Link to the University of Pittsburgh Homepage
Link to the University Library System Homepage Link to the Contact Us Form

BRITTLE TERTIARY DETACHMENTS IN THE SPECTER RANGE, SOUTHERN NEVADA, AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR GROUNDWATER FLOW SOUTHWARD FROM THE NEVADA TEST SITE

Williams, Lindsay Ann (2011) BRITTLE TERTIARY DETACHMENTS IN THE SPECTER RANGE, SOUTHERN NEVADA, AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR GROUNDWATER FLOW SOUTHWARD FROM THE NEVADA TEST SITE. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

[img]
Preview
PDF (Brittle Tertiary Detachments in the Specter Range, Southern Nevada, and Their Implibrittle Tertiary Detachments in the Specter Range, Southern Nevada, and Their Implications for Groundwater Flow Southward from the Nevada Test Site)
Supplemental Material

Download (5MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
PDF (Geologic Map of the Specter Range, Nye County, Nevada)
Supplemental Material

Download (4MB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
PDF (ASTER satellite Imagery in the area of plate 1. Map is projected in UTM NAD 1983 Zone 11 N.)
Supplemental Material

Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

The Specter Range thrust (SRT), which extends from Mercury to Amargosa, Nevada, emplaces Precambrian silicic rocks of the Wood Canyon Formation onto middle Paleozoic folded rocks which constitute the regional carbonate aquifer. Field evidence suggests that the regional carbonate aquifer and underlying aquitard in the Specter Range have been thinned by nearly 35%, or 3,000 m along detachment horizons parallel or sub-parallel to bedding. Several regional detachments that generally coincide with sections of shaly or sandy beds also commonly affect hundreds of meters of adjacent beds as shown by breccia composed of granules to small boulders, as well as local large boulders and mega blocks, especially in dolomite units. Quartzose clastic confining units generally are strongly brecciated and may be unexpectedly porous and permeable. The stratigraphically highest breccia mass is preserved only in the southern Specter Range, where it comprises tens to hundreds of meters of breccias derived mainly of Silurian and Devonian dolomite beds. In these units, brecciated throughout, the formation of breccia is highly variable with the smallest grain size commonly developed along steep, narrow zones within coarser, massive breccia composed of mega-blocks and bedded sections cut and disrupted by numerous fractures and faults generally marked by breccias.The detachments and related contractional structures locally affect Tertiary strata that constrain the timing of deformation between about 15 and 10 Ma. As previously recognized, transpression at a left-step along the right-lateral Las Vegas Valley Shear Zone (LVVSZ), between Mercury and Amargosa, Nevada is likely responsible for the contraction. Stratigraphic studies have shown that the LVVSZ accommodates several tens of km of movement.The brecciated carbonate aquifer and clastic aquitard may provide fast pathways for groundwater moving from the NTS southward. Monitor wells in the vicinity of Rock Valley fault, north of the Specter Range, could provide information about southward-moving-groundwater before reaching the faulted and brecciated rocks of the Specter Range.


Share

Citation/Export:
Social Networking:
Share |

Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Williams, Lindsay Annlwilliams716@gmail.com
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairAnderson, Thomas Htaco@pitt.eduTACO
Committee MemberSkilling, Ianskilling@pitt.eduSKILLING
Committee MemberHarbert, Williamharbert@pitt.eduHARBERT
Date: 14 September 2011
Date Type: Completion
Defense Date: 25 July 2011
Approval Date: 14 September 2011
Submission Date: 19 August 2011
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Geology and Planetary Science
Degree: MS - Master of Science
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Detachments; Groundwater; Nevada Test Site; Specter Range
Other ID: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-08192011-094747/, etd-08192011-094747
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2011 20:00
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 13:49
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9206

Metrics

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics


Actions (login required)

View Item View Item