Journal
TECTONOPHYSICS
Volume 609, Issue -, Pages 690-705Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.tecto.2013.09.014
Keywords
Archean; Moho; Seismic; Granite; Greenstone belt; Crust
Categories
Funding
- Yale University Bateman Postdoctoral Fellowship
- USGS National Earthquake Hazards Program
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Undisturbed mid Archean crust (stabilized by 3.0-2.9 Ga) has several characteristics that distinguish it from post Archean crust. Undisturbed mid-Archean crust has a low proportion of internal seismic boundaries (as evidenced by converted phases in seismic receiver functions), lacks high seismic velocities in the lower crust and has a sharp, flat Moho. Most of the seismic data on mid-Archean crust comes from the undisturbed portions of the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe (Tokwe segment) cratons. Around 67-74% of younger Archean crust (stabilized by 2.8-2.5 Ga) has a sharp, flat Moho. Much of the crust with a sharp, flat Moho also lacks strong internal seismic boundaries, but there is not a one to one correspondence. In cases where its age is known, basaltic lower crust in Archean terranes is often but not always the result of post Archean underplating. Undisturbed mid-Archean cratons are also characterized by lower crustal thicknesses (Archean median range = 32-39 km vs. post-Archean average = 41 km) and lower crustal seismic velocities. These observations are shown to be distinct from those observed in any modem-day tectonic environment. The data presented here are most consistent with a model in which Archean crust undergoes delamination of dense lithologies at the garnet-in isograd resulting in a flat, sharp Moho reflector and a thinner and more felsic-intermediate crust. We discuss the implications of this model for several outstanding paradoxes of Archean geology. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available