Geophysical evidence for the evolution of the California Inner Continental Borderland as a metamorphic core complex

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2000. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 105 (2000): 5835-5857, doi:10.1029/1999JB900318.We use new seismic and gravity data collected during the 1994 Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE) to discuss the origin of the California Inner Continental Borderland (ICB) as an extended terrain possibly in a metamorphic core complex mode. The data provide detailed crustal structure of the Borderland and its transition to mainland southern California. Using tomographic inversion as well as traditional forward ray tracing to model the wide-angle seismic data, we find little or no sediments, low (#6.6 km/s) P wave velocity extending down to the crust-mantle boundary, and a thin crust (19 to 23 km thick). Coincident multichannel seismic reflection data show a reflective lower crust under Catalina Ridge. Contrary to other parts of coastal California, we do not find evidence for an underplated fossil oceanic layer at the base of the crust. Coincident gravity data suggest an abrupt increase in crustal thickness under the shelf edge, which represents the transition to the western Transverse Ranges. On the shelf the Palos Verdes Fault merges downward into a landward dipping surface which separates “basement” from low-velocity sediments, but interpretation of this surface as a detachment fault is inconclusive. The seismic velocity structure is interpreted to represent Catalina Schist rocks extending from top to bottom of the crust. This interpretation is compatible with a model for the origin of the ICB as an autochthonous formerly hot highly extended region that was filled with the exhumed metamorphic rocks. The basin and ridge topography and the protracted volcanism probably represent continued extension as a wide rift until ;13 m.y. ago. Subduction of the young and hot Monterey and Arguello microplates under the Continental Borderland, followed by rotation and translation of the western Transverse Ranges, may have provided the necessary thermomechanical conditions for this extension and crustal inflow.The LARSE experiment was funded by NSF EAR-9416774, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards and Coastal and Marine Programs, and by the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC)

Data Report for the 1993 Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE93), Southern California: A Passive Study From Seal Beach Northeastward through the Mojave Desert

This report contains a description of the first part of the Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE). To date, LARSE has consisted of two experiments: passive, which took place in fall, 1993 (LARSE93), and active, which took place in fall, 1994 (LARSE94). The goal of the 1993 experiment was to collect waveform data from local and distant earthquakes to obtain three-dimensional images of lower crust and upper mantle structure in Southern California, particularly under the San Gabriel Mountains and across the San Andreas fault. During LARSE93, approximately 88 stations were deployed in a 175-km-long, linear array across the Los Angeles basin, San Gabriel Mountains, and Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of California at Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and University of Southern California. Reftek recorders were deployed one km apart through the San Gabriel Mountains, and two km apart in the Mojave Desert. This data set has since been complemented by the results of LARSE94 comprising land refraction and deep-crustal seismic reflection profiles from offshore airgun and onshore explosion sources. These additional data sets will be useful in distinguishing crustal structures from adjacent upper mantle structures. During the four weeks of continuous recording, over 150 teleseismic and over 450 local (ML ≥ 2.0) events were recorded at each site. Both teleseismic and local sources provided a wide range of raypath azimuths. The teleseismic events include a number of earthquakes with epicenters in the Aleutian Island, Kamchatka, Kuril Island, mid-Atlantic Ridge, Solomon Island, Japan, Fiji Island, Peru, and Chile regions. The local events include aftershocks of recent Southern California earthquakes. The final products of data processing are 1) half-hour files containing the continuous wavefonn data recorded at each station for each day of the experiment, 2) 150-second time-windowed waveform segments containing local, regional, and teleseismic event arrivals, and 3) one-hour time-windowed waveform segments containing regional and teleseismic event arrivals. Array instrumentation, recorded events, and data processing will be described in this report

Images of Crust Beneath Southern California Will Aid Study of Earthquakes and Their Effects

The Whittier Narrows earthquake of 1987 and the Northridge earthquake of 1991 highlighted the earthquake hazards associated with buried faults in the Los Angeles region. A more thorough knowledge of the subsurface structure of southern California is needed to reveal these and other buried faults and to aid us in understanding how the earthquake-producing machinery works in this region

Data Report for the 1993 Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE93), Southern California: a passive study from Seal Beach northeastward through the Mojave Desert

This report contains a description of the first part of the Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE). To date, LARSE has consisted of two experiments: passive, which took place in fall, 1993 (LARSE93), and active, which took place in fall, 1994 (LARSE94). The goal of the 1993 experiment was to collect waveform data from local and distant earthquakes to obtain three-dimensional images of lower crust and upper mantle structure in Southern California, particularly under the San Gabriel Mountains and across the San Andreas fault. During LARSE93, approximately 88 stations were deployed in a 175-km-long, linear array across the Los Angeles basin, San Gabriel Mountains, and Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, University of California at Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, and University of Southern California. Reftek recorders were deployed one km apart through the San Gabriel Mountains, and two km apart in the Mojave Desert. This data set has since been complemented by the results of LARSE94 comprising land refraction and deep-crustal seismic reflection profiles from offshore airgun and onshore explosion sources. These additional data sets will be useful in distinguishing crustal structures from adjacent upper mantle structures. During the four weeks of continuous recording, over 150 teleseismic and over 450 local (M_L ≥ 2.0) events were recorded at each site. Both teleseismic and local sources provided a wide range of raypath azimuths. The teleseismic events include a number of earthquakes with epicenters in the Aleutian Island, Kamchatka, Kuril Island, mid-Atlantic Ridge, Solomon Island, Japan, Fiji Island, Peru, and Chile regions. The local events include aftershocks of recent Southern California earthquakes. The final products of data processing are 1) half-hour files containing the continuous wavefonn data recorded at each station for each day of the experiment, 2) 150-second time-windowed waveform segments containing local, regional, and teleseismic event arrivals, and 3) one-hour time-windowed waveform segments containing regional and teleseismic event arrivals. Array instrumentation, recorded events, and data processing will be described in this report

Understanding earthquake hazards in southern California - the "LARSE" project - working toward a safer future for Los Angeles

The Los Angeles region is underlain by a network of active faults, including many that are deep and do not break the Earth’s surface. These hidden faults include the previously unknown one responsible for the devastating January 1994 Northridge earthquake, the costliest quake in U.S. history. So that structures can be built or strengthened to withstand the quakes that are certain in the future, the Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE) is locating hidden earthquake hazards beneath the region to help scientists determine where the strongest shaking will occur

Sequence-defined multifunctional polyethers via liquid-phase synthesis with molecular sieving

Synthetic chemists have devoted tremendous effort towards the production of precision synthetic polymers with defined sequences and specific functions. However, the creation of a general technology that enables precise control over monomer sequence, with efficient isolation of the target polymers, is highly challenging. Here, we report a robust strategy for the production of sequence-defined synthetic polymers through a combination of liquid-phase synthesis and selective molecular sieving. The polymer is assembled in solution with real-time monitoring to ensure couplings proceed to completion, on a three-armed star-shaped macromolecule to maximize efficiency during the molecular sieving process. This approach is applied to the construction of sequence-defined polyethers, with side-arms at precisely defined locations that can undergo site-selective modification after polymerization. Using this versatile strategy, we have introduced structural and functional diversity into sequence-defined polyethers, unlocking their potential for real-life applications in nanotechnology, healthcare and information storage

Effects of Hepatocyte CD14 Upregulation during Cholestasis on Endotoxin Sensitivity

Cholestasis is frequently related to endotoxemia and inflammatory response. Our previous investigation revealed a significant increase in plasma endotoxin and CD14 levels during biliary atresia. We therefore propose that lipopolysacharides (LPS) may stimulate CD14 production in liver cells and promote the removal of endotoxins. The aims of this study are to test the hypothesis that CD14 is upregulated by LPS and investigate the pathophysiological role of CD14 production during cholestasis. Using Western blotting, qRT-PCR, and promoter activity assay, we demonstrated that LPS was associated with a significant increase in CD14 and MD2 protein and mRNA expression and CD14 promoter activity in C9 rat hepatocytes but not in the HSC-T6 hepatic stellate cell line in vitro. To correlate CD14 expression and endotoxin sensitivity, in vivo biliary LPS administration was performed on rats two weeks after they were subjected to bile duct ligation (BDL) or a sham operation. CD14 expression and endotoxin levels were found to significantly increase after LPS administration in BDL rats. These returned to basal levels after 24 h. In contrast, although endotoxin levels were increased in sham-operated rats given LPS, no increase in CD14 expression was observed. However, mortality within 24 h was more frequent in the BDL animals than in the sham-operated group. In conclusion, cholestasis and LPS stimulation were here found to upregulate hepatic CD14 expression, which may have led to increased endotoxin sensitivity and host proinflammatory reactions, causing organ failure and death in BDL rats

Upper Crustal Structure from the Santa Monica Mountains to the Sierra Nevada, Southern California: Tomographic Results from the Los Angeles Regional Seismic Experiment, Phase II (LARSE II)

In 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) collected refraction and low-fold reflection data along a 150-km-long corridor extending from the Santa Monica Mountains northward to the Sierra Nevada. This profile was part of the second phase of the Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment (LARSE II). Chief imaging targets included sedimentary basins beneath the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys and the deep structure of major faults along the transect, including causative faults for the 1971 M 6.7 San Fernando and 1994 M 6.7 Northridge earthquakes, the San Gabriel Fault, and the San Andreas Fault. Tomographic modeling of first arrivals using the methods of Hole (1992) and Lutter et al. (1999) produces velocity models that are similar to each other and are well resolved to depths of 5-7.5 km. These models, together with oil-test well data and independent forward modeling of LARSE II refraction data, suggest that regions of relatively low velocity and high velocity gradient in the San Fernando Valley and the northern Santa Clarita Valley (north of the San Gabriel Fault) correspond to Cenozoic sedimentary basin fill and reach maximum depths along the profile of ∼4.3 km and >3 km, respectively. The Antelope Valley, within the western Mojave Desert, is also underlain by low-velocity, high-gradient sedimentary fill to an interpreted maximum depth of ∼2.4 km. Below depths of ∼2 km, velocities of basement rocks in the Santa Monica Mountains and the central Transverse Ranges vary between 5.5 and 6.0 km/sec, but in the Mojave Desert, basement rocks vary in velocity between 5.25 and 6.25 km/sec. The San Andreas Fault separates differing velocity structures of the central Transverse Ranges and Mojave Desert. A weak low-velocity zone is centered approximately on the north-dipping aftershock zone of the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and possibly along the deep projection of the San Gabriel Fault. Modeling of gravity data, using densities inferred from the velocity model, indicates that different velocity-density relationships hold for both sedimentary and basement rocks as one crosses the San Andreas Fault. The LARSE II velocity model can now be used to improve the SCEC Community Velocity Model, which is used to calculate seismic amplitudes for large scenario earthquakes