THE WONDER IN THE DETAILS: APPLIED STRUCTURAL MAPPING TECHNIQUES IN NORTHERN SALT VALLEY, PARADOX BASIN, SOUTHERN UTAH

As an exposed salt basin, the Paradox Basin has long been utilized as a natural laboratory by geologists studying a variety of geologic phenomena from basin evolution to fluid rock interaction. An interest in field-based research and structural geology drew me to begin my dissertation research near Moab, UT with the chance to contribute to its rich history of influential earth science research. My original basin-wide mindset quickly narrowed as I kept finding myself back at the same kilometer scale deformed rock exposure, spending weeks at a time in the hot summer sun measuring and documenting a particularly interesting fracture set bordering Arches National Park. Although these fractures may seem uninspiring at first due to the mere millimeters of offset in a seemingly chaotic arrangement, detailed structural mapping of the area revealed unforeseen insights into paleostress and structural evolution of the region. Here, I present an integrative structural mapping approach utilizing high resolution point cloud data acquired via an unmanned aerial vehicle, structure-from-motion virtual outcrops, and paws-on-the-ground field-based mapping and analysis. The mapping results combine traditional geologic mapping with detailed structural data to reveal paleostress indicative structural trends. Ultimately, this integrative approach reveals distinct and systematic map patterns that provide a rare insight into the enigmatic salt-related stress perturbations and associated natural fracture development in a low differential stress setting.