East Antarctic craton basement

E55393

continental crust craton basement geological province

The East Antarctic craton basement is an ancient, stable block of continental crust underlying much of East Antarctica, forming a key part of the continent’s geological core.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
Antarctica craton (in many models)	1
East Antarctic craton	1

Statements (43)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	continental crust ⓘ craton basement ⓘ geological province ⓘ
ageEvidence	radiometric dating of basement rocks ⓘ
characteristic	ancient continental crust ⓘ forms geological core of East Antarctica ⓘ highly metamorphosed rocks ⓘ tectonically stable ⓘ
contains	ancient zircon populations ⓘ
continent	Antarctica ⓘ
coveredBy	East Antarctica ⓘ surface form: East Antarctic Ice Sheet
crustalThickness	thick continental lithosphere ⓘ
exposedAt	Antarctic orogenic belts margins ⓘ coastal outcrops of East Antarctica ⓘ
forms	geological core of East Antarctica ⓘ
geologicalAge	Archean to Proterozoic ⓘ Precambrian ⓘ
heatFlowCharacteristic	generally low surface heat flow ⓘ
importance	key to reconstruction of Gondwana ⓘ key to reconstruction of Rodinia ⓘ records early Earth crustal evolution ⓘ
lithologyCharacteristic	ancient granitoid intrusions ⓘ high-grade metamorphic assemblages ⓘ
locatedIn	East Antarctica ⓘ
locatedOn	Antarctic Plate ⓘ
partOf	Antarctica ⓘ surface form: Antarctic continent East Antarctica ⓘ
relatedTo	Pan-African orogeny ⓘ surface form: Pan-African orogeny (at its margins) Gondwana ⓘ surface form: assembly of Gondwana
rockType	gneiss ⓘ granite ⓘ granulite ⓘ metasedimentary rocks ⓘ
significance	constrains positions of Antarctica in supercontinents ⓘ influences East Antarctic topography and ice sheet behavior ⓘ
studiedBy	geologists ⓘ
studiedUsing	aeromagnetic data ⓘ geophysical surveys ⓘ gravity data ⓘ seismic tomography ⓘ
tectonicSetting	cratonic interior ⓘ shield area ⓘ
underlies	much of East Antarctica ⓘ

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

supercontinent Rodinia → contains → East Antarctic craton basement ⓘ

subject surface form: Rodinia

this entity surface form: Antarctica craton (in many models)

West Antarctic Rift System → contrastsWith → East Antarctic craton basement ⓘ

this entity surface form: East Antarctic craton

Antarctic Plate → hasFeature → East Antarctic craton basement ⓘ