Thermo-compositional structure of the north-eastern Canadian Shield from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis as a record of its tectonic history
File(s)Altoe_et_al_Superior_EPSL2020.pdf (9.95 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Altoe, Isabella
Eeken, Thomas
Goes, Saskia
Foster, Anna
Darbyshire, Fiona
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The thermal and compositional structure of lithospheric keels underlying cratons, which are stable continental cores formed during the Precambrian, is still an enigma. Mapping lithospheric temperatures and compositional heterogeneities is essential to better understand geodynamic processes that control craton formation and evolution. Here we investigate the northeastern part of North America which comprises the Superior Craton, the largest Archean craton in the world, and surrounding Proterozoic belts. We model Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves from a previous study, which were regionalised based on cluster analysis. Next, we perform a grid search for sub-crustal thermal and compositional structures that are consistent with the average dispersion curve for each cluster. We apply constraints on crustal structure and use thermodynamic methods to map thermo-compositional structures into seismic velocity. In agreement with previous studies, most regions require concentrations of metasomatic minerals over certain depth intervals to fit the seismic profiles. Our results further require vertical as well as lateral variations in compositional and thermal structures, which appear to reflect different stages of formation and modification of the lithosphere below the region, with distinct structures found under Archean cores, Archean/Paleoproterozoic collision belts, mid-late Proterozoic collision belts, and zones affected by rifting.
Date Issued
2020-10-01
Date Acceptance
2020-07-06
Citation
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2020, 547
ISSN
0012-821X
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume
547
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Geochemistry & Geophysics
02 Physical Sciences
04 Earth Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 116465
Date Publish Online
2020-07-22