Overview
As a result of its relative buoyancy, continental crust is rarely subducted meaning that successive episodes of continental deformation imparts a complex geological character that is not found in younger oceanic lithosphere. This character is largely the result of two related processes: (1) reactivation, involving rejuvenation of discrete structures; and (2) reworking, involving the repeated metamorphism, deformation and magmatism of a previously tectonised crustal or lithospheric volume. Characterising the style, distribution and timing of reactivation and reworking in different continental settings should therefore provide a crucial dataset with which to evaluate the spatial patterns, temporal evolution and dynamic controls of tectonic rejuvenation of the continents and continental lithosphere. A combination of review and research papers are presented which highlight some of the issues and problems associated with the characterisation and modelling of continental reactivation and reworking. Readership: Metamorphic petrologists, tectonocists, geochronologists, structural geologists and geodynamicists, as well as, sedimentologists and igneous petrologists.Synopsis
As a result of its relative buoyancy, continental crust is rarely subducted meaning that successive episodes of continental deformation imparts a complex geological character that is not found in younger oceanic lithosphere. This character is largely the result of two related processes: (1) reactivation, involving rejuvenation of discrete structures; and (2) reworking, involving the repeated metamorphism, deformation and magmatism of a previously tectonised crustal or lithospheric volume. Characterising the style, distribution and timing of reactivation and reworking in different continental settings should therefore provide a crucial dataset with which to evaluate the spatial patterns, temporal evolution and dynamic controls of tectonic rejuvenation of the continents and continental lithosphere. A combination of review and research papers are presented which highlight some of the issues and problems associated with the characterisation and modelling of continental reactivation and reworking. Readership: Metamorphic petrologists, tectonocists, geochronologists, structural geologists and geodynamicists, as well as, sedimentologists and igneous petrologists.