Models of crustal thickness for South America from seismic refraction, receiver functions and surface wave tomography

Abstract

Abstract An extensive compilation of crustal thicknesses is used to develop crustal models in continental South America. We consider point crustal thicknesses from seismic refraction experiments, receiver function analyses, and surface-wave dispersion. Estimates of crustal thickness derived from gravity anomalies were only included along the continental shelf and in some areas of the Andes to fill large gaps in seismic coverage. Two crustal models were developed: A) by simple interpolation of the point estimates, and B) our preferred model, based on the same point estimates, interpolated with surface-wave tomography. Despite gaps in continental coverage, both models reveal interesting crustal thickness variations. In the Andean range, the crust reaches 75 km in Southern Peru and the Bolivian Altiplano, while crustal thicknesses seem to be close to the global continental average (~ 40 km) in Ecuador and southern Colombia (despite high elevations), and along the southern Andes of Chile–Argentina (elevation lower than 2000 m). In the stable continental platform the average thickness is 38 ± 5 km (1-st. deviation) and no systematic differences are observed among Archean–Paleoproterozoic cratons, NeoProterozoic fold belts, and low-altitude intracratonic sedimentary basins. An exception is the Borborema Province (NE Brazil) with crust ~ 30–35 km thick. Narrow belts surrounding the cratons are suggested in central Brazil, parallel to the eastern and southern border of the Amazon craton, and possibly along the TransBrasiliano Lineament continuing into the Chaco basin, where crust thinner than 35 km is observed. In the sub-Andean region, between the mid-plate cratons and the Andean cordillera, the crust tends to be thinner (~ 35 km) than the average crust in the stable platform, a feature possibly inherited from the old pre-Cambrian history of the continent. We expect that these crustal models will be useful for studies of isostasy, dynamic topography, and crustal evolution of the continent.