Southern Hemisphere Cratonic Evolution
Cratons are the most long-lived parts of continents. How they react to mantle dynamic processes while surviving the geological history remains poorly understood. Traditionally, people believe cratonic lithosphere is compositionally melt-depleted and thermally cold. Jordan (1975) proposed an isopycnic cratonic root where the compositional and thermal effects on density exactly compensate with each other, resulting in large-scale isostatic equilibrium. This model, although elegant, does not explain the long-term evolution of the cratons. In this project, we combine multiple geophysical and geological constraints, including topographic evolution, residual gravity anomaly, seismic tomography and anisotropy and tectonic reconstruction to constrain the evolution of the cratons in southern hemisphere. Hu et al., in review.
