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Are Wilson cycles preserved in Archean cratons; a comparison of the North China and Slave Cratons

Timothy M. Kusky, Li Xiaoyong, Wang Zhensheng, Fu Jianmin, Ze Luo and Zhu Peimin
Are Wilson cycles preserved in Archean cratons; a comparison of the North China and Slave Cratons (in John Tuzo Wilson, a man who moved mountains, and his contributions to earth sciences, Ali Polat (editor))
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences = Revue Canadienne des Sciences de la Terre (March 2014) 51 (3): 297-311

Abstract

A review and comparison of the tectonic history of the North China and Slave cratons reveal that the two cratons have many similarities and some significant differences. The similarities rest in the conclusion that both cratons have a history of a Wilson Cycle, having experienced rifting of an old continent in the late Archean, development of a rift to passive margin sequence, collision of this passive margin with arcs within 100-200 Ma of the formation of the passive margin, reversal of subduction polarity, then eventual climactic collision with another arc terrane, microcontinental fragment, or continent. This cycle demonstrates the operation of Paleozoic-style plate tectonics in the late Archean. The main differences lie in the later tectonic evolution. The Slave's post-cratonization history is dominated by subduction dipping away from the interior of the craton, and later incorporation into the interior of a larger continent, whereas the North China Craton has had a long history of subduction beneath the craton, including presently being located above the flat-lying Pacific slab resting in the mantle transition zone, placing it in a broad back-arc setting, with multiple mantle hydration events and collisions along its borders. The hydration enhances melting in the overlying mantle, and leads to melts migrating upwards to thermochemically erode the lithospheric root. This major difference may explain why the relatively small Slave craton preserves its thick Archean lithospheric root, whereas the eastern North China Craton has lost it.


ISSN: 0008-4077
EISSN: 1480-3313
Coden: CJESAP
Serial Title: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences = Revue Canadienne des Sciences de la Terre
Serial Volume: 51
Serial Issue: 3
Title: Are Wilson cycles preserved in Archean cratons; a comparison of the North China and Slave Cratons
Title: John Tuzo Wilson, a man who moved mountains, and his contributions to earth sciences
Affiliation: China University of Geosciences, Laboratory for Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Wuhan, China
Affiliation: University of Windsor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Windsor, ON, Canada
Pages: 297-311
Published: 201403
Text Language: English
Summary Language: French
Publisher: National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
References: 154
Accession Number: 2014-027282
Categories: Solid-earth geophysics
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus. incl. geol. sketch maps
N62°00'00" - N68°00'00", W116°00'00" - W104°00'00"
N30°00'00" - N40°00'00", E105°00'00" - E122°00'00"
Country of Publication: Canada
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from Canadian Science Publishing, NRC Research Press, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States
Update Code: 201417
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