Ground Penetrating Radar Imaging of the Emigrant Peak Fault Zone and Alluvial Fan

Near-surface geophysical studies at the University of Kansas are investigating active faulting in the Eastern California Shear Zone. The Emigrant Peak Fault, in Fish Lake Valley, Nevada, is a normal fault that aids in the transfer of right-lateral deformation associated with the Furnace Creek/Fish Lake/Death Valley fault system of the Walker Lane Belt/Eastern California Shear Zone. During the spring and summer of 2006 we collected ground penetrating radar (GPR) across the deformed alluvial fan associated with the Emigrant Peak Fault. The GPR study is conducted in conjunction with high resolution shallow seismic and geologic investigations underway to more fully characterize the fault zone. The GPR data crosses the surface expression of the Emigrant Peak Fault and it is comprised of a 50 MHz 3-D grid and 25 MHz 2-D lines. The 3-D grid covers an area of 115m X 500m at 1m trace spacing, 5m in-line spacing and intersecting cross-lines at 50, 100, 150, 250, and 450m across the in-lines. 2-D GPR lines were acquired at coincident locations with the shallow seismic data and along a 1500m regional line over the fault and alluvial fan deposits. Depth of imaging ranged between 17m for the 50 MHz data and 25m for the 25 MHz data. GPR imaging aids in the characterization of the fault zone structurally as well as characterizing alluvial fan stratigraphy. Data shows stratigraphic reflectors on a 1m scale. Reflector geometries are quite complex, showing continuous coherent events, as well as areas that are less coherent which appear to signal a change to more boulder/cobble-rich deposition, a common characteristic in debris-flow dominated alluvial fans. The reflectors are also heavily influenced by the structural components that are imaged. The GPR shows a number of west-dipping faults that seem to migrate towards the basin. The faults are not imaged merely as interrupted reflectors, but the fault surfaces are actually imaged. Stratigraphic reflectors truncate at the faults in many instances. Some of the reflectors do not truncate, but instead roll-over into steeply dipping reflectors. The GPR data shows that not only is it useful for determining the near-surface stratigraphy of alluvial fans, but is very useful in determining the shallow structures associated with normal fault deformation in the alluvial fan as well as imaging the fault surface.