Protracted circum-continent subduction: A mechanism for craton destruction and a rationale for craton longevity
Abstract
The evolution of continents is shaped by the growth and destruction of long-lived cratons, which serve as their stable cores. Processes for craton destruction are controversial because most invoked mechanisms occur frequently throughout Earth history, making the preservation of cratons for billions of years problematic. Here, we address this issue by presenting a crustal-scale analytical signal-amplitude model obtained from high-resolution airborne and shipborne magnetic data across cratons within East Asia. Magmatic, magnetic, and basin-history constraints show that the eastern North China craton experienced focused weakening, thickening, and catastrophic destruction of its mantle lithosphere due to a unique combination of circum-craton subduction and subsequent collision since the Paleozoic. By contrast, the adjacent South China craton was not impacted in this way, and thus, its mantle root was spared from destruction. The long-term survival of cratons may stem from the infrequent occurrence of sustained circum-cratonic subduction or collisional processes capable of destabilizing their lithospheric roots.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (13)
Xi Xu
Department of Materials, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Andrew V. Zuza
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Nevada Geosciences, University of Nevada
Lijun Liu
Protein Structure and X-ray Crystallography Laboratory, Structural Biology Center
Weilin Zhu
School of Ocean and Earth Science
Yanyun Sun
China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Center for Natural Resources, China Geological Survey
Baodi Wang
China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Center for Natural Resources, China Geological Survey
Xingtao Kuang
China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Center for Natural Resources, China Geological Survey
Song Han
Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
Xuanjie Zhang
China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Center for Natural Resources, China Geological Survey
Wan Zhang
Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College
Xiaowei Fu
School of Ocean and Earth Science
D. Graham Pearson
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, University of Alberta
Jingao Liu
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, and Frontiers Science Center for Deep-time Digital Earth, China University of Geoscience (Beijing)