Channelized lithospheric erosion shapes the western North American craton margin
Xiaotao Yang, Lijun Liu, Zebin Cao · 2026
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Description
Xiaotao Yang, Lijun Liu, and Zebin Cao study how the edge of the western North American craton has changed over time. A craton is the old, stable core of a continent, and its edge shapes hills, volcanoes, and metal deposits. Past work focused on the Colorado Plateau and blamed water from a sinking slab. The team instead built a sharp three-dimensional map of wave speed below the whole margin.
The map shows the deep keel of the craton pulling back as depth grows, all along the margin. Two narrow weak zones run far into the craton, reaching the Black Hills. Their match with strong flow below suggests that flow can wear the craton away. Rock data point to slow thinning that moves volcanoes and lifts the land.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Xiaotao Yang, Lijun Liu, Zebin Cao |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 61 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |