Collaborative Research: Great Unconformity of the Southwestern U.S.A. -- Ar-Ar K-Feldspar Thermochronologic and Structural Studies of a Billion Years of Regional Exhumation

9902955 Karlstrom美国西南部的大不整合面代表了一个复杂的差异去顶的中地壳岩石在一个大的区域，在其淹没晚前寒武纪和年轻的海洋沉积物。 这种大规模区域剥蚀的原因是有问题的，但是理解它的关键是破译整个地区构造块中差异隆起的位置，时间和风格的变化。 钾长石的Ar-Ar热年代学加上结构研究应提供必要的数据来检验可能解释这种现象的几种假设和情景。 成功的成果将改善区域前寒武纪至古生代的地质，并提供深入了解高原隆升过程和克拉通内变形一般。

9902955KarlstromThe Great Unconformity of the southwestern United States represents a complex differential unroofing of middle crustal rocks over a large area, prior to its inundation by late precambrian and younger marine sediments. The causes of this extensive episode of regional denudation is problematic, however a key to understanding it is to decipher variations in the location, timing and style of differential uplift in tectonic blocks across the region. Ar-Ar thermochronology on K-feldspar plus structural studies should provide data necessary to test several hypotheses and scenarios that may explain the phenomena. Successful outcomes will improve regional precambrian to paleozoic geology and provide insight into plateau uplift processes and intracratonic deformation generally.