Slave2Rae: The Lithospheric Structure of Ancient Cratons

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

0087699 Chave The overall goal of the project is a better understanding of how the mantle participated in the growth and stabilization of Archean cratons, which are the oldest rocks that form the nuclei of the continents. Deep probing natural source electromagnitic studies have demonstrated that they can contribute substantially to this understanding by defining both the base of the lithosphere and by determining structural features within the mantle. Under previous NSF support, the principal investigators augmented a multidisciplinary effort called SNORCLE in northwest Canada (Slave province) that was part of the Canadian Lithoprobe program. This was accomplished by utilizing oceanic magnetotelluric instrumentation deployed in lakes from float airplanes. Due to budget restrictions the funding for this lake-bottom activity did not cover more than a preliminary analysis of the data; in essense, a pilot study. This award will allow the P.I.s to carry out a thorough analysis and modeling effort. ****