Please consider submitting an abstract to the following Session 05f at Goldschmidt 2011 in Prague:
"Calibrating the Thermo-Mechanical Evolution of Continental Crust: Magmatism, Metamorphism, Deformation, and Erosion"
- Keynote Speaker: Professor Sean Willet, ETH Zurich (http://www.geology.ethz.ch/people/Professors/swillett)
- Invited Talk: Professor Bradley R. Hacker, UC-Santa Barbara (http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/hacker/)
The coupling of new field-based and laboratory data that constrain the nature and timescales of magmatic, metamorphic, deformational, and erosional processes is transforming our understanding of the controls on the thermal and mechanical evolution of continental crust. At the same time, geodynamic models of crustal evolution in various tectonic regimes make predictions that can be tested, and calibrated, by integration with these emerging datasets. Particularly intriguing are ideas regarding potential links and feedbacks between what traditionally have been considered largely disparate processes.
How do mid- and lower crustal processes modify elevation and topography at the Earth's surface? What are the feedbacks between climate, erosion, and mountain belt evolution, such that surface processes may influence metamorphism and deformation at deeper levels, and vice versa? What mechanisms contribute to the long-term rheological strengthening and stabilization of the crust, what might reverse these processes, and how are they manifested at the surface? What are the links between crustal thermal evolution, magmatism, metamorphism, deformation, and erosion? What are the mechanisms responsible for the transfer of heat within the crust, and how do these mechanisms influence its thermal and rheological evolution?
We invite contributions using a variety of approaches to address such relationships, including geo- and thermochronology, metamorphic and structural analysis, field observation, and geodynamic modeling. We especially encourage contributions that employ emerging techniques, apply innovative approaches, or integrate diverse datasets with crustal scale geodynamic models to address these problems.
We look forward to seeing you in Prague!
With best regards,
Gregory Dumond (Arkansas)
-on behalf of Ethan Baxter (Boston University), Becky Flowers (Colorado), and Stacia Gordon (Nevada-Reno)
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