Collaborative Research: The Age of Grand Canyon: Applying New Tests to Resolve the 150-year-old Debate

合作研究：大峡谷时代：应用新测试解决 150 年来的争论

• 批准号: 1348007
• 负责人: Karl Karlstrom
• 金额: $ 15.41万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-05-01 至 2017-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1348007&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Age; Grand; Canyon

Questions about the age of Grand Canyon, framed by John Wesley Powell in the late 1800s, address the tectonic and landscape evolution of the Grand Canyon region and the tectonic events that have shaped it. Recent papers reinvigorate the debate, and support models for both "old" (70-17 million years) and "young" (5-6 million years) carving of Grand Canyon, with corresponding tectonic models for "old" versus "young" uplift of the Colorado Plateau. Studies supporting the "old" canyon model suggest that an 80-70 million year old east-flowing river, then a 55-30 million year old west-flowing river, incised a canyon in the same location and to nearly the same depth as modern Grand Canyon. In this model, the Colorado River did not play a significant role in excavating Grand Canyon, and the preponderance of tectonic uplift of the Colorado Plateau took place about 70 million years ago. In contrast, "young" canyon models suggest that most of the Grand Canyon has been carved in the last 6 million years once the Colorado River became integrated from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California and that uplift of the Colorado Plateau region has taken place in multiple episodes and may be ongoing due to regional mantle upwelling. This project tests a "paleocanyon resolution" for the Grand Canyon debate in which there are 3 "young" segments, 1 "old" segment, and 1 "intermediate" age segment that collectively provide a record of a complex multi-stage tectonic uplift history for the southwestern U.S. Two complementary methods are used to test this hypothesis. First, apatite triple dating (fission track, (U-Th)/He dating, and 4He/3He analyses) are applied to new samples from each segment to reconstruct cooling paths for rocks and decipher past (now-eroded) landscapes and fault displacements. Second, detrital zircon and sanidine dating of key preserved paleoriver remnants provide essential ground truth to calibrate the thermochronological investigations.The project?s broader significance and importance are enhanced by intense national and international public interest in the Grand Canyon region as one of Earth?s iconic geologic features. The results of this project may change the current paradigm for the incision age of the Grand Canyon. Discussion and resolution of the century-long Grand Canyon debate illustrates the scientific method and progress of science. The project will have significant impacts on student training, increased diversity of the geoscience workforce, outreach to Native American tribes in the region, public informal science education, and increased collaborative progress among diverse geosciences communities.

约翰·韦斯利·鲍威尔（John Wesley Powell）在1800年代后期对大峡谷时代的疑问，介绍了大峡谷地区的构造和景观演变以及塑造了它的构造事件。最近的论文重新激发了辩论，并为“旧”（700-1700万年）和“年轻”（5 - 600万年）雕刻大峡谷的支持模型，并具有相应的构造模型，用于“旧”与科罗拉多高原的“旧”和“年轻”提升。支持“旧”峡谷型号的研究表明，一条80至7亿年历史的东流河，当时是一条55.30亿年历史的西流河，在同一地点切开了峡谷，与现代大峡谷的深度几乎相同。在这种模型中，科罗拉多河在挖掘大峡谷中没有发挥重要作用，科罗拉多高原的构造隆起大约发生在大约7000万年前。相比之下，“年轻”峡谷型号表明，一旦科罗拉多河从落基山融入到加利福尼亚湾，大部分大峡谷已经在过去的600万年中雕刻而成，科罗拉多高原地区的升高是在多个情节中发生的，并且可能是由于区域地幔上升而发生的。该项目测试了大峡谷辩论的“古综合基因分辨率”，其中有3个“年轻”段，1个“旧”细分市场和1个“中间”年龄段，这些年龄段共同提供了复杂的多阶段构造式隆重历史记录，用于西南美国两种互补方法来检验该假设。首先，将apatite三重约会（裂变轨道，（u-th）/He约会和4HE/3HE分析）应用于每个段的新样品，以重建岩石和decipher的过去（现已修复的）景观和故障位移的岩石和破译的冷却路径。其次，关键保存的古老残留物的碎屑锆石和萨尼丁定期提供了基本的基础真理，以校准热量调查。该项目的重要性和重要性得到了大峡谷地区的强烈国家和国际公共利益作为地球的标志地球特征之一。该项目的结果可能会改变大峡谷切口年龄的当前范例。长达一个世纪的大峡谷辩论的讨论和解决说明了科学的科学方法和进步。该项目将对学生培训，地球科学劳动力的多样性，向该地区的美国原住民部落进行宣传，公共非正式科学教育以及不同地球科学社区之间的协作进步增加。

项目成果

Detrital sanidine 40Ar/39Ar dating confirms <2 Ma age of Crooked Ridge paleoriver and subsequent deep denudation of the southwestern Colorado Plateau

• DOI: 10.1130/ges02319.1
• 发表时间: 2021-01
• 期刊: Geosphere
• 影响因子: 2.5
• 作者: M. Heizler;K. Karlstrom;M. Albonico;R. Hereford;L. Beard;S. Cather;L. Crossey;K. Sundell

Evaluating the Shinumo-Sespe drainage connection: Arguments against the “old” (70–17 Ma) Grand Canyon models for Colorado Plateau drainage evolution

评估 Shinumo-Sespe 排水系统连接：反对科罗拉多高原排水系统演化的“旧”（70-17 Ma）大峡谷模型的争论

• DOI: 10.1130/ges02265.1
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Geosphere
• 影响因子: 2.5
• 作者: Karlstrom, Karl E.;Jacobson, Carl E.;Sundell, Kurt E.;Eyster, Athena;Blakey, Ron;Ingersoll, Raymond V.;Mulder, Jacob A.;Young, Richard A.;Beard, L. Sue;Holland, Mark E.
• 通讯作者: Holland, Mark E.