World map showing diamond sources. Colored areas demark "Archons"-cratons older than 2.5 Ga, "Protons"-cratons 1.6-2.5 Ga, and "Tectons"-0.8-1.6 Ga. Black diamond symbols are used for mantle-derived sources and red diamonds for ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic sources. (Adapted from Levison, 1998).

DTM Research Staff members Rick Carlson and David James will give invited presentations at the International Conference on Craton Formation and Destruction (ICCFD) held this week in Beijing, China.  The conference is being hosted by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Carlson will speak on “Craton destruction: An ongoing example in western North America,” and James will give a presentation on “Formation and evolution of cratons: Lessons from southern Africa”.

The ICCFD meeting, which includes a field trip to the Central Zone of the North China Craton, brings together geologists, petrologists, geochemists, and geophysicists to discuss three major scientific themes: the formation of cratons and their early evolution, the destruction of cratons, and cratons versus orogens.