Date of Award:

12-2012

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Geosciences

Department name when degree awarded

Geology

Committee Chair(s)

Anthony R. Lowry

Committee

Anthony R. Lowry

Committee

W. Adolph Yonkee

Committee

Joel L. Pederson

Abstract

Here I develop a new method for estimating differences in elevation between pairs of paleo-lake shoreline features. This method is applied to Lake Bonneville, a large lake that inundated nearly 1/3 of the state of Utah as well as parts of Nevada and Idaho from 34 to 11.5 thousand years ago. Under the weight of the lake water load, the surface of the Earth was depressed by up to 75 m. This occurred as Earth mantle rock at depth flowed outward in response to the weight of the lake. I use this new methodology to compile here a denser sample of Lake Bonneville shoreline elevations. The denser data are then used to develop a new model of how the Earth flows at depth in response to a load such as Lake Bonneville. Because rock flow also drives earthquakes, this has the potential to improve assessments of earthquake hazard in the region. With more than one million people currently residing within the corridor of strong ground motion for future earthquake events on the Wasatch Fault, the most active fault in the region, this has the potential to reduce damage to structures and risk to life and property of Wasatch Front residents.

Checksum

29ca2370f18646ad9495495b5034ae7d

Download

Included in

Geology Commons

Share

COinS

Copyright for this work is retained by the student. If you have any questions regarding the inclusion of this work in the Digital Commons, please email us at .