How do continents form: The Wyoming craton example
Have you ever wondered how the oldest continents formed? A new paper in the January 2023 issue of GSA Today looks at the story preserved in the oldest rocks on Earth. All continents contain some crust that is 2.5 billion years or older, way back in the Archean eon. These areas of old continental crust are known as cratons.
Link to the article:
www.geosociety.org/GSA/Publications/GSA_Today/GSA/GSAToday/science/G541A/article.aspx
Written by: Carol Frost, Susan Swapp, RJ Stern
Host: Ali Sealander
Video Editor: Zach Clowdus
Funding provided by NSF grant EAR-20242243 (PIs Carol Frost and Susan Swapp)
References
Featured paper:
Frost, C.D., Mueller, P.A., Mogk, D.W., Frost, B.R., and Henry, D.J., 2023, Creating continents: Archean cratons tell the story. GSA Today, v. 33 no. 1, p. 4-10, doi: 10.1130/GSATG541A.1
Other related references:
Bedrosian, P.A., and Frost, C.D., 2022, Geophysical extent of the Wyoming Province: Insights into ancient subduction and craton stability. GSA Bulletin, 18 p., doi:10.1130/B36417.1
Bedle, H., Cooper, C.M., and Frost, C.D., 2021, Nature versus nurture: preservation and destruction of Archean cratons. Tectonics, 40, e2021TC006714. doi.org/10.1029/2021TC006714.
Carlson, R.W., Garcon, M., O’Neil, J., Reimink, J., and Rizo, H., 2019, The nature of Earth’s first crust: Chemical Geology, v. 530, 119321, doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.119321.
Pearson, D.G., Scott, J.M., Liu, J., Schaeffer, A., Wang, L.H., von Hunen, J., Szilas, K., Chacko, T., and Keleman, P.B., 2021, Deep continental roots and cratons: Nature, v. 596, p. 199-210, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03600-5.
Music: John Utah - A Walk on the Mile form Epidemic Sound
www.epidemicsound.com/track/zSl21IVWgJ/
Image/figure credits (in order of appearance)
Subduction zone model modified from Force takes control in mountain-height debate (fig 1), by K. Wang (2020)
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01601-4.pdf
Global distribution of Archean cratons modified from Nature Versus Nurture: Preservation and Destruction of Archean Cratons by Bedle et al. (2021)
agupubs-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.libproxy.utdallas.edu/doi/full/10.1029/2021TC006714
Cathedral Peaks, Teton Range Wyoming. View from South Teton, looking north to Middle Teton and Grand Teton
Gabbro
James St. John, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Diorite
Amcyrus2012, CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Granite
Eurico Zimbres, CC BY-SA 2.5 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Fremont Peak, Wind River Mountains, on the skyline with Neoarchean granite of the continental magmatic arc in the foreground.
Cirque of the Towers, southern Wind River Range. Pingora Peak, right, with Lonesome Lake in the foreground. The Neoarchean granodiorite composing the outcrops are part of the continental magmatic arc
Andes
Public domain (NASA)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nasa_anden.jpg
Himalayas - collision zone from Large salt accumulations as a consequence of hydrothermal processes associated with ‘Wilson cycles’: A review, Part 2: Application of a new salt-forming model on selected cases, by M. Hovland et al. (2018)
www.researchgate.net/publication/323247966_Large_salt_accumulations_as_a_consequence_of_hydrothermal_processes_associated_with_'Wilson_cycles'_A_review_Part_2_Application_of_a_new_salt-forming_model_on_selected_cases
(Modified from illustration by Sonja Leyva, Pasadena City College, see geophile.net/Lessons/PlateTectonics/PlateTectonics2_07.html)
Earth through time
media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer_web/earthviewer.html
Tetons Mountain Range photo by Charles Nye
Low-grade side of the Teton continent-continent collision (image at top right corner at 5:04). The mountain is called Eagle’s Rest.
Shale image
James St. John, CC BY 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Accreted terranes figure
www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/plate-tectonics-accreted-terranes.htm
Image at 5:48 shows the Miners Delight graywacke in the foreground. The view is WNW towards the Roundtop Mountain metabasalt on the other side of the near valley with green trees. The Wind River Mountains are in the background. This photo is by Mike Meredith (MS student).
Tectonic scenario diagrams illustrating the two main ideas for the geodynamic sites of TTG generation:
www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Archean-evolution-of-the-southern-S%C3%A3o-Francisco-(SE-Albert/e037821fdb3b84fd4f439459903f8618970594cd
zircon crystal
www.smorf.nl/
Granite 2
www.geologypage.com/2019/05/granite-rocks.html
Sedimentary rock
rockhoundresource.com/sedimentary-rocks-identification-pictures-descriptions/
Topography of the Hawaiian Islands
Paul Johnson, University of Hawaii
nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.jsp?med_id=65962&from=
Пікірлер: 24
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video. And well done to spot the Greek roots of the word craton! According to Sengör (1999, Tectonophysics v 205, p 1-42), the Austrian geologist Leopold Kober coined the term kratogen, meaning "born strong." As you note, the word comes from Greek roots: κρατos (strength, might) and γενεσιs (manner of birth, origin). The German geologist Hans Stille shortened the term to kraton, which in English became craton.
@cumhurbabaoglu2585
Жыл бұрын
Congratulations on the paper! Speaking of Şengör, I got my master's degree where he was retired last year. I had the chance to attend some lectures and talks he gave and to have a chat with him. He's a real inspiration. I have always admired his knowledge of every aspect of geology.
@boxsterman77
7 ай бұрын
Because the German of that term would have been something like kräftiggebort--which isn't a word--yet.
Wow! Don't know how I picked up this thread but I've learned more this morning about ancient rock than I've ever heard before. Thank you.😊
Amazing, thanks for sharing!
Nice interesting piece. Thank you. I 'd love to see the geological story of the Superior craton.
Thank you Ali. This was again very worth seeing - especially for someone who does not deal with geology every day, but wants to know how it all works. I think it's good to explain the formation of cratons on a certain example - the graphics are also great - with pictures you can explain so much better. The word Kraton, I think, is actually of Greek origin - I have never heard it in German - it is always derived from the Greeks. "Craton: Part of the earth's crust that has solidified in such a way that it can no longer be deformed by folding, but only by fracture or fracture fold tectonics - from Greek kratos "force, violence" and Greek genesis "becoming, arising" Greetings Klaus
This is a rabbit hole I didnt know id end up going down
Another outstanding geology lesson from UTD. And nice work, UW team!
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Well explained, thanks..
Great video - short, interesting, informative and spot-on! It seems quite obvious that there are plenty of places on Earth where continental magmatic arcs are still forming. I'm curious if there is anywhere on Earth where there is active cratonic crust is forming, either in the phase 1 felsic melts into mafic crust, or phase 2 build up of the craton by the thickening of TTG crust? In short, can we point to somewhere on a map and say "looks like a craton is forming here"?
Amazing!!!
This is bloody awesome
Subduction processes are doubtful before 2.7 billion yrs ago.
@robertschrum5496
3 ай бұрын
For those of us w/o your exposure, would you plz contribute the reason for delayed action.
@tomkrzyt
3 ай бұрын
@@robertschrum5496 YT algorithm
Most of this will be abandoned by whatever theories replace it, just as this replaced earlier theories.
Fascinating! Though the music was insanely distracting and completely unnecessary.
FYI that there is a place in Northern Michigan called Watersmeet that has 3.5 Ga gneiss, also a place west of Minneapolis in Minnesota
Your missing the crust in northern Wisconsin! There’s Archean rock there!
@harrietharlow9929
4 ай бұрын
Yes, it's a part of the Superior Craton.
At 1:45, "kratogen" is misidentified as a "German word". Just because a German geologist coined the term, kratogen, does not preclude the German geologist's using Greek root words. Otherwise, a decent video.
This is the first I learned of a Wyoming Craton. Why would a Craton have a mountain range? The orogenies happen at the boundaries of crayons, not in its interior. Then you mention the creation of new Archean rock. What?! You don't make new Archean rock.