Santa Cruz Island Reserve

11 Jul, 11 AM - 19 Jul, 03 PM

As a first-year master’s student, I have already completed various expeditions for sample collection and qualitative observations from the San Onofre breccia along the southern coast of California in areas such as Palos Verdes, Dana Point and Laguna Beach. I have collected gabbroic and Catalina schist samples as well as sandy matrix from the unit. I am in the process of performing U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology on the sandy matrix. For the gabbroic clasts, I also plan to obtain U-Pb zircon crystallization ages and whole-rock geochemical analyses to determine the original source of these rocks. The gabbroic clasts are presumedly the basement of the southern California borderland that overly the Catalina schist prior to Mid-Miocene borderland rifting. Finally, the Catalina schist clasts are being collected for 40Ar/39Ar thermochronological analyses of white mica to determine the depth at which these rocks were stored, which will help uncover more information about unroofing of the Catalina schist subduction complex that occurred as a product of borderland extension and uplift. By visiting Santa Cruz Island (SCI), I will be able to observe and collect samples from one of the few remnants of the southern California borderland basement, which is the Willows diorite. Furthermore, I will collect clasts and sandy matrix from the oldest outcrops of San Onofre breccia in the region. Studying the unique compositions of San Onofre breccia that outcrops on SCI is extremely important to my study. An in-depth analysis of the composition of the San Onofre breccia at various structural levels will allow me to better understand the processes that occurred and where/when they occurred in relation to borderland rifting. Additionally, characterizing the Catalina schist clasts abundant within the breccia on SCI will help me assess how representative the Catalina schist that I have observed on Catalina Island is of the clasts that are regionally distributed throughout the borderland. It is important for me to continue this momentum of field work and sample collection throughout the summer and fall seasons, as I will hopefully be finishing up my analyses by early 2025 for the completion of my MS thesis.

Visit #90824 @Santa Cruz Island Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 56958 | Research

Unraveling Mid-Miocene Southern California borderland rifting through the lens of the San Onofre breccia

graduate_student - Stanford University

Visitor List

Starla Toto Jul 11 - 19, 2024 (9 days)

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Dock to Reserve Round-Trip 1 Jul 11 - 19, 2024
Garmin Inreach Satellite Unit 0 Jul 12 - 14, 2024
Vehicle Use - By Day 1 Jul 12 - 14, 2024
Garmin Inreach Satellite Unit 0 Jul 15 - 18, 2024
Vehicle Use - By Day 1 Jul 15 - 18, 2024
Vehicle Mileage 50 Jul 15 - 18, 2024
Christy Ranch Facilities Use 1 Jul 15 - 18, 2024
Regular Bunkroom 1 Jul 11 - 15, 2024
Vehicle Mileage 32 Jul 12 - 14, 2024