New Insights Into Craton Stability

A new paper authored by geology professor Lijun Liu and geology graduate students Yaoyi Wang, Zebin Cao, Lihang Peng, Diandian Peng, along with dept. head Craig Lundstrom, challenges the conventional wisdom on the stability of the craton, the stable interior of North America. Their work suggests that the craton has experienced periods of deformation over its long geologic history. Prof. Liu says that the continents work like a lava lamp, where warm material rises while cool material sinks, helping to drive these changes. The paper is published in Nature Geosciences. See the article from LAS here.