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The origin of the sky-island mountains in Tucson has produced the spectacular landscapes, structures, and rock formations that prove fascinating to visitors, including school children, to Saguaro National Park, Sabino Canyon, Windy Point, Catalina State Park, Colossal Cave, and Agua Caliente Park.
In Spring 2020, University of Arizona Geosciences faculty member, Dr. George Davis, led a high-level workshop to analyze a particularly strategic site within the Rincon Mountains. Through the support of the Department of Geosciences, this work has provided new insights using geological mapping, remote sensing, 3D computer modeling, and geochronological analysis.
We ask for your help in raising $7,000 to continue our research and complete this project:
$5,000 to address the on-going geochronological and thermochronological analysis of samples
$500 for illustration preparation
$1,500 for journal publication charges
The results of this research, especially the geochronology, will further enhance the quality of accessible interpretation and communication of the geological significance of Tucson's sky islands.
Additionally, a strong finish for this project will broadly underscore the educational value of team-based learning and research that engages faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and adjunct faculty. It will fortify the resumes of the graduate students involved. Tectonics science and the entire Tucson community will benefit from the research results for years to come.
Already, there are plans to broadly disseminate the findings of this research. Davis has been invited to give a keynote address in October 2020 at the Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America. Moreover, Davis and fellow contributors are preparing a manuscript for submission to the journal Geosphere, which is perfectly suited for displaying the spectacular images and models of their findings.
Whether you are a geology enthusiast, visitor of Saguaro National Park, Sabino Canyon, Windy Point, Catalina State Park, Colossal Cave, and Agua Caliente Park, or a Department of Geosciences alumni and friend, we hope you will make a gift today to help us to reach our goal!
“Tectonics” is the science consumed with origin of mountains, and includes the study of faulting, shearing, and metamorphism of rocks. Tucson’s sky-island mountains are "metamorphic core complexes," a term first defined in the mid-1970s by two University of Arizona Geosciences faculty, Dr. Peter Coney and Dr. George Davis. They determined that metamorphic core complexes were created by profound tectonic stretching, not through the time-honored conventional view of mountain building by crustal shortening.
One massive interpretive challenge has been the precise determination of the timing of faulting and uplift of these domical sky-island mountains. Advanced geochronology technologies developed in the past two decades are now fully up to the task and UArizona geoscientists have led the way in harnessing these technological advances to address previously unanswered questions.
Make your gift of any size today to help UArizona scientists expand our understanding of Tucson’s beloved sky-island mountains!
If you have questions about this project, please contact George Davis at gdavis@arizona.edu
