Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Seismic Characteristics Of The Eastern North American Crust And Upper Mantle: The Formation And Evolution Of Continental Lithosphere, Cong Li

Doctoral Dissertations

The impact of past tectonic events on formation and modification of continental lithosphere over the course of Earth’s history remains as an open question of fundamental importance. Physical properties of continental crust and mantle lithosphere, such as their age, thickness, composition, temperature, and velocity, contain crucial information for informing this question. Eastern North America provides at least two complete records of supercontinent assembly and breakup over the past 1.3 Ga, serving as a natural laboratory for our understanding of continental lithosphere evolution and for integrating geologic and geophysical observations. In this thesis, I have investigated the seismic properties of crust …