Microstructural Analysis of the Modoc Fault Zone at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia
Location
College of Science and Mathematics (COSM)
Session Format
Poster Presentation
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Dr. Timothy Diedesch
Abstract
A microstructural analysis was conducted of rock samples collected from the Georgia Piedmont province in spring 2021. Rocks of the Piedmont provide a record of the last stage of formation of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Models for the formation of large mountain ranges like the ancient Appalachians and its modern analog, the Himalayas, require frequent revision. The Modoc Zone near Clarks Hill Reservoir has been well studied in South Carolina, but it extends west into Georgia, where it has not been well documented. The Modoc Zone originated as the boundary between the deep crust and an overlying volcanic complex of a large island that formed off the coast around 500 million years ago. During the last stage of formation of the Appalachians, the Modoc Zone became an important fault boundary that accommodated the collision of the island with North America. Thin sections of rock samples from the Modoc Zone were prepared for petrographic microscope use. Mineral assemblages and textures documented in the thin sections provide an important record of the deformation history and temperatures of deformation in the Modoc Fault Zone. Combined with previous studies, these data provide constraints on the evolution of the Modoc Zone and the Piedmont.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Fuller, Sarah, "Microstructural Analysis of the Modoc Fault Zone at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia" (2021). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 55.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2021/2021/55
Microstructural Analysis of the Modoc Fault Zone at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia
College of Science and Mathematics (COSM)
A microstructural analysis was conducted of rock samples collected from the Georgia Piedmont province in spring 2021. Rocks of the Piedmont provide a record of the last stage of formation of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Models for the formation of large mountain ranges like the ancient Appalachians and its modern analog, the Himalayas, require frequent revision. The Modoc Zone near Clarks Hill Reservoir has been well studied in South Carolina, but it extends west into Georgia, where it has not been well documented. The Modoc Zone originated as the boundary between the deep crust and an overlying volcanic complex of a large island that formed off the coast around 500 million years ago. During the last stage of formation of the Appalachians, the Modoc Zone became an important fault boundary that accommodated the collision of the island with North America. Thin sections of rock samples from the Modoc Zone were prepared for petrographic microscope use. Mineral assemblages and textures documented in the thin sections provide an important record of the deformation history and temperatures of deformation in the Modoc Fault Zone. Combined with previous studies, these data provide constraints on the evolution of the Modoc Zone and the Piedmont.
