Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:54:16.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Calibrated, late Quaternary age indices using clast rubification and soil development on alluvial surfaces in Pilot Knob Valley, Mojave Desert, southeastern California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

John G. Helms
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA William Lettis and Associates, Inc., 28470 Avenue Stanford, Suite 120, Valencia, CA 91355, USA
Sally F. McGill*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
Thomas K. Rockwell
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Geological Sciences, California State University, San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407-2397. Fax: +1-909-880-7005.E-mail address:[email protected] (S.F. McGill).

Abstract

The orange coating (varnish) that forms on the undersides (ventral sides) of clasts in desert pavements constitutes a potential relative-age indicator. Using Munsell color notation, we semiquantified the color of the orange, ventral varnish on the undersides of clasts from 15 different alluvial fan and terrace surfaces of various ages ranging from less than 500 to about 25,000 yr. All of the surfaces studied are located along the central portion of the left-lateral Garlock fault, in the Mojave Desert of southern California. The amount of left-lateral offset may be used to determine the relative ages of the surfaces. The previously published slip rate of the fault may also be used to estimate the absolute age of each surface. The color of the ventral varnish is strongly correlated with surface age and appears to be a more reliable age-indicator than the percentage coverage of dorsal varnish. Soil development indices also were not as strongly correlated with age, as were the colors of the ventral varnish. In particular, rubification appears to be more useful than soils for distinguishing relative ages among Holocene surfaces. Humidity sensors indicated that the undersides of clasts condensed moisture nightly for a period of several days to over a week after each rain. These frequent wet-dry cycles may be responsible for the rapid development of clast rubification on Holocene surfaces.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bierman, P.R, Gillespie, A.R, and Caffee, M.W, (1995). Cosmogenic ages for earthquake recurrence intervals and debris flow fan deposition, Owens Valley, California. Science 270, 447450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brogan, G.E., Kellog, K.S., Slemmons, D.B., Terhune, C.L., (1991). Late Quaternary faulting along the Death Valley-Furnace Creek fault system. United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1991 Google Scholar
Brown, E.T, Bourles, D.L, Burchfiel, B.C, Deng, Q, Li, J, Molnar, P, Raisbeck, G.M, and Yiou, F, (1998). Estimation of slip rates in the southern Tien Shan using cosmic ray exposure dates of abandoned alluvial fans. Geological Society of America Bulletin 110, 377386.Google Scholar
Bull, W.B, (1991). Geomorphic Response to Climate Change. Oxford University Press, London.Google Scholar
Carter, B, (1982). Neogene displacement history of the Garlock fault, 63. American Geophysical Union Transactions, California. 24 Google Scholar
Carter, B., (1994). Neogene offsets and displacement rates, central Garlock fault, California.; in: Mc Gill, S.F., Ross, T.R. (Eds.) Geological Investigations of an Active Margin. Geological Society of America, Cordilleran Section Guidebook, San Bernardino County Museum Association, pp. 348356.Google Scholar
Clark, M.M., et al. ., (1984). Preliminary slip-rate table and map of Late Quaternary faults of California. United States Geological Survey Open File Report, 84106.Google Scholar
Corbett, L, (1990). The weather at NWC—climatological data for 1945–1989. temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and evaporation, surface wind, station pressure, and solar radiation. Range Meteorlogy Office (Code 62542), Naval Weapons Station, China Lake, CA.Google Scholar
Dawson, T.E., Mc Gill, S.F., Rockwell, T.K., (2003). Irregular recurrence of paleoearthquakes along the central Garlock fault near El Paso Peaks, California. Journal of Geophysical Research, in press Google Scholar
Forman, S.L, Machette, M.N, Jackson, M.E, and Maat, P, (1989). En evaluation of thermoluminscence dating of paleoearthquakes of the American Fork segment, Wasatch fault zone, Utah. Journal of Geophysical Research 94, 16221630. B2 Google Scholar
Gile, L.H, Peterson, F.F, and Grossman, R.B, (1966). Morphological and genetic sequences of carbonate accumulations in desert soils. Soil Science 101, 347360.Google Scholar
Harden, H.W, (1982). A quantitative index of soil development from field descriptions. examples from a chronosequence in central California. Geoderma 28, 128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helms, J, (1996). Rapid clast weathering in Pliot Knob Valley, California. potential for use in relative age dating studies. M.S. thesis, San Diego State University.Google Scholar
Hooke, R.L, (1972). Geomorphic evidence for Late-Wisconsin and Holocene tectonic deformation, Death Valley, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 83, 20732098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooke, R.L, and Dorn, R.I, (1992). Segmentation of alluvial fans in Death Valley, California. new insights from surface exposure dating and laboratory modeling. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 17, 557574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keller, E.A, Bonkowski, M.S, Korsch, R.J, and Schlemon, R.J, (1982). Tectonic geomorphology of the San Andreas fault zone in the southern Indio Hills, Coachella Valley, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 93, 4656.Google Scholar
Kelly, K.L, and Judd, D.B, (1976). Color. Universal Language and Dictionary of Names. National Bureau of Standards, Special Publication 440, (U.S.).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koch, G.S, and Link, R.F, (1971). Statistical Analysis of Geologic Data. Dover, New York.Google Scholar
Loomis, D.P, and Burbank, D.W, (1988). The stratigraphic evolution of the El Paso basin, southern California. implications for the Miocene development of the Garlock fault and uplift of the Sierra Nevada. Geological Society of America Bulletin 100, 1228.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFadden, L.D, McDonald, E.V, Wells, S.G, Anderson, K, Quade, J, and Forman, S.L, (1998). The vesicular layer and carbonate collars of desert soils and pavements. formation, age and relation to climate change. Geomorphology 24, 101145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFadden, L.D, Ritter, J.D, and Wells, S.G, (1989). Use of multiparameter relative-age methods for age estimation and correlation of alluvial fan surfaces on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert, California. Quaternary Research 32, 276290.Google Scholar
McFadden, L.D, Wells, S.G, and Dohrenwend, J.C, (1986). Influences of Quaternary climatic changes on processes of soil development on desert loess deposits of the Cima volcanic field, California. Catena 13, 361389.Google Scholar
McGill, S.H.F, (1992). Paleoseismology and neotectonics of the central and eastern Garlock fault, California. Ph.D. dissertation. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.Google Scholar
McGill, S, and Rockwell, T, (1998). Ages of late Holocene earthquakes on the central Garlock fault near El Paso Peaks, California. Journal of Geophysical Research 103, 72657279.Google Scholar
McGill, S.F, and Sieh, K, (1991). Surficial offsets on the central and eastern Garlock fault associated with prehistoric earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research 96, 2159721621.Google Scholar
McGill, S.F, and Sieh, K, (1993). Holocene slip rate of the central Garlock fault in southeastern Searles Valley, California. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 1421714231.Google Scholar
Naval Oceanography Command Detachment Station climatic summary. (1982). Naval Oceanography Command, NSTL, MS.Google Scholar
Phillips, W.M, McDonald, E.V, Reneau, S.L, and Poths, J, (1998). Dating soils and alluvium with cosmogenic (super 21) Ne depth profiles; case studies from the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, USA. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 160, 209223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ponti, D.J, (1985). The Quaternary alluvial sequence of the Antelope Valley, California. Weide, D.L, and Faber, M.L Soils and Quaternary Geology of the Southwestern United States. Geological Society of America Special Paper 203, Boulder, CO. 7996.Google Scholar
Porat, N, Wintle, A.G, Amit, R, and Enzel, Y, (1996). Late Quaternary earthquake chronology from luminescence dating of colluvial and alluvial deposits of the Arava Valley, Israel. Quaternary Research 46, 107117.Google Scholar
Reheis, M.C, Harden, J.W, McFadden, L.D, and Shroba, R.R, (1989). Development rates of Late Quaternary soils, Silver Lake playa, California. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53, 11271140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rockwell, T.K, Johnson, D.L, Keller, E.A, and Dembroff, D.R, (1985). A late Pleistocene-Holocene soil chronosequence in the central Ventura Basin, southern California, U.S.A. Richards, K, Arnett, R, and Ellis, S Geomorphology and Soils. Allen Unwin, London. 309327.Google Scholar
Rockwell, T.K, Vaughan, P, Bickner, F, and Hanson, K.L, (1994). Correlation and age estimates of soils developed in marine terraces across the San Simeon fault zone, central California. Alterman, I.B, McMullen, R.B, Cluss, L.S, and Slemnos, D.B Seismotectonics of the Central California Coast Ranges. Geological Society of America Special Paper 292, Boulder, CO. 151166.Google Scholar
Siame, L.L, Bourles, D.L, Sebrier, M, Bellier, O, Castano, J.C, Araujo, M, Perez, M, Raisbeck, G.M, and Yiou, F, (1997). Cosmogenic dating ranging from 20 to 700 ka of a series of alluvial fan surfaces affected by the El Tigre Fault, Argentina. Geology 25, 975978.Google Scholar
Smith, G.I, Troxel, B.W, Gray, C.H Jr., and von Huene, R, (1968). Geologic Reconnaissance of the Slate Range, San Bernardino and Inyo Counties. California Division of Mines and Geology Special Report 96, California.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff, Soil Conservation Service Soil Survey Manual. (1975). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Soil Survey Staff Keys to Soil Taxonomy. U.S.D.A, SMSS Technical Monograph No. 19. (1999). Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg, VA.Google Scholar
Weldon, R.J II, and Sieh, K.E, (1985). Holocene rate of slip and tentative recurrence interval for large earthquakes on the San Andreas fault, Cajon Pass, southern California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96, 793812.Google Scholar
Wells, D.L, and Coppersmith, K.J, (1994). New empirical relationships among magnitude, rupture length, rupture width, rupture area and surface displacement. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 84, 9741002.Google Scholar
Wells, S.G., Mc Fadden, L.D., Dohrenwend, J.C., Bullard, T.F., Feilberg, B.F., Ford, R.L., Grimm, J.P., Miller, J.R., Orbock, S.M., Pickle, J.D., (1984). Late Quaternary geomorphic history of the Silver Lake area, eastern Mojave Desert, California: an example of the influence of climatic change on desert piedmonts. in: Dohrenwend, John C. (Ed.), Surficial Geology of the Eastern Mojave Desert, California., Field trip guidebook for the 97th annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, Reno, NV., pp. 6987.Google Scholar
Wells, S.G, McFadden, L.D, and Dohrenwend, J.C, (1987). Influence of Late Quaternary climatic changes on geomorphic and pedogenic processes on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert, California. Quaternary Research 27, 130146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, S.G, McFadden, L.D, Dohrenwend, J.C, Turrin, B.D, and Mahrer, K.D, (1985). Late Cenozoic landscape evolution of lava flow surfaces of the Cima volcanic field, Mojave Desert, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96, 15181529.Google Scholar