Arizona Geological Society
2024 Speaker Series
Tuesday, 5 March 2024 | 5:30 - 8:00 PM
Location: Hexagon Mining Division Office
40 East Congress Street, Suite 150, Tucson, Arizona 85701
Parking: On the street or parking garage (Old Pueblo Parking)
Social Hour with Pizza by Brooklyn Pizza (5:30-6:30 PM), Presentation (6:35 PM)
For those planning to attend the event, please register by 6:00 PM on Sunday, 3 March, 2024
For those unable to attend, here is a
MS Teams URL for Remote Viewing
(Click for Streaming URL)
Meeting ID: 351 728 293 860
Passcode: kzmgXi
Download Teams | Join on the web
The Arizona Geological Society also thanks Hexagon
for generously providing the venue and drinks
The Origin and Tectonic Significance of the Basin and Range - Rio Grande Rift Boundary in Southern New Mexico
Jason Ricketts, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor, University of Texas, El Paso
Abstract: Cenozoic extension in the western United States occurred within two iconic domains: the Basin and Range and Rio Grande rift. These provinces merge in southern New Mexico to form an interconnected zone of extension, although the existence, location, and nature of the boundary between the two provinces are uncertain. In southern New Mexico, existing thermochronologic, geologic, and geophysical data sets, combined with thermal modeling of zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) data, define a subvertical, 30–40-km wide boundary that extends through the lithosphere to depths of at least 100 km. Thermal modeling indicates Proterozoic basement in the upper crust of the southeastern Basin and Range exceeded 225 °C during Oligocene magmatism, resetting ZHe dates and creating a thermal boundary that coincides with independent geologic and geophysical data sets. Although many aspects of this boundary are transient, others may become permanent features to define a lithospheric-scale boundary prone to reactivation during future tectonism. This assessment of the boundary supports models in which the southern Rio Grande rift is a separate structural entity from the adjacent Basin and Range, and this region provides an exceptional case study for understanding how extensional lithospheric scale boundaries evolve to become stable features of continents.
Bio: My main research focuses on structural geology, tectonics, low-temperature thermochronology, and fluid-fault interactions. Much of my research centers on brittle tectonics in Earth's upper crust. I combine field methods and observations with various analytical techniques and modeling efforts to investigate various processes which control deformation. My expertise centers on the development of the Rio Grande rift of Colorado, New Mexico, western Texas, and northern Mexico, where I routinely conduct field work with students and colleagues. To learn more about my current research and publications, please visit my personal website: Jason Ricketts | geology (jwricketts8.wixsite.com)
Hexagon Mining Division Office - 40 East Congress Street,
Suite 150, Tucson, Arizona 85701
