Craton formation

Horstwood M. S. A., Nesbitt R. W., Noble S. A., and Wilson J. F. (1999) U-Pb zircon evidence fo an extesive early Archean craton in Zimbabwe a reassessment of the timing of craton formation, stabilization, and growth. Geology 27, 707-710. 

The co-ordinated Kaapvaal Project geochron-ological studies of crustal and mantle xenoliths reveal that both crust and mantle have experienced a multi-stage history, and that a simple view of cratonization as a discrete event is not a viable model for craton formation (Schmitz et al. 1998 Schmitz Bowring 2000 Moser et al. 2001). The lower crust in particular retains a comprehensive record of the tectonothermal evolution of the lithosphere. The study of lower-crustal samples has shown that much of the deep craton experienced a dynamic and protracted history of tectonothermal activity that is temporally associated with events seen in the surface record, including late Archaean magmatism (Ventersdorp) and even Proterozoic deformation (Namaqua-Natal) (Schmitz et al. 1998). Thermal events are... 

Shirey, S. B., Carlson, R. W., Richardson, S. H. 5 others 2001. Emplacement of eclogite components into the lithospheric mantle during craton formation. Geophysical Research Letters, 28(13), 2509-25(2. 

Bolhar, R., van Kranendonk, M.J., and Kamber, B.S., 2005b. A trace element study of siderite-jasper banded iron formation in the 3.45 Warrawoona Group, Pilbara Craton - formation from hydrothermal fluids and shallow seawater. Precambrian Res., 137, 93-114. 

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