Publication Date
Summer 2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Geology
Advisor
Kim Blisniuk; Seulgi Moon; Emmanuel Gabe
Abstract
The San Francisco Bay Area lacks publications on erosion rates and their relationship to restraining bend fault geometry. This thesis presents a detailed geochronologic study of erosion rates from the Mission Hills along the Calaveras, Mission, and Hayward faults located northeast of San Jose, California. The goals are to provide erosion rate values where none currently exist and to gain a better understanding of how fault geometry influences topography along restraining bends. To quantify the erosion rate of these faults, river sediments containing 10Be were collected from 14 catchments using well-established protocols. Of the successfully processed samples, the erosion rates fell within the predicted trends with minimal exceptions. The values of calculated erosion rates range from 0.047 ± 0.005 mm/yr to 0.161 ± 0.019 mm/yr. Watersheds near the Mission fault stepover zone have higher erosion rates. Generally speaking, these watersheds exhibit high local relief and steep channel slopes. Lower erosion rates are primarily found away from the restraining step-over zone and are in watersheds that contain lower values of local relief and channel steepness. Channel steepness appears to be the most significant topographic metric associated with erosion rates and local faulting, as this project determined that the landscape formed by tectonics exerts greater control over its formation than lithology.
Recommended Citation
Lord, Ian Duncan, "Quantifying Erosion Rates of the Mission Hills Along the Calaveras, Mission, and Hayward Faults in Northern California to Better Understand the Role of Fault Geometry on Surface Topography" (2025). Master's Theses. 5686.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.jcah-qrna
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5686
