Active Tectonics & Geomorphology Projects

Fault slip rates & paleoseismology within the southern San Andreas Fault System

Offset geomorphic features along the San Andreas fault in southern California and Baja California in Mexico record the fault’s rate of motion averaged over the past 2,000-150,000 years. We use a range of geomorphic analyses and Quaternary dating techniques to track the average rate of slip over different timescales as well as the earthquake history and recurrence interval over the Holocene.

Team Members & Collaborators: Peter Gold, Whitney Behr, Tom Rockwell, John Fletcher

Publications: Gold, Behr, et al., JGR (2015)

 

Pleistocene to recent incision rates for the Rio Grande Gorge, New Mexico, USA

Terraces developed along the Rio Grande del Norte in northern New Mexico provide unique insight into the geomorphic evolution of this youthful river gorge. We are using detailed geomorphic mapping along with cosmogenic 3He dating to quantify incision rates and relate them to climatic and tectonic forcings.

Team Members & Collaborators: Travis Clow, Whitney Behr, Mark Helper, Des Patterson

Publications:  under review

 

Quaternary geochronology: uncertainties, comparisons between methods, and forward modeling