The structural evolution of the deep continental lithosphere

Cooper, C. M.; Miller, Meghan; Moresi, Louis

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.12.004

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 204 publications

(291 reference statements)

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“…A multi-scale model necessarily implies a wide range of structural features some of which may act as suitable 'discontinuities' when sampled with commonly used frequency bands. The thicker parts of continents can then be riddled by discontinuities in the depth range from 90-130 km, as remarked by Cooper et al (2017). This is the depth range in which changes in heterogeneity style with depth are most likely.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Interactions of multi-scale heterogeneity in the lithosphere: Australia

2017

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Understanding the complex heterogeneity of the continental lithosphere involves a wide variety of spatial scales and the synthesis of multiple classes of information. Seismic surface waves and multiply reflected body waves provide the main constraints on broad-scale structure, and bounds on the extent of the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition (LAT) can be found from the vertical gradients of S wavespeed. Information on finer-scale structures comes through body wave studies, including detailed seismic tomography and P-wave reflectivity extracted from stacked autocorrelograms of continuous component records. With the inclusion of deterministic large-scale structure and realistic medium-scale stochastic features fine-scale variations are subdued. The resulting multi-scale heterogeneity model for the Australian region gives a good representation of the character of observed seismograms and their geographic variations and matches the observations of P-wave reflectivity. P reflections in the 0.5-3.0 Hz band in the uppermost mantle suggest variations on vertical scales of a few hundred metres with amplitudes of the order of 1%. Interference of waves reflected or converted at sequences of such modest variations in physical properties produce relatively simple behaviour for lower

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Interactions of multi-scale heterogeneity in the lithosphere: Australia

2017

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“…In summary, a series of tectonic events other than the Paleo‐Pacific subduction have prominently affected the crust and lithospheric mantle in the northeastern NCC. Unlike the oceanic lithosphere, of which the first‐order structural features, such as crustal or lithospheric thickness, can be directly attributed to the sea‐floor age through plate tectonics in most cases (e.g., Kawakatsu et al, ), the continental lithosphere exhibits much greater structural diversity typically related to the long‐term evolution and history of the Earth (e.g., Begg et al, ; Chen, ; Cooper et al, ). Our study on the Moho depth variations in the northeastern NCC provides very important insights into the lithospheric structural heterogeneities and variable responses of continental lithosphere to complex and long‐term tectonic evolution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moho Depth Variations From Receiver Function Imaging in the Northeastern North China Craton and Its Tectonic Implications

et al. 2019

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A detailed knowledge of the crustal thickness in the northeastern North China Craton (NCC) is important for understanding the unusual Phanerozoic destruction of the craton. We achieve this goal by employing a 2‐D wave equation‐based migration method to P receiver functions from 198 broadband seismic stations, using Ps conversions and surface‐reflected multiples. By combining receiver function images along 19 profiles, we constructed a high‐resolution Moho depth model for the northeastern NCC. The results present dominant E‐W Moho depth variations similar to previous observations and new regional N‐S variations beneath both sides of the North‐South Gravity Lineament. To the west, while a deeper Moho (∼42 km) appears in the interior of the Trans‐North China Orogen, a relatively shallow Moho (∼38 km) exists in the northern margin of the Trans‐North China Orogen to western NCC. To the east, the crust beneath the Yan Mountains in the marginal area is thicker (∼32–40 km) than that (∼26–32 km) beneath the Bohai Bay Basin in the craton interior, and the Moho further shallows from NE (∼32 km) to SW (∼26 km) within the basin. Along with other observations, we conclude that the dominant E‐W difference may have been associated with the Paleo‐Pacific plate subduction under eastern Asia since the Mesozoic. The newly observed complex N‐S variations may have reflected the structural heterogeneity of the cratonic lithosphere inherited since the formation of the NCC in the Paleoproterozoic, or spatially uneven effects on the cratonic lithosphere of subsequent thermotectonic events during the long‐term evolution of the craton, or both.

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“…This results in a linked system involving the divergent, convergent and strike-slip relative surface motion of rigid plates ( figure 1 ), with deformation focused at boundary zones. The plates are made up of continental and oceanic lithospheres with contrasting chemical–physical properties [ 12 ]. Oceanic lithosphere is thin, dense with low mean elevation (largely submarine), and with new crust of largely mafic composition, whereas continental lithosphere is thicker, less dense, has higher mean elevation, and has a crustal component of more intermediate composition.…”

Section: Plate Tectonics: Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geological archive of the onset of plate tectonics

Cawood

Hawkesworth

Pisarevsky

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

295

204

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Plate tectonics, involving a globally linked system of lateral motion of rigid surface plates, is a characteristic feature of our planet, but estimates of how long it has been the modus operandi of lithospheric formation and interactions range from the Hadean to the Neoproterozoic. In this paper, we review sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic proxies along with palaeomagnetic data to infer both the development of rigid lithospheric plates and their independent relative motion, and conclude that significant changes in Earth behaviour occurred in the mid- to late Archaean, between 3.2 Ga and 2.5 Ga. These data include: sedimentary rock associations inferred to have accumulated in passive continental margin settings, marking the onset of sea-floor spreading; the oldest foreland basin deposits associated with lithospheric convergence; a change from thin, new continental crust of mafic composition to thicker crust of intermediate composition, increased crustal reworking and the emplacement of potassic and peraluminous granites, indicating stabilization of the lithosphere; replacement of dome and keel structures in granite-greenstone terranes, which relate to vertical tectonics, by linear thrust imbricated belts; the commencement of temporally paired systems of intermediate and high dT/dP gradients, with the former interpreted to represent subduction to collisional settings and the latter representing possible hinterland back-arc settings or ocean plateau environments. Palaeomagnetic data from the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons for the interval 2780–2710 Ma and from the Superior, Kaapvaal and Kola-Karelia cratons for 2700–2440 Ma suggest significant relative movements. We consider these changes in the behaviour and character of the lithosphere to be consistent with a gestational transition from a non-plate tectonic mode, arguably with localized subduction, to the onset of sustained plate tectonics.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics'.

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The structural evolution of the deep continental lithosphere

Cited by 25 publications

References 204 publications

Interactions of multi-scale heterogeneity in the lithosphere: Australia

Interactions of multi-scale heterogeneity in the lithosphere: Australia

Moho Depth Variations From Receiver Function Imaging in the Northeastern North China Craton and Its Tectonic Implications

Geological archive of the onset of plate tectonics

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