Time Constraints on the Building of the Serre Batholith: Consequences for the Thermal Evolution of the Hercynian Continental Crust Exposed in Calabria (Southern Italy)

The structural setting of the Northwestern Mediterranean stems from tectonothermal processes which reflect on the nature of the crust. The Oligocene to Present evolution is here analysed with a thermal model which takes into account the significant extension of the continentallithosphere before the onset of sea-floor spread- ing in the bathyal zone. Subsidence data were used to set the boundaries of the oceanic realm which was com- pared with previous reconstructions inferred from other geophysical evidence. The thermal features of the transitional crust that lies between the oceanic crust and the stretched continental margins were also outlined. The Ligurian-Proven~al basin is a marginaI basin, whereas only the continental crust is expected in the Valen- cia trough. An evolutionary sketch of the study area that accounts for the observed subsidence and heat flux is proposed.

Download Full-text

Seismic and magnetic susceptibility anisotropy of middle-lower continental crust: Insights for their potential relationship from a study of intrusive rocks from the Serre Massif (Calabria, southern Italy)

Tectonophysics ◽

10.1016/j.tecto.2017.06.020 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 712-713 ◽

pp. 542-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Rosalda Punturo ◽

Manish A. Mamtani ◽

Eugenio Fazio ◽

Roberta Occhipinti ◽

A.R. Renjith ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Susceptibility ◽

Continental Crust ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropy ◽

Lower Continental Crust ◽

Potential Relationship ◽

Intrusive Rocks

Download Full-text

Argon constraints on the early growth of felsic continental crust

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aaz6234 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (21) ◽

pp. eaaz6234 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Meng Guo ◽

Jun Korenaga

Keyword(s):

Continental Crust ◽

Mantle Convection ◽

Thermal Evolution ◽

Early Growth ◽

Early Earth ◽

Crustal Growth ◽

Crustal Recycling ◽

Consistent Manner ◽

History Of ◽

Surface Environment

The continental crust is a major geochemical reservoir, the evolution of which has shaped the surface environment of Earth. In this study, we present a new model of coupled crust-mantle-atmosphere evolution to constrain the growth of continental crust with atmospheric 40Ar/36Ar. Our model is the first to combine argon degassing with the thermal evolution of Earth in a self-consistent manner and to incorporate the effect of crustal recycling and reworking using the distributions of crustal formation and surface ages. Our results suggest that the history of argon degassing favors rapid crustal growth during the early Earth. The mass of continental crust, highly enriched in potassium, is estimated to have already reached >80% of the present-day level during the early Archean. The presence of such potassium-rich, likely felsic, crust has important implications for tectonics, surface environment, and the regime of mantle convection in the early Earth.

Download Full-text