Review ArticleThe character of the Moho and lower crust within Archean cratons and the tectonic implications

•The Moho characteristics of cratons are related to their stabilization age.•Nearly 100% of undisturbed crust stabilized by 2.9-3.0 Ga has a sharp, flat Moho.•Around 67-74% of crust stabilized by 2.8-2.5 Ga has a sharp, flat Moho.•Crust with a sharp, flat Moho often lacks strong internal seismic boundaries.

Undisturbed mid Archean crust (stabilized by 3.0-2.9 Ga) has several characteristics that distinguish it from post Archean crust. Undisturbed mid-Archean crust has a low proportion of internal seismic boundaries (as evidenced by converted phases in seismic receiver functions), lacks high seismic velocities in the lower crust and has a sharp, flat Moho. Most of the seismic data on mid-Archean crust comes from the undisturbed portions of the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe (Tokwe segment) cratons. Around 67-74% of younger Archean crust (stabilized by 2.8-2.5 Ga) has a sharp, flat Moho. Much of the crust with a sharp, flat Moho also lacks strong internal seismic boundaries, but there is not a one to one correspondence. In cases where its age is known, basaltic lower crust in Archean terranes is often but not always the result of post Archean underplating. Undisturbed mid-Archean cratons are also characterized by lower crustal thicknesses (Archean median range = 32-39 km vs. post-Archean average = 41 km) and lower crustal seismic velocities. These observations are shown to be distinct from those observed in any modern-day tectonic environment. The data presented here are most consistent with a model in which Archean crust undergoes delamination of dense lithologies at the garnet-in isograd resulting in a flat, sharp Moho reflector and a thinner and more felsic-intermediate crust. We discuss the implications of this model for several outstanding paradoxes of Archean geology.

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