Abstract Detrital zircon U/Pb ages and Pb isotope compositions of detrital feldspars from the Late Cretaceous–Eocene Gualala Basin in northern California indicate that the basin received sediments from the southern Sierra Nevada, the Mojave block, and the Salinian block. Mesozoic detrital-zircon age components and Pb isotope compositions of detrital feldspars from the basin are similar to U/Pb zircon ages and Pb isotope compositions from previously studied coeval conglomerate clasts. The detrital zircons and feldspars, however, also include additional age and Pb isotope components that are unobserved or poorly represented in the conglomerate-based provenance record. These new data suggest a more complex provenance history than that inferred from previously studied conglomerate clasts, and strongly imply a connection to the Mojave Desert. Provenance evolution of the sediments in the basin indicates that significant contribution of sediment from the Mojave Desert began during the Paleocene, when it is inferred that the drainage network expanded eastward from its previous extent. The presence of Mojave-derived Late Permian zircons, as well as feldspars that have high 208Pb/204Pb ratios, in the Eocene-age German Rancho Formation indicates that the basin remained in the vicinity of the Mojave Desert until the Eocene. This result demonstrates that the Gualala Basin had undergone very little northward motion at that time, and consequently requires that no significant northward translation took place prior to ~ 50 Ma. The results of this study highlight the value of additional provenance constraints combined with age distributions when identifying sediment source terranes.
Research Article| October 01, 2008 Capture of high-altitude precipitation by a low-altitude Eocene lake, western U.S. Alan R. Carroll; Alan R. Carroll 11Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 1215 W. Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Amalia C. Doebbert; Amalia C. Doebbert 11Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 1215 W. Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Amanda L. Booth; Amanda L. Booth 22Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Alaska, P.O. Box 755780, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C. Page Chamberlain; C. Page Chamberlain 33Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Meredith K. Rhodes-Carson; Meredith K. Rhodes-Carson 44BP America, 501 Westlake Park Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77079, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar M. Elliot Smith; M. Elliot Smith 55Department of Geology, Sonoma State University, 1801 E. Cotati Avenue, Rohnert Park, California 94928, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Clark M. Johnson; Clark M. Johnson 11Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 1215 W. Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Brian L. Beard Brian L. Beard 11Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, 1215 W. Dayton Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2008) 36 (10): 791–794. https://doi.org/10.1130/G24783A.1 Article history received: 15 Feb 2008 rev-recd: 23 Jun 2008 accepted: 25 Jun 2008 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Alan R. Carroll, Amalia C. Doebbert, Amanda L. Booth, C. Page Chamberlain, Meredith K. Rhodes-Carson, M. Elliot Smith, Clark M. Johnson, Brian L. Beard; Capture of high-altitude precipitation by a low-altitude Eocene lake, western U.S.. Geology 2008;; 36 (10): 791–794. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G24783A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Sedimentary facies of the Eocene Green River Formation reflect a rapid increase in water supply to Lake Gosiute ca. 49 Ma, marked by a stratigraphic fill-to-spill surface. Deposits below this surface constitute repetitive lacustrine expansion-desiccation cycles, whereas those above consist of continuous profundal lacustrine mudstone, grading upward into volcaniclastic deltaic sandstone. Above the fill-to-spill surface, calcitic mudstone δ18O decreases from ~+26‰ to +20‰ over an interval representing ~100 k.y. We interpret this shift to have resulted from capture of a foreland river (or rivers) that drained higher topography north of Lake Gosiute, most likely in north-central Idaho. Accurate paleoelevation estimates derived from stable isotopic records in intermontane basins thus may require detailed knowledge of regional drainage systems. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.
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