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R. J. McLaughlin

Publications and source records attributed to R. J. McLaughlin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2011

Aeromagnetic and aeromagnetic-based geologic maps of the Coastal Belt, Franciscan Complex, northern California

The Coastal belt of the Franciscan Complex represents a Late Cretaceous to Miocene accretionary prism and overlying slope deposits. Its equivalents may extend from the offshore outer borderland of southern California to north of the Mendocino Triple Junction under the Eel River Basin and in the offshore of Cascadia. The Coastal belt is exposed on land in northern California, yet its structure and stratigraphy are incompletely known because of discontinuous exposure, structural disruption, and lithologically non-distinctive clastic rocks. The intent of this report is to make available, in map form, aeromagnetic data covering the Coastal belt that provide a new dataset to aid in mapping, understanding, and interpreting the incompletely understood geology and structure in northern California. The newly merged aeromagnetic data over the Coastal belt of the Franciscan Complex reveal long, linear anomalies that indicate remarkably coherent structure within a terrane where mapping at the surface indicates complex deformation and that has been described as "broken formation" and, even locally as "mélange". The anomalies in the Coastal belt are primarily sourced by volcanic-rich graywackes and exotic blocks of basalt. Some anomalies along the contact of the Coastal belt with the Central belt are likely caused by local interleaving of components of the Coast Ranges ophiolite. These data can be used to map additional exotic blocks within the Coastal belt and to distinguish lithologically indistinct graywackes within the Coastal terrane. Using anomaly asymmetry allows projection of these "layers" into the subsurface. This analysis indicates predominant northeast dips consistent with tectonic interleaving of blocks within a subduction zone.

California↗
USGS2011

Zircon U-Pb age of the Pescadero felsite: A late Cretaceous igneous event in the forearc, west-central California Coast Ranges

Downstream grain-size fining in stratigraphy is driven primarily by selective deposition of sediment, and the long-term efficiency of this process is determined by: (1) the magnitude and characteristics of the input sediment supply; (2) the spatial distribution of subsidence rate, which creates accommodation for sediment preservation; and (3) the dynamics of sediment transport and deposition. A key challenge is to determine how these first two factors control the caliber and spatial distribution of deposits over time scales of 10 4 –10 6 yr without incorporating sediment transport details that are largely unknowable for time-averaged stratigraphy in the geological past. We address this using grain-size data collected from fluvial conglomerates in the Eocene Pobla Basin, Spanish Pyrenees, a synorogenic basin where the timing of sediment deposition is well-constrained; the sediment budget is closed; and good exposure enables time lines within stratigraphy to be picked out unambiguously. For successive stratigraphic horizons, downstream trends in grain size and composition are derived for basin-filling sediment-routing systems with length scales of 6 and 40 km, respectively. Our data show that the rate of grain-size fining varies over time and with system length and can be linked to changes in source area. These results are contrasted with grain-size data from the Antist Group, a 60-km-long Oligocene system that mantles the Southern Pyrenees, where very slow rates of grain-size fining on the wedge top of this fold-and-thrust belt are observed. We apply a self-similarity–based selective deposition model to quantify the competing controls of tectonic subsidence and sediment supply on derived grain-size trends, and model results are compared with independent constraints on the Eocene–Oligocene evolution of the Pyrenees. Our results suggest that it is now possible to invert time-averaged grain-size trends in stratigraphy to gain quantitative information on the geological boundary conditions governing the evolution of sedimentary basins.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS2010

Tectonics of formation, translation, and dispersal of the Coast Range ophiolite of California

Data from the Coast Range ophiolite and its tectonic outliers in the northern California Coast Ranges suggest that the lower part of the ophiolite formed 169 to 163 Ma in a forearc or back arc setting at equatorial latitudes. Beginning about 156 Ma and continuing until 145 Ma, arc magmatism was superimposed on the ophiolite, and concurrently, a transform developed along the arc axis or in the back arc area. Rapid northward translation of this rifted active magmatic arc to middle latitudes culminated in its accretion to the California margin of North America at about 145 Ma. This Late Jurassic episode of translation, arc magmatism, and accretion coincided with the Nevadan orogeny and a proposed major plate reorganization in the eastern Pacific basin. The high rate of poleward motion necessary to translate the Coast Range ophiolite to middle latitudes during this time implies that the ophiolite traveled north on a fast-moving plate of the eastern Pacific basin, here termed plate X. Plate X probably was driven by a cryptic ridge east-northeast of the Pacific-Farallon-Izanagi ridge triple junction. Structural relations indicate that following Late Jurassic time, parts of the Coast Range ophiolite were displaced from the west side of the Great Valley province and incorporated into the Central belt of the Franciscan Complex along steep-dipping to low-angle reverse faults having dominant components of dextral shear. A northwest trending eastern zone of these right-laterally displaced outliers shows strong affinities to the main Coast Range ophiolite of the northwestern Sacramento Valley (the Elder Creek terrane), in that the outliers include ophiolitic breccias of Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian age. A southwestern zone of outliers lacks ophiolitic breccia and instead includes latest Oxfordian or Kimmeridgian to Tithonian, arc-derived volcanic rocks like those found in the Del Puerto and Stanley Mountain terranes of the main ophiolite. Whereas outliers of the northeastern outlier zone are right-laterally displaced no more than 260 km from the western side of the Sacramento Valley, outliers of the southwestern zone are displaced a minimum of 169 to 249 km. This displacement occurred between about 60 and 52 Ma. Ophiolitic rocks in the Decatur terrane of western Washington that have recently been correlated with the Coast Range ophiolite and the Great Valley sequence of California were apparently displaced at least 950 to 1200 km from the west side of the Great Valley between early Tertiary and Early Cretaceous time. Derived rates of northward translation for the ophiolite outliers in California are in the range of 1 to 4 cm/yr. Rates for the Decatur terrane are in the range of 2.5 to 4 cm/yr if translation was initiated 90 Ma, but as much as 11.9 to 15 cm/yr if it was not initiated until 60 Ma. The lower rates for the Decatur terrane are consistent with the rates derived for the California outliers and with the northward component of relative motion between the Farallon and North American plates from 90 to 50 Ma. The higher rates require northward transport on the Kula plate or on a fast-moving microplate. The higher translation rates derived for the Decatur terrane are also consistent with paleomagnetically determined rates for some limestones of the Central belt. This may indicate that outliers of the Coast Range ophiolite dispersed in the Central belt of the Franciscan Complex record only part of the total displacement which occurred along the Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary western margin of North America.

California↗
USGS2008

Geologic and Geophysical Framework of the Santa Rosa 7.5' Quadrangle, Sonoma County, California

The geologic and geophysical maps of Santa Rosa 7.5? quadrangle and accompanying structure sections portray the sedimentary and volcanic stratigraphy and crustal structure of the Santa Rosa 7.5? quadrangle and provide a context for interpreting the evolution of volcanism and active faulting in this region. The quadrangle is located in the California Coast Ranges north of San Francisco Bay and is traversed by the active Rodgers Creek, Healdsburg and Maacama Fault Zones. The geologic and geophysical data presented in this report, are substantial improvements over previous geologic and geophysical maps of the Santa Rosa area, allowing us to address important geologic issues. First, the geologic mapping is integrated with gravity and magnetic data, allowing us to depict the thicknesses of Cenozoic deposits, the depth and configuration of the Mesozoic basement surface, and the geometry of fault structures beneath this region to depths of several kilometers. This information has important implications for constraining the geometries of major active faults and for understanding and predicting the distribution and intensity of damage from ground shaking during earthquakes. Secondly, the geologic map and the accompanying description of the area describe in detail the distribution, geometry and complexity of faulting associated with the Rodgers Creek, Healdsburg and Bennett Valley Fault Zones and associated faults in the Santa Rosa quadrangle. The timing of fault movements is constrained by new 40Ar/39Ar ages and tephrochronologic correlations. These new data provide a better understanding of the stratigraphy of the extensive sedimentary and volcanic cover in the area and, in particular, clarify the formational affinities of Pliocene and Pleistocene nonmarine sedimentary units in the map area. Thirdly, the geophysics, particularly gravity data, indicate the locations of thick sections of sedimentary and volcanic fill within ground water basins of the Santa Rosa plain and Rincon, Bennett, and northwestern Sonoma Valleys, providing geohydrologists a more realistic framework for groundwater flow models.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2004

Geology, tephrochronology, radiometric ages, and cross sections of the Mark West Springs 7.5' quadrangle, Sonoma and Napa counties, California

The purpose of this geologic map is to provide a context within which to interpret the Neogene evolution of the active strike-slip fault system traversing the Mark West Springs 7.5' quadrangle and adjacent areas. Based on this geologic framework, the timing and total amounts of displacement and the Neogene rates of slip for faults of the right-stepover area between the Healdsburg and Maacama Faults are addressed. The Mark West Springs quadrangle is located in the northern California Coast Ranges north of San Francisco Bay. It is underlain by Mesozoic rocks of the Franciscan Complex, the Coast Range ophiolite, and the Great Valley sequence, considered here to be the pre-Tertiary basement of the northern Coast Ranges. These rocks are overlain by a complexly interstratified and mildly to moderately deformed sequence of Pleistocene to late Miocene marine and nonmarine sedimentary and largely subaerial volcanic rocks. These rocks and unconformably overlying, less-deformed Holocene and Pleistocene strata are cut by the active right-lateral Healdsburg and Maacama Fault Zones. Mapping of the Mark West Springs quadrangle began in 1996 and was completed in October 2002. Most of the mapping presented here is original, although a few other sources of existing geologic mapping were also utilized. Funding for the project was provided by the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping and Earthquake Hazards Reduction programs of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with geologic hazards mapping investigations of the California Geological Survey.

Scientific Investigations Map↗
USGS2002

Controls on timing and amount of right-lateral offset on the East Bay fault system, San Francisco Bay region, California

The distribution of offset, correlated rock units, relative position of northward- younging volcanic rocks, and distribution of units not offset together reveal the history of strike-slip deformation along the East Bay fault system. The system accumulated 175 km of right-lateral offset since 12 Ma, but of this amount, only ???25 km was accumulated between 12 and 10 Ma and only ???75 km between 12 and 6 Ma. The westernmost Hayward fault zone is responsible for more than half (100 km) of the total, and it, too, has undergone more offset (60 km) after 6 Ma than before. The activity on any single fault zone in the system has been sporadic, and alternating periods of activity and inactivity have been recorded on at least some of the fault zones.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS2001

Geologic maps and structure sections of the southwestern Santa Clara Valley and southern Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, California

This digital map database, compiled from previously published and unpublished data, and new mapping by the authors, represents the general distribution of bedrock and surficial deposits in the mapped area. Together with the accompanying text file (scvmf.ps, scvmf.pdf, scvmf.txt), it provides current information on the geologic structure and stratigraphy of the area covered. The database delineates map units that are identified by general age and lithology following the stratigraphic nomenclature of the U.S. Geological Survey. The scale of the source maps limits the spatial resolution (scale) of the database to 1:24,000 or smaller.

Miscellaneous Field Studies Map↗
USGS1999

The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, earthquake: selected photographs

This CD-ROM contains 103 digitized color 35-mm images from Open-File Report 90-547 (Nakata and others, 1990). Our photographic coverage reflects the time and resources available immediately after the event and is not intended to portray the full extent of earthquake damage. This CD-ROM provides images for use by the interested public, multimedia producers, desktop publishers, and the high-end printing industry.

Data Series↗
USGS1999

Middle Miocene paleotemperature anomalies within the Franciscan Complex of northern California: Thermo-tectonic responses near the Mendocino triple junction

This study documents three localities in the Franciscan accretionary complex of northern California, now adjacent to the San Andreas fault, that were overprinted thermally between 13.9 and 12.2 Ma: Point Delgada-Shelter Cove (King Range terrane); Bolinas Ridge (San Bruno Mountain terrane); and Mount San Bruno (San Bruno Mountain terrane). Vein assemblages of quartz, carbonate, sulfide minerals, and adularia were precipitated locally in highly fractured wall rock. Vitrinite reflectance (Rm) values and illite crystallinity decrease away from the zones of metalliferous veins, where peak wall-rock temperatures, as determined from Rm, were as high as 315??C. The ??18O values of quartz and calcite indicate that two separate types of fluid contributed to vein precipitation. Higher ??18O fluids produced widespread quartz and calcite veins that are typical of the regional paleothermal regime. The widespread veins are by-products of heat conduction and diffuse fluid flow during zeolite and prehnite-pumpellyite-grade metamorphism, and we interpret their paleofluids to have evolved through dehydration reactions and/or extensive isotopic exchange with accreted Franciscan rocks. Lower ??18O fluids, in contrast, evolved from relatively high temperature exchange between seawater (or meteoric water) and basaltic and/or sedimentary host rocks; focused flow of those fluids resulted in local deposition of the metalliferous veins. Heat sources for the three paleothermal anomalies remain uncertain and may have been unrelated to one another. Higher temperature metalliferous fluids in the King Range terrane could have advected either from a site of ridge-trench interaction north of the Mendocino fracture zone or from a "slabless window" in the wake of the northward migrating Mendocino triple junction. A separate paradox involves the amount of Quaternary offset of Franciscan basement rocks near Shelter Cove by on-land faults that some regard as the main active trace of the San Andreas plate boundary. Contouring of vitrinite reflectance values to the north of an area affected by A.D. 1906 surface rupture indicates that the maximum dextral offset within the interior of the King Range terrane is only 2.5 km. If this fault extends inland, and if it has been accommodating most of the strike-slip component of San Andreas offset at a rate of 3-4 cm/yr, then its activity began only 83-62 ka. This interpretation would also mean that a longer term trace of the San Andreas fault must be nearby, either offshore or along the northeast boundary of the King Range terrane. An offshore fault trace would be consistent with peak heating of King Range strata north of the Mendocino triple junction. Conversely, shifting the fault to the east would be compatible with a slabless window heat source and long-distance northward translation of the King Range terrane after peak heating.

Geological Society of America Bulletin↗
USGS1996

Large-scale right-slip displacement on the East San Francisco Bay region fault system, California: Implications for location of late Miocene to Pliocene Pacific plate boundary

A belt of northwardly younging Neogene and Quaternary volcanic rocks and hydrothermal vein systems, together with a distinctive Cretaceous terrane of the Franciscan Complex (the Permanente terrane), exhibits about 160 to 170 km of cumulative dextral offset across faults of the East San Francisco Bay Region (ESFBR) fault system. The offset hydrothermal veins and volcanic rocks range in age from .01 Ma at the northwest end to about 17.6 Ma at the southeast end. In the fault block between the San Andreas and ESFBR fault systems, where volcanic rocks are scarce, hydrothermal vein system ages clearly indicate that the northward younging thermal overprint affected these rocks beginning about 18 Ma. The age progression of these volcanic rocks and hydrothermal vein systems is consistent with previously proposed models that relate northward propagation of the San Andreas transform to the opening of an asthenospheric window beneath the North American plate margin in the wake of subducting lithosphere. The similarity in the amount of offset of the Permanente terrane across the ESFBR fault system to that derived by restoring continuity in the northward younging age progression of volcanic rocks and hydrothermal veins suggests a model in which 80–110 km of offset are taken up 8 to 6 Ma on a fault aligned with the Bloomfield-Tolay-Franklin-Concord-Sunol-Calaveras faults. An additional 50–70 km of cumulative slip are taken up ≤ 6 Ma by the Rogers Creek-Hayward and Concord-Franklin-Sunol-Calaveras faults. An alternative model in which the Permanente terrane is offset about 80 km by pre-Miocene faults does not adequately restore the distribution of 8–12 Ma volcanic rocks and hydrothermal veins to a single northwardly younging age trend. If 80–110 km of slip was taken up by the ESFBR fault system between 8 and 6 Ma, dextral slip rates were 40–55 mm/yr. Such high rates might occur if the ESFBR fault system rather than the San Andreas fault acted as the transform margin at this time. Major transpression across the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates at about 3 to 5 Ma would have resulted in the transfer of significant slip back to the San Francisco Peninsula segment of the San Andreas fault. Since that time, the ESFBR fault system has continued to slip at rates of 11–14 mm/yr. If this interpretation is valid, the ESFBR fault system was the Pacific-North American plate boundary between 8 and 6 Ma, and this boundary has migrated both eastward and westward with time, in response to changing plate margin geometry and plate motions.

California↗
USGS1987

Studies of Quaternary saline lakes-III. Mineral, chemical, and isotopic evidence of salt solution and crystallization processes in Owens Lake, California, 1969-1971

As a consequence of the 1969–1970 flooding of normally dry Owens Lake, a 2.4-m-deep lake formed and 20% of the 2-m-thick salt bed dissolved in it. Its desiccation began August 1969, and salts started crystallizing September 1970, ending August 1971. Mineralogic, brine-composition, and stable-isotope data plus field observations showed that while the evolving brine composition established the general crystallization timetable and range of primary and secondary mineral assemblages, it was the daily, monthly, and seasonal temperature changes that controlled the details of timing and mineralogy during this depositional process. Deuterium analyses of lake brine, interstitial brine, and hydrated saline phases helped confirm the sequence of mineral crystallizations and transformations, and they documented the sources and temperatures of waters involved in the reactions. Salts first crystallized as floating rafts on the lake surface. Natron and mirabilite, salts whose solubilities decrease greatly with lowering temperatures, crystallized late at night in winter, when surface-water temperatures reached their minima; trona, nahcolite, burkeite, and halite, salts with solubilities less sensitive to temperature, crystallized during the afternoon in summer, when surface salinities reached their maxima. However, different temperatures were generally associated with crystallization (at the surface) and accumulation (on the lake floor) because short-term temperature changes were transmitted to surface and bottom waters at different rates. Consequently, even when solubilities were exceeded at the surface, salts were preserved or not as a function of bottom-water temperatures. Halite, a nearly temperature-insensitive salt, was always preserved. Monitoring the lake-brine chemistry and mineralogy of the accumulating salts shows: (1) An estimated 0.9 × 10 6 tons of CO 2 was released to the atmosphere or consumed by the lake's biomass prior to most salt crystallization. (2) After deposition, some salts reacted in situ to form other minerals in less than one month, and all salts (except halite) decomposed or recrystallized at least once in response to seasons. (3) Warming in early 1971 caused solution of all the mirabilite and some of the natron deposited a few months earlier, a deepening of the lake (though the lake-surface lowered), and an increase in dissolved solids. (4) Phase and solubility-index data suggest that at the close of desiccation, Na 2 CO 3 ·7H 2 O, never reported as a mineral, could have been the next phase to crystallize.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗