Report on RCL-Cortez Workshop: Lithospheric Rupture in the Gulf of California – Salton Trough Region

From January 9 to 13, 2006, a group of about 70 professional and student researchers gathered at the Hotel Coral in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, to discuss the status of geophysical and geological research in the MARGINS Gulf of California – Salton Trough focus site (Fig. 1). The main goals of the workshop were to summarize emerging new data and results, identify existing gaps in knowledge, and suggest possible directions for future research. Theoretical models and studies of other rifted margins allowed participants to compare and contrast results from this region. A 2-day field trip, led by John Fletcher and Gary Axen, illustrated a well-studied example of low-angle normal faulting in the Laguna Salada area, and provided new insights into Late Cenozoic extension and transtensional tectonics in the Salton Trough (Fig. 2). Financial support for U.S., Mexican, and other international participants came from the MARGINS and International programs of NSF. The workshop was sponsored by NSF and CICESE (Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada). Workshop conveners were Rebecca Dorsey, Raul Castro, John Fletcher, and Daniel Lizarralde. Julie Morris, Paul Wyer, and Meredith Berwick from the MARGINS Office provided invaluable support at all levels, from the mundane to the profound. Federico Graef, Director of CICESE, and Enrique Gómez, Director of the Earth Science Division at CICESE, welcomed the group with introductory remarks that highlighted the current atmosphere of international cooperation and collaborative research. Additional information about the workshop, including participants list, technical program, working groups, and downloadable oral and poster presentations, is available at http:// www.rcl-cortez.wustl.edu/index.html. Oral presentations were organized into thematic sessions, interspersed with poster sessions and group discussions. Each thematic session had a 4to 5-member working group, which encouraged all participants to contribute directly to the talks and discussions. On the final day, 5-minute “pop-up” presentations distilled critical “knowns” and “unknowns.” Group discussions then explored broader themes that unify the different topics and point to needs for future work. From this we conclude that: (1) recent work has produced a huge amount of new data and insights into processes of lithospheric rupture, and thus the first generation of MARGINS-funded research in this focus site has been very successful; (2) emerging results have generated new questions that a diverse community of scientists believes are important to address; and (3) this region provides an excellent natural laboratory for tackling such questions. Participants recognized many dynamic links among the topics that were discussed, and it was widely agreed that interdisciplinary research is needed to improve our understanding of the complex systems involved in rupturing lithosphere and creating a new ocean basin.