Attempted integration of geologic and geophysical data from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory area, Eastern Snake River Plain
- EG G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Idaho National Engineering Lab.
The Eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) is a late-Cenozoic, bimodal volcanic province that developed synchronously with basin-and-range extension in the surrounding tectonic province. Strong geologic and geophysical contrasts exist between these two provinces. The Basin and Range is composed of northwest-trending, carbonate-bedrock ranges and alluvium-filled valleys. The ESRP is a bimodal volcanic province, with Tertiary silicic-volcanic rocks overlain by Quaternary mafic lavas. Patterns of ESRP volcanism and associated dike-induced surface deformation suggest that Quaternary crustal extension on the ESRP is accommodated by intrusion of basaltic dikes along northwest-trending volcanic-rift zones. This contrasts with recurrent seismogenic slip along northwest-trending, segmented normal faults in the adjacent Basin and Range tectonic province. The authors present new geophysical compilations, and they attempt to correlate these data with the surface distribution of volcanic-rift zones and other mapped geologic features near the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Numerous, northwest-trending aeromagnetic anomalies do not always correspond with mapped volcanic-rift zones, which are expected to be underlain by mafic-dike swarms. Northwest-trending gravity anomalies also cross the ESRP, but their widths suggest broadly distributed masses rather than narrow rift zones. The spatial and temporal distribution of volcanic-rift zones on the ESRP has important implications for regional tectonics and seismicity, as well as the assessment of seismic- and volcanic hazards at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Discrepancies among the data sets suggest that older, buried volcanic-rift zones may have existed in a different configuration than is currently indicated by surficial geology. Alternatively, the geophysical signatures of non-rift-zone features may be indistinguishable from those of volcanic-rift zones.
- OSTI ID:
- 5095550
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9305259-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:5; Conference: 89. annual meeting of the Cordilleran Section and the 46th annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Reno, NV (United States), 19-21 May 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
IDAHO
RIFT ZONES
IDAHO NATIONAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY
GEOLOGY
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
MAGNETIC SURVEYS
GEOPHYSICS
SNAKE RIVER PLAIN
VOLCANIC ROCKS
VOLCANISM
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
ROCKS
SURVEYS
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
580000* - Geosciences
540250 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (1990-)