Jurassic giant erg deposits, flexure of the United States continental interior, and timing of the onset of Cordilleran shortening

Research Article| February 01, 2000 Jurassic giant erg deposits, flexure of the United States continental interior, and timing of the onset of Cordilleran shortening Philip A. Allen; Philip A. Allen 1Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Jonathan E. Verlander; Jonathan E. Verlander 2Enterprise Oil plc, Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5EJ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter M. Burgess; Peter M. Burgess 3Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, P.O. Box 914, Park Place, Cardiff CF1 3YE, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D. Marc Audet D. Marc Audet 4Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PR, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2000) 28 (2): 159–162. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<159:JGEDFO>2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 06 Jul 1999 rev-recd: 09 Nov 1999 accepted: 16 Nov 1999 first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Philip A. Allen, Jonathan E. Verlander, Peter M. Burgess, D. Marc Audet; Jurassic giant erg deposits, flexure of the United States continental interior, and timing of the onset of Cordilleran shortening. Geology 2000;; 28 (2): 159–162. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<159:JGEDFO>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The requirement of long-term accommodation space for preservation in the geological record is particularly acute in the case of thick wind-blown deposits that accumulate to heights well above the regional elevation. The Mesozoic of the western United States contains a number of well-developed erg systems. The clue to their formation and preservation is the combination of a positive sand budget and the generation of shortening events in the early Mesozoic continental margin arc of the U.S. Cordillera, which flexed the continental interior downward. The combination of the creation of a wide topographic depression representing a retro-foreland basin, sheltered behind a mountain belt exerting a rain shadow effect, and a background dynamic subsidence, produced optimum conditions for the preservation of thick eolian deposits during the Jurassic. The onset of flexural subsidence in Utah is thought to have been as early as Early Jurassic on the basis of the characteristic signature of the subsidence profiles, which is in agreement with the recent documentation of Early Jurassic igneous and structural activity west of the Luning-Fencemaker thrust belt in Nevada. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.