Results of New Petrologic and Remote Sensing Studies in the Big Bend Region
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University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2010-01-01 Results Of New Petrologic And Remote Sensing Studies In The iB g Bend Region Stevan Christian Benker University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Geographic Information Sciences Commons, Geology Commons, and the Remote Sensing Commons Recommended Citation Benker, Stevan Christian, "Results Of New Petrologic And Remote Sensing Studies In The iB g Bend Region" (2010). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 2646. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/2646 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RESULTS OF NEW PETROLOGIC AND REMOTE SENSING STUDIES IN THE BIG BEND REGION STEVAN CHRISTIAN BENKER Department of Geological Sciences APPROVED: ____________________________________ Elizabeth Y. Anthony, Ph. D ____________________________________ Richard P. Langford, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Terry L. Pavlis, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Thomas E. Gill, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Eric A. Hagedorn, Ph.D. ____________________________________ Patricia D. Witherspoon, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School RESULTS OF NEW PETROLOGIC AND REMOTE SENSING STUDIES IN THE BIG BEND REGION by STEVAN CHRISTIAN BENKER, MS DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Geological Sciences THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO August 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research support was in part provided by National Science Foundation Grant NSF DGE- 0538623 presented to the University of Texas El Paso. Field expenses of later portions of this work were also supported by the generosity of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas El Paso. The author offers thanks to Dan Miggins and Don Parker whose perspectives and knowledge helped to guide this paper. Considerable time and effort were spent by Christopher Henry and Edward DuBray in reviewing earlier drafts of first chapter, thanks is offered as revisions suggested greatly assisted with clarification and progression of this work. The author also thanks parents Steve and Maryjane, brother Jamie, and Cristina Castillo for emotional and financial support during manuscript production. Gratitude is offered to Cristina Castillo, Steve Benker, and Michael Berube for their invaluable in field assistance. Early Saturday morning meetings with Bill Robertson greatly aided in progression through this workload. Additionally, his generosity and that of Sarah, Judah, and Brodie Robertson, is appreciated as it provided a comfortable and quiet home in which much of this manuscript was composed. The academic advising and support of Kate Miller, Eric Hagedorn, Jeanine Kennedy, and Marybeth Harper during the UTEP GK-12 grant program also proved highly beneficial as this work was in production. Lastly, thanks to Tina Carrick for always having a willingness to listen, advise, and joke about the perils of a graduate education. iii ABSTRACT The initial section of this manuscript involves the South Rim Formation, a series of 32.2- 32 Ma comenditic quartz trachytic-rhyolitic volcanics and associated intrusives, erupted and was emplaced in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Magmatic parameters have only been interpreted for one of the two diverse petrogenetic suites comprising this formation. Here, new mineralogic data for the South Rim Formation rocks are presented. Magmatic parameters interpreted from these data assist in deciphering lithospheric characteristics during the mid-Tertiary. Results indicate low temperatures (< 750 °C), reduced conditions (generally below the FMQ buffer), and low pressures (≤ 100 MPa) associated with South Rim Formation magmatism with slight conditional differences between the two suites. Newly discovered fayalite microphenocrysts allowed determination of oxygen fugacity values (between -0.14 and -0.25 ΔFMQ over temperature ranges of 680-700 °C), via mineral equilibria based QUILF95 calculations, for Emory Peak Suite. Petrologic information is correlated with structural evidence from Trans-Pecos Texas and adjacent regions to evaluate debated timing of tectonic transition (Laramide compression to Basin and Range extension) and onset of the southern Rio Grande Rift during the mid-Tertiary. The A-type and peralkaline characteristics of the South Rim Formation and other pre-31 Ma magmatism in Trans-Pecos Texas, in addition to evidence implying earlier Rio Grande Rift onset in Colorado and New Mexico, promotes a near-neutral to transtensional setting in Trans-Pecos Texas by 32 Ma. This idea sharply contrasts with interpretations of tectonic compression and arc-related magmatism until 31 Ma as suggested by some authors. However, evidence discussed cannot preclude a pre-36 Ma proposed by other authors. iv The later section of this manuscript involves research in the Big Bend area using Google Earth. At present there is high interest in using Google Earth in a variety of scientific investigations. However, program developers have disclosed limited information concerning the program and its accuracy. While some authors have attempted to independently constrain the accuracy of Google Earth, their results have potentially lost validity through time due to technological advances and updates to imagery archives. For this reason we attempt to constrain more current horizontal and vertical position accuracies for the Big Bend region of West Texas. In Google Earth a series of 268 data points were virtually traced along various early Tertiary unconformities in Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. These data points were compared with high precision GPS measurements collected in field and yielded a horizontal position accuracy of 2.64 meters RMSE. Complications arose in determining vertical position accuracy for Google Earth because default keyhole markup language (.kml) files currently do not export elevation data. This drawback forces users to hand record and manually input elevation values listed on screen. This is a significant handicap rendering Google Earth data useless with larger datasets. However, in a workaround solution exempted elevation values can be replaced from other data sources based on Google Earth horizontal positioning. We used Fledermaus 3D three-dimensional visualization software to drape Google Earth horizontal positions over a National Elevation Dataset (NED) digital elevation map (DEM) in order to adopt a large set of elevation data. A vertical position accuracy of 1.63 meters RMSE was determined between 268 Google Earth data points and the NED. Since determined accuracies were considerably lower than those reported in previous investigations, we devoted a later portion of this investigation to testing Google Earth-NED data in paleo-surface modeling of the Big Bend region. An 18 x 30 kilometer area in easternmost Big v Bend Ranch State Park was selected to create a post-Laramide paleo-surface model via interpolation of approximately 2900 Google Earth-NED data points representing sections of an early Tertiary unconformity. The area proved difficult to model as unconformity tracing and interpolation were often hindered by surface inflation due to regional magmatism, burial of Laramide topography by subsequent volcanism and sedimentation, and overprinting of Basin & Range extensional features masking Laramide compressional features. Despite these difficulties, a model was created illustrating paleo-topographic highs in the southeastern Bofecillos Mountains and at Lajitas Mesa. Based on the amount of surface relief depicted, inconsistency with subsequent normal faulting, and distance from magmatic features capable of surface doming or inflation, we believe the paleo-topographic highs modeled legitimately reflect the post-Laramide surface. We interpret the paleo-surface in this area as reflecting a post-Laramide surface that has experienced significant erosion. We attribute the paleo-topographic highs as Laramide topography that was more resistant. The model also implies a southern paleo-drainage direction for the area and suggests the present day topographic low through which the Rio Grande flows may have formed very soon after the Laramide Orogeny. Based on the newly calculated horizontal and vertical position accuracies for the Big Bend region and results of modeled Google Earth-NED data in easternmost Big Bend Ranch State Park, it seems Google Earth can be effectively utilized for remote sensing and geologic studies, however we urge caution as developers remain reluctant to disclose detailed program information to the public. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix