Identification and interpretation of tectonic features from Skylab imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. S190-B imagery confirmed previous conclusions from S190-A that the Garlock fault does not extend eastward beyond its known termination near the southern end of Death Valley. In the Avawatz Mountains, California, two faults related to the Garlock fault zone (Mule Spring fault and Leach Spring fault) show evidence of recent activity. There is evidence that faulting related to Death Valley fault zone extends southeastward across the Old Dad Mountains. There, the Old Dad fault shows evidence of recent activity. A significant fault lineament has been identified from McCullough Range, California southeastward to Eagle Tail Mountains in southwestern Arizona. The lineament appears to control tertiary and possible cretaceous intrusives. Considerable right lateral shear is suspected to have taken place along parts of this lineament

Identification and interpretation of tectonic features from ERTS-1 imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. The transverse faults observed in the central Coast Ranges of California are believed to represent the remnants of a major system of shear faults older than the San Andreas system. The transverse shear system is believed to have developed in the Mesozoic when the Pacific Plate was advancing under the North American Plate. Shear faults thus developed due to unequal rates of underthrusting. This tectonic model indicates that the intrusive belt of the proto-Sierra Nevada and the belt of eugeosynclinal sedimentary belt (Franciscan group) which lay to the west were both subjected to regional left-handed shear. Later development of the San Andreas system as transform faults of the East Pacific Rise changes the tectonic style to right-lateral tangential. The model explains the peculiar distribution of the Franciscan rocks in the Diablo Range east of the San Andreas fault and in Santa Lucia Range west of Nacimiento fault and the presence of Sierra Nevada type granitic blocks in between the two faults in the Salinia block. This model is also consistent with an analysis of the Texas and Parras shears which indicates that the southwestern part of North America has been subjected to a major left-lateral regional shear before the development of the San Andreas fault system

Identification and interpretation of tectonic features from Skylab imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. The fault pattern in the southern Nevada tectonic intersection and adjacent Mojave block was found to be consistent with a model partly suggested by Hamilton and Myers (1966). The model has the following basic elements: (1) a major Laramide left-lateral shear on the Texas Zone, (2) counterclockwise rotation of the Sierra Nevada-Klamath Mountain block, (3) clockwise rotation of the Colorado Plateau, and (4) crustal extension and intrusion of volcanics in Nevada

Identification and interpretation of tectonic features from ERTS-1 imagery

The author has identified the following significant results. ERTS-1 imagery shows that the southern segment of the San Gabriel fault which controls the west fork of the San Gabriel River is strikingly similar to the Mill Creek Fault in the San Bernardino Mountains. It has also been noted that there is a similarity between the Sierra Madre thrust zone of the San Gabriel Mountains to the Banning thrust of the San Bernardino Mountains. This suggests that the southern San Gabriel fault was once continuous with the Mill Creek fault. When the San Bernardino Mountain block is theoretically moved to the northwest along the San Jacinto fault so that the Mill Creek fault is aligned with the southern part of the San Gabriel fault, it was found that the four transverse fault segments become aligned with the Pinto Fault on the east and with the Raymond-Santa Monica Malibu Fault zone on the west. The reconstruction identifies a continuous zone of transverse faulting extending from the Colorado River Desert to the Pacific. It seems likely that the entire fault zone was once a continuous left-lateral shear. This Anacapa Shear has probably been subjected to a 50 km left lateral movement. This analysis strongly indicates that the tectonic history of the Transverse Range has been characterized by left lateral shear on transverse faults and right lateral shear on the San Andreas fault system

Analysis of tectonic features in US southwest from Skylab photographs

The author has identified the following significant results. Skylab photographs were utilized to study faults and tectonic lines in selected areas of the U.S. Southwest. Emphasis was on elements of the Texas Zone in the Mojave Desert and the tectonic intersection in southern Nevada. Transverse faults believed to represent the continuation of the Texas Zone were found to be anomalous in strike. This suggests that the Mojave Desert block was rotated counterclockwise as a unit with the Sierra Nevada. Left-lateral strike-slip faults in Lake Mead area are interpreted as elements of the Wasatch tectonic zone; their anomalous trend indicates that the Lake Mead area has rotated clockwise with the Colorado Plateau. A tectonic model relating major fault zones to fragmentation and rotation of crustal blocks was developed. Detailed correlation of the high resolution S190B metric camera photographs with U-2 photographs and geologic maps demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing S190B photographs for the identification of geomorphic features associated with recent and active faults and for the assessment of seismic hazards

ERTS Applications in earthquake research and mineral exploration in California

Examples that ERTS imagery can be effectively utilized to identify, locate, and map faults which show geomorphic evidence of geologically recent breakage are presented. Several important faults not previously known have been identified. By plotting epicenters of historic earthquakes in parts of California, Sonora, Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, we found that areas known for historic seismicity are often characterized by abundant evidence of recent fault and crustal movements. There are many examples of seismically quiet areas where outstanding evidence of recent fault movements is observed. One application is clear: ERTS-1 imagery could be effectively utilized to delineate areas susceptible to earthquake recurrence which, on the basis of seismic data alone, may be misleadingly considered safe. ERTS data can also be utilized in planning new sites in the geophysical network of fault movement monitoring and strain and tilt measurements

Tectonic analysis of Baja California and Parras shear belt in Mexico

The author has identified the following significant results. Geological correlation of terrain across the Gulf of California using ERTS-1 imagery revealed significant similarities between Isla Tiburon, Isla Angel de la Guarda, and the San Carlos Range in mainland Mexico. ERTS-1 imagery was used to check the validity of the existence of major trans-Baja fault zones. ERTS-1 imagery also shows that high albedo sediments similar to known late Tertiary marine sediments are widespread in southern and middle Baja and extend in places to the eastern side of the Peninsula. Major faults in northern Mexico and across the border in the United States were mapped, and ample evidence was found that the Parras and parts of the Texas lineament are belts of major transverse shear faults in areas outside the supposed limit of the Texas and Parras lineaments. A fundamental concept which may help explain many complexities in the tectonic development is beginning to emerge: The southwestern part of North America was torn by massive left-lateral shear of transverse trend (east-west) during the compressive stage of the late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic. This tectonic style has changed into tensional rifting (Basin and Range) and right-lateral shear later in the Cenozoic and Quaternary

Identification and interpretation of tectonic features from ERTS-1 imagery: Southwestern North America and the Red Sea area

The author has identified the following significant results. The ERTS-1 imagery was utilized to study major fault and tectonic lines and their intersections in southwestern North America. A system of transverse shear faults was recognized in the California Coast Ranges, the Sierra Nevada, the Great Basin, and Mexico. They are interpreted as expressions of a major left-lateral shear which predated the San Andreas system, the opening of the Gulf of California and Basin and Range rift development. Tectonic models for Basin and Range, Coast Ranges, and Texas-Parras shears were developed. Geological structures and Precambrian metamorphic trend lines of schistosity were studied across the Red Sea rift

A New Monte Carlo Based Algorithm for the Gaussian Process Classification Problem

Gaussian process is a very promising novel technology that has been applied to both the regression problem and the classification problem. While for the regression problem it yields simple exact solutions, this is not the case for the classification problem, because we encounter intractable integrals. In this paper we develop a new derivation that transforms the problem into that of evaluating the ratio of multivariate Gaussian orthant integrals. Moreover, we develop a new Monte Carlo procedure that evaluates these integrals. It is based on some aspects of bootstrap sampling and acceptancerejection. The proposed approach has beneficial properties compared to the existing Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach, such as simplicity, reliability, and speed