Nature geoscience - volume 1 issue 8, august 2008
- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:
Cratons are ancient continental nuclei that have resisted significant fragmentation for almost two billion years. Yet, many cratons also experience phases of instability in the form of
erosion and rejuvenation of their thick lithospheric mantle keels. Melting governed by redox processes, as well as small-scale convection, play a key role in triggering such instability. The
image is an artistically enhanced photo of an outcrop of Archaean gneiss, a type of rock that is typical of the crust of Archaean cratons,at Turnavik Island in Labrador. Cover design by
Karen Moore