Cyclical patterns of exposure, weathering and burial of cratonic surfaces, with some examples from North America and Australia

Auteur :
FAIRBRIDGE, R. W.

Description :
The continental cratons are the most long-lived, almost permanent megafeatures of the Planet Earth, and thus preserve veneers of ancient duricrusted paleosols and shallow marine transgressions, thus, an alternation between thalassocratic and epeirocratic history. Accordingly these deposits or weathering profiles document the major (mega-) cycles of Earth history. The surfaces are only quasistable because of hotspot features, intraplate warping, lineament revival, and continental rifting. This interdisciplinary field calls for a meeting of the minds between geomorphology, soil science, stratigraphy, paleoclimatology and plate tectonics.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Geografiska annaler. Series A. Physical geography, issn : 0435-3676, 1988, vol. 70, n°. 4, p. 277-283, Références bibliographiques : 44 réf.

Date :
1988

Editeur :
Pays édition : Suede, Stockholm, Svenska sällskapet för antropologi och geografi