James E. Wright
Professor
B.S., Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
M.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1980
Research Interests
My research interests center around the study of the time-space relationship of magmatism to metamorphism and deformation, and the correspondence of plate motions to tectonic events preserved within the geologic record. Analysis of this broad topic is based upon the description and interpretation of the rock record through time in key areas, with emphasis on using this data base and the work of other researchers to obtain insights into crustal-scale processes and driving mechanisms common to mountain belts. The tools that I have used in addressing these issues include, but are not limited to, basic field mapping, petrography, and structural studies; age determination of plutonic, volcanic and metamorphic rocks by U-Pb, Ar-Ar, and fission track methods; and the use of trace elements, including isotopic signatures of Sr, Nd, and Pb, to gain insights into the tectonic setting of igneous rocks and their source regions.
Currently I have two NSF funded projects:
Field companions on Bonaire
1. I am investigating the origin of the Caribbean plate and the accretion of the Leeward Antilles (Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, La Orchilla, Los Roques, La Blanquilla, and Los Testigos) to the Venezuela continental margin. This is an international multi-university/multi- diciplinary project funded through the Continental Dynamics Program at NSF. I am carrying out field and geochronological studies on the islands. I just organized a workshop and field trip on the island of Aruba for all the project participants. I am currently writing a GSA today paper with Jim Pindell on the origin of the Caribbean plate. For more details, see the SE Caribbean Plate Boundary Continental Dynamics Project website
2. I am also investigating the Cretaceous transpressive history of the western U.S. Cordillera. This research involves extensive geologic mapping and geochronological studies along a proposed major early Cretaceous strike-slip fault. This joint research project with Professor Sandra Wyld is currently funded through the Tectonics Program of NSF. We are just finishing up a manuscript with Paul Umhoefer of Northern Arizona University where we restore the major strike-slip faults of the Cordillera back to 90 Ma.
In addition to these projects, I am developing a new model for the Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the North American Cordillera by offering an alternative view of the detrital zircon record of the miogeocline and several outboard terranes. I am also in the process of offering a new model for the origin and evolution of the Great Valley Sequence of California.
Selected Publications
Wright, J. E., and Wyld, Sandra J., in press, Alternative tectonic model for Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous evolution of the Great Valley Group, California: in Cloos, M. ed., Convergent Margin Tectonics and Associated Regions, a Volume in Honor of Gary Ernst: Geological Society of America Special Volume. download pdf
Wright, J. E., and Wyld, Sandra J., in press, Gondwanan, Iapetan, Cordilleran interactions: A geodynamic model for the Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the North American Cordillera, in Monger, J., Enkin, R., Haggert, J., eds., Paleogeography of Western North America: Constraints on Large-Scale Latitudinal displacemnets: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 46. download pdf
Wyld, Sandra J., Umhoefer, P., and Wright, J. E., in press, Reconstructing northern Cordilleran terranes along known Cretaceous and Cenozoic strike-slip faults: Implications for the Baja BC hypothesis and other models, in Monger, J., Enkin, R., Haggert, J., eds., Paleogeography of Western North America: Constraints on Large-Scale Latitudinal displacemnets: Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 46. download pdf
Amato, J. M., Miller, E. L., Toro, J., and Wright, J. E., 2003, Cretaceous Magmatism on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, and Cape Dezhnev, Northeast Russia: Geochemistry, 40Ar/39Ar ages, and implications for the tectonic evolution of the Bering Strait Region, in Short Notes on Alaskan Geology 2003, Clautice, K., ed., State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Professional Report 120, p. 1-20.
Amato, J. M., Miller, E. L., Wright, J. E., and McIntosh, W. C., 2003, Dike swarms on Seward Peninsula, Alaska, and their implications for the kinematics of Cretaceous extension in the Bering Strait region, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 40, p. 865-886.
Wyld, S. J., and Wright, J. E., 2001, New evidence for Cretaceous strike-slip faulting in the U.S. Cordillera; and implications for terrane displacement, deformation patterns and plutonism: American Journal of Science, v. 301, p. 150-181.
Barnes, Calvin G., Burling, Trina C., Burton, Bradford R., Wright, James E., and Karlsson, Haraldur R., 2001, The Harrison Pass pluton: Petrology and geochemistry of a Tertiary synextentional pluton, northeastern Nevada: submitted to Journal of Petrology, v. 42. p. 901-929.
Wyld, S. J., Rogers, J. W., and Wright, J. E., 2001, Structural evolution within the Luning-Fencemaker fold-thrust belt, Nevada: Progression from back-arc basin collapse to intra-arc shortening: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 23, p. 1971-1995.
