Lithospheric structure of the Rio Grande rift

David Wilson (), Richard Aster, Michael West, James Ni, Steve Grand, Wei Gao, W. Scott Baldridge, Steve Semken and Paresh Patel
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David Wilson: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Richard Aster: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Michael West: New Mexico State University
James Ni: New Mexico State University
Steve Grand: University of Texas
Wei Gao: University of Texas
W. Scott Baldridge: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Steve Semken: Arizona State University
Paresh Patel: University of Texas

Nature, 2005, vol. 433, issue 7028, 851-855

Abstract: Abstract A high-resolution, regional passive seismic experiment1,2,3,4,5,6 in the Rio Grande rift region of the southwestern United States has produced new images of upper-mantle velocity structure and crust–mantle topography. Synthesizing these results with geochemical7,8,9 and other geophysical10,11,12,13 evidence reveals highly symmetric lower-crustal and upper-mantle lithosphere extensional deformation, suggesting a pure-shear rifting mechanism for the Rio Grande rift. Extension in the lower crust is distributed over a region four times the width of the rift's surface expression. Here we propose that the laterally distributed, pure shear extension is a combined effect of low strain rate and a regionally elevated geotherm, possibly abetted by pre-existing lithospheric structures, at the time of rift initiation. Distributed extension in the lower crust and mantle has induced less concentrated vertical mantle upwelling and less vigorous small-scale convection14 than would have arisen from more localized deformation. This lack of highly focused mantle upwelling may explain a deficit of rift-related volcanics in the Rio Grande rift compared to other major rift systems such as the Kenya rift15,16.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03297

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