Kaapvaal Project

The Kaapvaal Project was vmdertaken to study the formation, stabilization and evolution of cratons, and to image the deep structure of the tectosphere (Carlson et al. 1996) (see also http // www.ciw.edu/kaapvaal for participants and a description of the project). A cornerstone of the Kaapvaal Project was a large-scale broadband seismic experiment designed specifically for geo-logical-scale imaging of the crust and upper mantle beneath the cratons and adjacent Proterozoic provinces of southern Africa (Fig. 1). The... 

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... 

Much of this research resulted from the interdisciplinary Kaapvaal Craton Project funded by NSF (EAR-9526840). G. J. I. s contribution arose during tenure of NERC PhD studentship GT04/97/73/ES. J. Boyd... 

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