The thermal regime of the Gulf of California, rifting processes and the ocean-continent transition

当大陆地壳裂开、海底开始扩张时，加利福尼亚湾就形成了。 该项目的重点是更好地了解海湾最初裂谷及其随后演化的过程。在该项目期间，将在加利福尼亚湾的一次研究巡航中获得热流测量结果。 这次海上探险是墨西哥资助的一项研究工作的一部分，该研究工作旨在了解该地区的地热状况。热流测量的变化将与观察到的裂谷类型相关联，以了解裂谷如何随着开口的继续而转变为海底扩张，这是一个仍然知之甚少的基本过程。该研究包括与墨西哥同事的密切合作，并允许获取和访问独特的新热流数据集。 通过板块重建、地质关系、最近的测绘带和地震数据，可以很好地了解加利福尼亚湾的区域构造历史和结构。与裂谷相关的过程以及那些导致观察到的裂谷类型和海洋-大陆转变变化的过程还不太为人所知。 这种理解的关键是对海湾热结构的观测限制。 该项目的主要科学目标是 1) 表征穿过海湾北部和中部厚沉积盆地以及南部海湾薄沉积盆地的背景传导热通量； 2）确定热液环流的模式和强度以及北部和南部海湾厚沉积盆地和薄沉积盆地之间的差异，以及与岩浆岩侵入沉积物相关的差异； 3）将这些观察结果与裂谷类型和海洋-大陆转变联系起来。 这些目标将通过将新的热流数据与先前收集的数据和建模相结合来实现。

The Gulf of California formed when continental crust rifted apart and seafloor spreading began. The focus of this project is to obtain a better understanding of the processes involved in the initial rifting of the Gulf and its subsequent evolution. During this project heat flow measurements will be obtained on a research cruise in the Gulf of California. The sea-going expedition is part of a funded Mexican research effort to understand the geothermal regime in this region. Variations in heat flow measurements will be correlated with the observed style of rifting to understand how rifting transitions to seafloor spreading as opening continues, a fundamental process that is still poorly known. The study includes strong collaboration with Mexican colleagues and allows acquisition of and access to a unique new heat flow dataset. The regional tectonic history and the structure of the Gulf of California are well understood from plate reconstructions, geologic relationships, recent swath mapping and seismic data. Less well understood are processes associated with rifting and those that have led to observed variations in rifting style and the ocean-continent transition. A key to this understanding is observational constraints on the thermal structure of the Gulf. The principal science goals of this project are to 1) characterize the background conductive heat flux through the thickly sedimented basins in the northern and central Gulf and thinly sedimented basins in the southern Gulf; 2) determine the pattern and magnitude of hydrothermal circulation and differences between the thickly and thinly sedimented basins of the northern and southern Gulf, respectively, and that associated with magmatic sills intruding sediments; and 3) link these observations to styles of rifting and the ocean-continent transition. These goals will be achieved through the integration of new heat flow data with previously collected data and modeling.