Tectonic Inversion of Early Cretaceous Bisbee Basin as a primary control of Laramide Structural Style and Trends, Southeastern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico

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In orogenic zones affected by multiple deformation events, it is common for structural features such as faults to be reactivated, although documenting multiple movements, of the same or different displacement styles has proven to be difficult. This project will address this classic problem by looking at spatial variations in facies and thickness of syn-deformational sedimentary units in proximity to faults of the Bisbee Group (Early Cretaceous) in two key areas where the section appears to be anomalously thick. These rocks subsequently were deformed by Late Cretaceous to Paleogene age were deformed by Late Cretaceous to Paleogene age (Laramide) compression. If the Laramide structure was previously a major normal fault in early Cretaceous time, characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous strata (paleocurrents, thickness variations etc) should record proximity to the fault. Results have the potential to unambiguously separate the effects of the two tectonic events superimposed on this area, and by extension may provide sedimentologic and structural criteria to resolve multiple fault reactivations elsewhere.