Collaborative Research: The Anatomy of an Archean Craton: The Evolution of the South African Continental Lithosphere

9526702格罗夫该奖项是南部非洲卡普瓦尔克拉通的国际，多机构，跨学科研究的一个组成部分。 这个为期四年的项目将确定导致这个和其他古代大陆板块形成和稳定的地质过程。 Kaapvaal克拉通保存太古代（2.6至3.6 Ga）大陆地壳和地幔。 地壳岩石出露良好，地幔和深部地壳中含有丰富的金伯利岩，提供了深部岩石圈结构的空间分布和时间演化信息。 主要调查人员将使用一些地球物理和地球化学技术来调查克拉通的结构。 这些不同方法的结果将与几个南非小组的研究计划相结合，以全面了解卡普瓦尔克拉通地幔和地壳的三维结构，化学成分和构造演化。 这些数据将用于评估克拉通组装的竞争模型，并提供对早期地球大陆动力学的限制。 ***

9526702 Grove This award is a component of an international, multi-institutional, interdisciplinary study of the Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa. This four-year project will determine the geological processes that led to the formation and stabilization of this and other ancient continental cratons. The Kaapvaal craton preserves Archean (2.6 to 3.6 Ga) continental crust and mantle. The crustal rocks are well exposed and the mantle and deep crust have been sampled by abundant kimberlites that provide information about the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of deep lithospheric structure. The Principal Investigators will use a number of geophysical and geochemical techniques to investigate the structure of the craton. The results of these diverse approaches will be integrated with research programs of several South African groups to provide a comprehensive understanding of three-dimensional structure, chemical composition and tectonic evolution of the mantle and crust of the Kaapvaal craton. The data will be used to evaluate competing models of craton assembly and to provide constraints on the continental dynamics of the early Earth. ***