QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation.
Quaternary deformation of the Hog Ranch-Naneum anticline, Yakima folds, Washington
Abstract: The Hog Ranch-Naneum anticline (HRNA) trends north-south through central Washington, USA, deforming the northwest-southeast trending Yakima folds and separates Kittitas Valley and the Columbia River. In this work, we ask: does an active fault account for the topographic expression of the HRNA? The Yakima folds are linked to post-Miocene tectonic uplift within the Cascadia backarc. Regional geologic mapping and aeromagnetic data suggests that initial tectonic uplift along the HRNA predates the Yakima folds. The HRNA also deforms the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). Since the landscape within the fold province and HRNA was reset to relatively level relief ~15.6 Ma following the Grand Ronde Basalt member of the CRBG, deformation seems to have continued into Miocene time. However, the relative rate and precise timing of deformation of the HRNA is unknown. We use geomorphic and geophysical mapping, and stream profile inversion to examine activity and deformation history of the eastern boundary of the Kittitas Valley and the HRNA. We identified knickpoints in stream channels flowing from the crest of the HRNA into Kittitas valley. We anticipate to link active fault scarps on the western flank of the HRNA, and on the eastern side of Kittitas Valley to identified knickpoints. We also anticipate to date alluvial fan surfaces or strath terraces that are offset or incised by these active faults. The ages of offset surfaces will provide rates of deformation on the flanks of the HRNA or on faults bordering Kittitas Valley. Similar to recent studies in the region we anticipate that tephrachronology, cosmogenic 26Al-10Be isochron burial and/or luminescence dating techniques may inform ages of these Quaternary surfaces.
An examination of the style and extent of Quaternary deformation in Haida Gwaii driven by subduction initiation
Abstract: The goal of this project is to determine the effect tectonics has on landscape evolution in the Haida Gwaii archipelago of coastal British Columbia. The 150+ islands of Haida Gwaii are unusual in the context of northwestern America for their proximity to the active transpressive margin between the Pacific and North American plates, elevations in excess of 1 km, as well as their distance from mainland British Columbia. This isolation separated Haida Gwaii from the Cordilleran ice sheet during the last ice age, provided biological refugia (Lacourse et al. 2005) and promoted early human habitation in the Americas (Erlandson et al. 2008). We seek to test the hypothesis that the mountainous topography of Haida Gwaii is geologically young and the product of a nascent subduction zone which initiated 4-6 Mya (Hyndman 2015). We will employ low-temperature thermochronometry as well as examine an extensive lidar dataset for fault scarps to constrain the timing and magnitude of denudation and deformation in Haida Gwaii. Trends in thermochronometry ages will be used to determine the impact subduction initiation has had on the Haida Gwaii landscape. This project will introduce neo-tectonics research to a setting of interest for the QRC, invites an exciting collaboration between the University of Washington, Geologic Survey of Canada, and the Haida Nation, as well as seeds future work on the tectonic and geomorphic evolution of Haida Gwaii.