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THESIS FINAL DRAFT
Embargoed Access, Embargo ends: 08/31/2028
Thesis
TIMING ARCHEAN CRUSTAL ARCHITECTURE IN THE PILBARA CRATON: GARNET GEOCHRONOLOGY FROM THE SHAW GRANITIC COMPLEX AND SURROUNDING GREENSTONE BELTS
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2025
Abstract
The Pilbara Craton is one of the best-preserved terranes of Archean continental crust accessible on Earth. After orogeny and accretion in the late Archean, the craton has been relatively stable and has experienced no major metamorphic events in the Proterozoic or Phanerozoic. This creates an ideal environment for studying ancient crust that can provide insight into the earliest continents and the onset of plate tectonics. The presence of granitoid domes and highly metamorphosed greenstone keels shows a uniquely Archean tectonic landscape in the Pilbara, and the presence of garnet within the transition zone between dome and keel allows for a new suite of isotopic analyses. Using LA-ICP-MS, MC-ICP-MS, XRF, and EPMA analysis of garnet and zircon both in-situ and as whole rock and mineral separate solutions, we can reconstruct how early crust was formed and stabilized from ~3.6-2.9 Ga. These ages challenge previously accepted timing of partial convective overturn in the Eastern Pilbara and suggest a more prolonged and localized movement between individual granite domes.
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Details
- Title
- TIMING ARCHEAN CRUSTAL ARCHITECTURE IN THE PILBARA CRATON: GARNET GEOCHRONOLOGY FROM THE SHAW GRANITIC COMPLEX AND SURROUNDING GREENSTONE BELTS
- Creators
- Elizabeth Kelli Urban
- Contributors
- Johannes Hammerli (Advisor)Catherine Cooper (Committee Member)Michael Pelch (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of the Environment (CAHNRS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 94
- Identifiers
- 99901297595801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis