Uplift and Denudation of the Rockies and Surroundings
GEOL5700 s. 7, Fall 2005
This reading seminar will explore the relationship between the structure of
the Rockies, High Plains, and Colorado Plateau to their geologic history, emphasizing
the conflict between inferences from structural and erosional histories. We
will read about 2 papers a week.
MEETING 11/22 9:30 am!
Meeting Time: 9:30-10:45 am, Thursdays
Meeting Place: BESC 380 (unless there is a conflict, then 265)
Instructors: Craig Jones and Bob Anderson
Final meeting 12/1 9:30 am to try and synthesize what we have discussed.
Resources for last meeting :
Older readings (for reference)
Ogallala somewhere near (probably SW) of Pawnee Buttes. Note clast sizes relative
to yuccas, particularly at lower right and on skyline at center. Front Range
on skyline at left. Click for large version.
Possible Outline: Below is one possible outline we could
follow just to provide some fodder for thought. We will be asking the class
for suggestions on what paths to follow.
- Geophysical setting of the southern Rockies
- History of elevation of the
Rockies
- Paleo-elevation studies
- Exhumation studies (e.g., fission-track)
- Post-Laramide tectonics (transition
from contraction to extension, indicates uplift?)
- Focus on the Great Plains
- History of sedimentation post-Laramide
- History of exhumation. What do the
rivers tell us?
- Focus on the Colorado Plateau
- Incision history of the Colorado River (incl.
cryptic Miocene incision)
- Why didn’t the CP break up during B&R
extension
- Impact of exhumation of the basins on the adjacent ranges – the
signature in the topography
- The signature of the Rio Grande Rift in geophysics
and topography
- Causes for exhumation of the Great Plains and Laramide intermontane
basins
- Constraints on timing of exhumation
- Constraints on depth of exhumation
- Climate change
- Role of passive topography associated with subduction of
the Farallon slab
- Role of drainage changes as Missouri gets shoved into
place
- Mechanisms of uplift
- Laramide orogeny
- Slab presence and removal
- heat and water as uplift agents
- Lithospheric removal/foundering
- The signal in the K units, thickness and dip
Please send mail to cjones@cires.colorado.edu if
you encounter any problems or have suggestions.
C.
H. Jones | R. S. Anderson | Dept.
of Geological Sciences | Univ.
of Colorado at Boulder
Last modified at
November 27, 2005 10:46 PM
