Miocene-Pliocene strike-slip basin development along the Denali fault system in the eastern

163 Pages·2017·10.47 MB·English

Purdue University
Purdue e-Pubs
Open Access Theses Theses and Dissertations
12-2016
Miocene-Pliocene strike-slip basin development
along the Denali fault system in the eastern Alaska
range: Chronostratigraphy and provenance of the
Mccallum formation and implications for
displacement
Wai Kehadeezbah Allen
Purdue University
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Recommended Citation
Allen, Wai Kehadeezbah, "Miocene-Pliocene strike-slip basin development along the Denali fault system in the eastern Alaska range:
Chronostratigraphy and provenance of the Mccallum formation and implications for displacement" (2016).Open Access Theses. 830.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/830
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Graduate School Form
30 Updated (cid:20)(cid:21)(cid:18)(cid:21)(cid:25)(cid:18)(cid:21)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:24)
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance
This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared
By Wai Kehadeezbah Allen
Entitled
MIOCENE-PLIOCENE STRIKE-SLIP BASIN DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE DENALI FAULT SYSTEM IN THE
EASTERN ALASKA RANGE: CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY AND PROVENANCE OF THE MCCALLUM FORMATION
AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DISPLACEMENT
Master of Science
For the degree of
Is approved by the final examining committee:
Darryl Granger
Chair
Christopher L. Andronicos

Kenneth D. Ridgway

To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation
Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32),
this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of
Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material.
Kenneth D. Ridgway
Approved by Major Professor(s):
Indrajeet Chaubey 11/26/2016
Approved by:
Head of the Departmental Graduate Program Date

i
MIOCENE-PLIOCENE STRIKE-SLIP BASIN DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE
DENALI FAULT SYSTEM IN THE EASTERN ALASKA RANGE:
CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY AND PROVENANCE OF THE MCCALLUM
FORMATION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DISPLACEMENT
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty
of
Purdue University
by
Wai K. Allen
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
of
Master of Science
December 2016
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
ii
For my family
My family continues be a source of inspiration and hope for me as I continue my
academic career. The immense love and support during these important stages of my
academic career are sincerely appreciated. My mother and father are survivors of the
American Indian boarding school era and I am proud and honored to continue their story.
My parents have always advocated for me to continue my education and instilled in me
the cultural values of the Diné people. My mother and sister have always been two of the
greatest heroines in my life. Their strength and perseverance continues to inspire me to be
confident and to be a better individual every day. My father and brother have always
taught me about hard work and how critical it is for others whether or not they ask for it. I
am honored and privileged to say that I grew up on the same lands as my ancestors did.
Doing so profoundly affected my values as an individual and allowed me to recognize the
beauty in the desert landscape of the Navajo Reservation while others would view it as
desolate and empty.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The friends that I have made during my journey to this point in my career have also been
instrumental to my success. Most notably are Darryl Reano, Roberta Sakizzie, Felica
Ahasteen-Bryant, Hailey Bryant, Kimberle Davis, Aurelia Yazzie, Rylan Chong, Cassidy
Jay, Ruth Aronoff, Benjamin Link, Christopher Rommele, past and present Basin
Analysis group members (Mariah Romero, Lauren Colliver, Tim Henderson, Peter
Robinson, Tommy Lovell, and Patrick Brennan), Dr. Larry Braille, Dr. Jon Harbor, and
Dr. Jeffrey Trop. Their conversations and feedback were important in many aspects of
my research as well as daily life as a graduate student. I also would like to thank my
collaborators from the University of California-Davis and the University of Alaska-
Fairbanks: Dr. Sarah Roeske, Dr. Jeffrey Benowitz, Trevor Waldien, Patrick Terhune,
and Kailyn Davis. My collaborators support throughout the completion of this research
was invaluable. I would also like to thank my thesis committee members (Dr. Christopher
Andronicos, Dr. Darryl Granger, and Dr. Kenneth D. Ridgway) for serving on my
committee and providing important feedback on my thesis and ideas for future research. I
would like to sincerely thank my advisor and mentor, Dr. Kenneth D. Ridgway. Ken
continues to be an amazing mentor and has understood my important cultural values as a
Native American. I feel very lucky to have Ken as my advisor and look forward to
continue my research at Purdue. I would also like to thank research collaborators
iv
involved with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Project 341. The research associated with
this project widened my perspectives to how diverse fields of research can be integrated
to unravel the 12-myr record of the surveyor fan system in Gulf of Alaska. My project
that was a part of this effort involved close collaborations with Dr. Eva Enklemann and
Catherine Dunn at the University of Cincinnati. Their contribution to this project was
integral in understanding the detrital and clast datasets by using the fission track method.
I thank them for their efforts in this project and their thoughtful and critical perspectives
of the detrital and clast datasets. More detailed work associated with this project will be
discussed in my future Ph.D. work. I also thank the Native American Education and
Cultural Center, Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership, the American Indian Science
and Engineering Society, and Native American Student Association at Purdue University
for their support. The Sloan program, NAECC, NASA, and Purdue AISES chapter
organizations were important campus resources that allowed me to succeed as a graduate
student and provided a much-needed community. I would finally like to thank the
National Science Foundation, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation, the Geological Society
of America, Alaska Geological Survey, and Purdue University for their financial support
of my Masters research. NSF support provided the opportunity for me to learn the U-Pb
detrital zircon dating technique and also to conduct analysis at the Laserchron Center at
the University of Arizona. There are many others not listed here that have contributed to
my success, I thank you for your insights and encouragement to continue my education.