Exposed Cross-Sections of the Continental Crust

In the Fall of 1988, 64 geologists and geophysicists from 11 countries met in Killarney, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Huron to examine evidence that suggests that the continental crust is exposed in cross-section at several key locations on the Earth’s surface. The meeting, which was held under NATO auspices as an Advanced Study Institute, was a landmark event in that it was the first time that many of the lead scientists working on these complexes in relative isolation around the world had’ ever gathered together to compare results. The present volume is a compendium of the invited lectures given on the principle sections, plus an array of supporting papers on these and other sections as well as on related topics such as crustal emplacement mechanisms, deformation and rheology. Nearly all of the best known sections are represented, including the Ivrea Zone, Calabria, the Kapuskasing Zone, Fiordland and many others. It is our hope that this Volume will serve as a reference for Earth scientists who are trying to understand levels of the crust not normally exposed to view, as well as a point of departure for new research and a teaching aid to new entrants in this relatively new field of study.