Electrical Conductivity in the Precambrian Lithosphere of Western Canada
D. E. Boerner,
*
R. D. Kurtz,
J. A. Craven,
G. M. Ross,
F. W. Jones,
W. J. Davis
The subcrustal lithosphere underlying the southern Archean
Churchill Province (ACP) in western Canada is at least one order of
magnitude more electrically conductive than the lithosphere beneath
adjacent Paleoproterozoic crust. The measured electrical properties of
the lithosphere underlying most of the Paleoproterozoic crust can be
explained by the conductivity of olivine. Mantle xenolith and
geological mapping evidence indicate that the lithosphere beneath the
southern ACP was substantially modified as a result of being trapped
between two nearly synchronous Paleoproterozoic subduction zones.
Tectonically induced metasomatism thus may have enhanced the subcrustal
lithosphere conductivity of the southern ACP.
D. E. Boerner and J. A. Craven, Geological Survey of
Canada, 615 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OE9, Canada. R. D. Kurtz and W. J. Davis, Geological Survey of Canada, 601 Booth
Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OE8, Canada. G. M. Ross, Geological
Survey of Canada, 3303 33rd Street, NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7,
Canada. F. W. Jones, University of Alberta, Department of Physics,
Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2J1, Canada.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
