The Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa: no evidence for a supercontinental affinity prior to 2.0 Ga?

Eriksson, P.G.; Rigby, Martin J.; Bandopadhyay, P.C.; Steenkamp, Nicolaas Casper

doi:10.1080/00206814.2010.527638

Cited by 20 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 86 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…Thickening of the cratonic lithosphere resulting from magmatism and deformation led to stabilization and the long‐term survival of the cratons, and is associated with overall depletion of lithospheric mantle (Griffin et al., 2009; Jordan, 1978, 1988; Pearson et al., 2021; Priestley et al., 2020). Following the termination of magmatism, the stabilized cratons were exhumed and eroded to variable extent, and then subsided to be unconformably overlain by laterally extensive basinal successions; for example, the Singhbhum Cover Sequence that accumulated across much of the Singhbhum Craton, the Fortescue Supergroup along the southern and eastern margins of the Pilbara Craton, the Pongola, Witwatersrand and Transvaal successions preserved in the central and eastern parts of the Kaapvaal Craton, and the Huronian Supergroup on the southern margin of the Superior Craton (Bennett et al., 1991; Catuneanu & Eriksson, 1999; Chowdhury, Mulder, et al., 2021; Frimmel, 2019; Hickman, 2012; Luskin et al., 2019; P. G. Eriksson et al., 2011; Thorne & Trendall, 2001). Empirical estimates of continental crustal thickness in the period 3.2–2.5 Ga suggest a slight decrease overall, either from ∼55 to ∼50 km (Tang et al., 2021) or from ∼40 to ∼35 km (Balica et al., 2020).…”

Section: Secular Evolution Of the Continental Record—a Pulsed Archivementioning

confidence: 99%

Secular Evolution of Continents and the Earth System

Cawood

Chowdhury

Mulder

et al. 2022

Reviews of Geophysics

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Our planet is unique in the solar system in having a bimodal distribution of crustal types (continental and oceanic), the presence of liquid water at its surface, an oxygenated atmosphere, and a prolific and diverse biosphere. The evolving yet linked nature of these elements, across the range of spatial and temporal scales that operate on the planet, indicates complex and dynamic cycling between the solid (lithosphere, mantle, and core) and surficial (oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere) reservoirs. This linked evolution occurs in response to heat dissipation from the planet's interior, modulated by input of solar energy to the surficial reservoirs. During its very early history the Earth lacked these crustal and surficial features and, after initial accretion from the solar nebula, likely consisted of a magma ocean (e.g., Elkins-Tanton, 2012). Cooling, density settling, and crystallization resulted in rapid differentiation of the Earth, perhaps over a few tens of millions of years, and included formation of core, mantle, proto-crust, and atmosphere (Figure 1; Elkins-Tanton, 2008. Establishing the cascading succession of

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Section: Secular Evolution Of the Continental Record—a Pulsed Archivementioning

confidence: 99%

Secular Evolution of Continents and the Earth System

Cawood

Chowdhury

Mulder

et al. 2022

Reviews of Geophysics

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“…This is assumed to be reasonable since the two areas are close and tectonically similar. The geology of South Africa and Zimbabwe are similar, they both consist of Archean cratons which are almost of similar age and the cratons are both surrounded by mobile belts (Eriksson et al, 2011;Fouch et al, 2004;Jelsma and Dirks, 2002) During the 1963 -1991 period, the m blg magnitude scale was developed by Henderson (1974) and used for magnitude estimation in the southern African region by the Goetz Observatory. The Henderson (1974) relation (equation 2)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calibration of the local magnitude scale (Ml) for Central Southern Africa

Shumba¹,

Midzi

Manzunzu

et al. 2023

J Seismol

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The Central Southern Africa is an area of moderate seismic activity generally caused by the presence of the East Africa Rift System. To improve the quantification of seismicity in this region, we propose a local magnitude scale (Ml), based on the original Richter definition to be used by the Zimbabwe and Botswana national networks. The magnitude scale is developed using 854 seismic events that occurred between 1997 -2000 and 2013 -2018. These events were recorded by 61 broadband seismic stations located in Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. We evaluated 6128 traces of zero to peak maximum amplitude, recorded on the horizontal channel from simulated Wood-Anderson seismograms. All Calibration of the local magnitude scale (M l ) for Central Southern Africa 6128 maximum amplitude measurements were inverted simultaneously to determine the attenuation constants. The resultant Ml is defined as Ml = log 10 A + 0.80 × log 10 (R) + 0.00086 × R − 1.37 ± S in which A is ground displacement amplitude determined from instrument corrected synthetic Wood-Anderson seismograms in nanometres, R is the epicentral distance (km), and S is the station correction. Station corrections were determined for all stations during the regression analysis resulting in values ranging between -0.44 to + 0.31. The range in station corrections suggests a strong influence of local site effects on the amplitude of the seismic signal. Without station correction, the overall standard deviation of the magnitude residuals using our magnitude relation is 0.32 with a variance of 0.10, while using station corrections, the standard deviation and variance improved to 0.17 and 0.02 respectively. There is 80 % reduction in variance when our relation is used together with station corrections. A comparison of our local magnitude relation with published mblg relationships for Southern Africa shows that these two magnitude scales are almost equivalent. The Ml equation for Central Southern Africa derived in this study has good correlation with mb values reported by the ISC and NEIC and attains systematically lower magnitude values than the South African relationship.

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“…The Wilson Cycle can be seen as an integral part of the larger concept of the supercontinent cycle. When supercontinental dynamics are traced back into the deep geological past, as for the Proterozoic or even possibly the Archaean, it is clear that the relatively simple scenario of rifting of a large continental mass, separation of the relatively large daughter fragments on either side of a growing ocean, and eventual ocean closure together with reassembly of the earlier rifted margins in approximately similar mutual relationship (as implicit in Wilson's 1966 cycle derived from the Atlantic ocean example), becomes much more complex (e.g., Bleeker 2003;Eriksson et al 2011aEriksson et al , 2011b. Proterozoic supercontinents fragmented into many daughter components, and reassembly of the subsequent supercontinent several hundred million years later, encompassed a reassembly of fragments in a plethora of new relative orientations, reflecting multiple rotations and complex plate movements within a veritably Byzantine amalgamation history (e.g., Hartnady 1986;Hoffman 1991;Dalziel 1991;Moores 1991).…”

Section: The Importance Of Wilson's Work In Global Geodynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the inferred geodynamic evolution of the Dharwar craton over the ca. 3.5–2.5 Ga period, and possible implications for global tectonics

et al. 2014

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Abstract:The geological history and evolution of the Dharwar craton from ca. 3.5-2.5 Ga is reviewed and briefly compared with a second craton, Kaapvaal, to allow some speculation on the nature of global tectonic regimes in this period. The Dharwar craton is divided into western (WDC) and eastern (EDC) parts (separated possibly by the Closepet Granite Batholith), based on lithologi-cal differences and inferred metamorphic and magmatic genetic events. A tentative evolution of the WDC encompasses an early, ca. 3.5 Ga protocrust possibly forming the basement to the ca. 3.35-3.2 Ga Sargur Group greenstone belts. The latter are interpreted as having formed through accretion of plume-related ocean plateaux. The approximately coeval Peninsular Gneiss Complex (PGC) was possibly sourced from beneath plateau remnants, and resulted in high-grade metamorphism of Sargur Group belts at ca. 3.13-2.96 Ga. At about 2.9-2.6 Ga, the Dharwar Supergroup formed, comprising lower Bababudan (largely braided fluvial and subaerial volcanic deposits) and upper Chitradurga (marine mixed clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks and subaqueous volcanics) groups. This supergroup is preserved in younger greenstone belts with two distinct magmatic events, at 2.7-2.6 and 2.58-2.54 Ga, the latter approximately coincident with ca. 2.6-2.5 Ga granitic magmatism which essentially completed cratonization in the WDC. The EDC comprises 2.7-2.55 Ga tonalite-trondhjemitegranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and migmatites, approximately coeval greenstone belts (dominated by volcanic lithologies), with minor inferred remnants of ca. 3.38-3.0 Ga crust, and voluminous 2.56-2.5 Ga granitoid intrusions (including the Closepet Batholith). An east-to-west accretion of EDC island arcs (or of an assembled arc -granitic terrane) onto the WDC is debated, with a postulate that the Closepet Granite accreted earlier onto the WDC as part of a "central Dharwar" terrane. A final voluminous granitic cratonization event is envisaged to have affected the entire, assembled Dharwar craton at ca. 2.5 Ga. When Dharwar evolution is compared with that of Kaapvaal, while possibly global magmatic events and freeboard-eustatic changes at ca. 2.7-2.5 Ga may be identified on both, the much earlier cratonization (by ca. 3.1 Ga) of Kaapvaal contrasts strongly with the ca. 2.5 Ga stabilization of Dharwar. From comparing only two cratons, it appears that genetic and chronologic relationships between mantle thermal and plate tectonic processes were complex on the Archaean Earth. The sizes of the Kaapvaal and Dharwar cratons might have been too limited yet to support effective thermal blanketing and thus accommodate Wilson Cycle onset. However, tectonically driven accretion and amalgamation appear to have predominated on both evolving cratons.Résumé : L'histoire géologique et l'évolution du craton de Dharwar (ϳ3,5-2,5 Ga) sont examinées et sommairement comparées a` celles d'un second craton, celui de Kaapvaal, afin de permettre une certaine spéculation sur la nature des régimes tectoniques globaux duran...

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The Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa: no evidence for a supercontinental affinity prior to 2.0 Ga?

Cited by 20 publications

References 86 publications

Secular Evolution of Continents and the Earth System

Secular Evolution of Continents and the Earth System

Calibration of the local magnitude scale (Ml) for Central Southern Africa

A review of the inferred geodynamic evolution of the Dharwar craton over the ca. 3.5–2.5 Ga period, and possible implications for global tectonics

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