Thermochemical structure and evolution of cratonic lithosphere in central and southern Africa

Afonso, Juan C.1,2; Ben-Mansour, Walid2,3; O'Reilly, Suzanne Y.2; Griffin, William L.2; Salajeghegh, Farshad2; Foley, Stephen2; Begg, Graham2; Selway, Kate4; Macdonald, Andrew5; Januszczak, Nicole6; Fomin, Ilya2; Nyblade, Andrew A.7; Yang, Yingjie8

2022-04-01

10.1038/s41561-022-00929-y

Nature Geoscience   影响因子和分区

1752-0894

1752-0908

["Cratons in central and southern Africa exhibit diverse structures, compositions and responses to geodynamic settings, according to a high-resolution thermochemical regional model constructed from land- and satellite-based geophysical observations.","The thermochemical structure of the subcontinental mantle holds information on its origin and evolution that can inform energy and mineral exploration strategies, natural hazard mitigation and evolutionary models of Earth. However, imaging the fine-scale thermochemical structure of continental lithosphere remains a major challenge. Here we combine multiple land and satellite datasets via thermodynamically constrained inversions to obtain a high-resolution thermochemical model of central and southern Africa. Results reveal diverse structures and compositions for cratons, indicating distinct evolutions and responses to geodynamic processes. While much of the Kaapvaal lithosphere retained its cratonic features, the western Angolan-Kasai Shield and the Rehoboth Block have lost their cratonic keels. The lithosphere of the Congo Craton has been affected by metasomatism, increasing its density and inducing its conspicuous low-topography, geoid and magnetic anomalies. Our results reconcile mantle structure with the causes and location of volcanism within and around the Tanzanian Craton, whereas the absence of volcanism towards the north is due to local asthenospheric downwellings, not to a previously proposed lithospheric root connecting with the Congo Craton. Our study offers improved integration of mantle structure, magmatism and the evolution and destruction of cratonic lithosphere, and lays the groundwork for future lithospheric evolutionary models and exploration frameworks for Earth and other terrestrial planets."]

SCI

英语

NI论文

其他

ARC["DP160103502","CE110001017","LP170100233"]

Geology

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000784060700001

NATURE PORTFOLIO

Web of Science

1.Univ Twente, Fac Geoinformat Sci & Earth Observat ITC, Enschede, Netherlands
2.Macquarie Univ, ARC Ctr Excellence Core Crust Fluid Syst CCFS, N Ryde, NSW, Australia
3.Washington Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, St Louis, MO 63130 USA
4.Univ South Australia, Future Ind Inst, Mawson Lakes, SA, Australia
5.De Beers Grp Serv, Johannesburg, South Africa
6.BHP Tech Ctr Excellence, Perth, WA, Australia
7.Penn State Univ, Dept Geosci, State Coll, PA USA
8.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Earth & Space Sci, Shenzhen, Guangdong, Peoples R China

Afonso, Juan C.,Ben-Mansour, Walid,O'Reilly, Suzanne Y.,et al. Thermochemical structure and evolution of cratonic lithosphere in central and southern Africa[J]. Nature Geoscience,2022.

Afonso, Juan C..,Ben-Mansour, Walid.,O'Reilly, Suzanne Y..,Griffin, William L..,Salajeghegh, Farshad.,...&Yang, Yingjie.(2022).Thermochemical structure and evolution of cratonic lithosphere in central and southern Africa.Nature Geoscience.

Afonso, Juan C.,et al."Thermochemical structure and evolution of cratonic lithosphere in central and southern Africa".Nature Geoscience (2022).