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

[903298] heizler美国西南部的大不整合代表了在被前寒武纪晚期和更年轻的海相沉积物淹没之前，大面积的中部地壳岩石的复杂的差异性拆顶。这种广泛的区域剥蚀事件的原因是有问题的，然而，理解它的关键是破译整个地区构造块体差异隆起的位置、时间和风格的变化。钾长石上的Ar-Ar热年代学和结构研究应提供必要的数据，以检验可能解释这一现象的几种假设和情景。成功的研究成果将改善区域前寒武纪到古生代的地质状况，并对高原隆升过程和克拉通内变形提供一般性的认识。

9903298HeizlerThe 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.