEPENDED UPON CORIOLIS SHEAR PATHS. THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS, WITH GOOGLE EARTH PHOTOS AND ROTATING CELLS:
THE PHOTOS show that the "parks" have better communication with the subsurface for water flow (CIRCULAR SHEAR INCREASES PERMEABILITY FOR FLUID FLOW, so THAT I CAN IMPROVE MY ANALYSIS FOR USE OF RESISTIVITY SURVEYS IN THE FIELD. I DID HAVE SUCCESS IN FINDING THE 100 GPM WELL AT DAVENPORT LAKE- WEST OF FLAGSTAFF- BUT THE COUNTY WOULD NOT LET THE CLIENT TRANSPORT THE WATER TO THE GRAND CANYON AS HE HAD PLANNED. We'll compare the Flagstaff basalt extrusions to those at STONEMAN LAKE, NEAR I-17 SOUTH OF FLAGSTAFF:
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLORADO RIVER
To solve this puzzle, we must start with the progression since the Laramide. Since the Laramide and the Rocky Mountains are an international feature (from Canada to Central America, and probably on into the Andes), we will have to assume that this started the new re-arrangement of the CRUST AFTER THE CHICXULUB STRIKE. Previous movements of the Earth were probably dominated by the strike at the end of the Permian (the great extinction), and this is deferred until younger actions are put on “FIRM GROUND”. The following entities have been incorporated by field work by myself- having lived and visited all of the features mentioned.
1. As the Rockies rose, the tidal shove began to move them westward. This is seen by the deposition of the Oligocene Poison Canyon formation of a brick red sandstone- just to the east of the Rockies- eroded from the intrusion of the N-S oriented Cimarron Mountains (also a middle Tertiary extensional feature). Recall from the B&R extension, that the orientation is N-S, even though the Sierras (which created the extension by their tidal shove westward) orient NW-SE.

2. The extensional phase of the movement of the Rockies westward resulted in Eagle Nest Lake (where I lived for 18 years), while the Rockies began to create rotation associated with the protrusion of the high mountains. This initiated shear of rotation and HEAT OF BRITTLE FRICTION- CREATING EXTRUSIONS IN THE RIO GRANDE RIVER REGION (Llano Quemado- baked earth). The earliest date I have is 41 m.y. for the basaltic vents in the rift valley. It took this length of time after the uplift to develop sufficient heat for extrusion: 10 million years or so. Meanwhile the San Juan Mountains are rising- compressional uplift, introducing compression to the Colorado plateau. This rise results in additional CCW rotation of CP;


3. Initiation of extrusions proceeded westward around the southern edge of CP- similar to the opening of fractures above the small spiral found at Honeymoon Canyon, AZ or for the great spiral found north of the Aleutian chain.

and the Aleutian spiral
PROCEEDING FURTHER, WE WILL VIEW DIATREMES, WHICH ARE A TYPE OF EXTRUSION (EVIDENTLY RAPID-RISING). WHICH MAY SHED LIGHT ON THE DYNAMICS OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU:

ABOVE PHOTOS INDICATE A NEW "TWIST" IN THE PORTRAIT: DRAINAGE PATTERNS INDICATE THAT ONE SIDE IS ROTATING OPPOSITELY TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHIPROCK ELLIPSE. THIS AND THE FACT THAT ELLIPSES HAVE BEEN FOUND IN MY CASE HISTORIES TO INDICATE INTERFERENCE FROM LARGER ENTITIES, BEARS FURTHER ANALYSIS. WE WILL LOOK INTO SOUTH AFRICAN DAITREMES:

TO BE CONTINUED. AFTER FIELD WORK IN THE AZ STRIP- TO TOROWEEP AND MT. TRUMBULL.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Basin and Range Extension created by Tidal Shove of Sierras westward as Earth slows

EARTH SCIENCE postings from www.googleearth.com are reported in blogsites in: www.PorOgle.blogspot.com for other locations.
Basin and Range Extension created by Tidal Shove of Sierras westward as Earth slows
The Earth has its Length of Day increasing some 24 seconds each million years. This is caused by EARTH TIDES (SLOWING THE EARTH), from friction of interaction with the MOON. Consequently, all protrusions such as the high elevation Sierra Mountains incur additional slowing, pushing them westward relative to neighboring lands. The surrounding lower elevation flat lands have less westward movement than the Sierras and continue to move eastward, relatively.

From the above Google Earth photo, it is seen that the transform (lateral shear fault) from Mendocino continues westward from the CA coast until reaching the 41 m.y. kink in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. This is located at the Kimmei seamount, which is under water and measured by radio-dating drill cores. The transform reaching the 28 m.y. Midway Island is the same as the Garlock fault at the city of Las Angeles:

This is reflected in the occurrence of DEATH VALLEY NM, where the Sierras pull away from the Basin and Range in Nevada- creating extension of B&R across Nevada and part of Utah (AND N-S FRACTURING AND FAULTING IN THE NEARBY MAMMOTH LAKES AND MONOCRATERS AREA. There have been 13 or 14 episodes of extension, about one million years apart.
THIS IS SHOWN IN THE FOLLOWING PHOTO AND DIAGRAM:

ALTHOUGH THE SIERRAS ORIENT NW-SE, THE B&R RANGES ORIENT N-S. THIS RELATES THAT TIDAL EFFECTS- DUE TO THE EARTH SLOWING- ACT DIRECTLY WESTWARD. THE MONOCRATERS AND MAMMOTH LAKES GEOTHERMAL AREA LINE ON A N-S TREND, EVEN THOUGH THE SIERRAS JUST TO THE WEST ORIENT DIAGONALLY TO THIS TREND. PHOTO BELOW SHOWS A YOUNG VENT WHICH HAS BEEN SHEARED BY THE N-S LATERAL MOVEMENTS, IN DEATH VALLEY NM:


TO BE CONTINUED, AS I ACCUMULATE MORE FIELD EVIDENCE