INTEGRATED GEOPHYSICAL AND TECTONIC STUDIES OF THE CONTINENTAL LITHOSPHERE IN THE SOUTHERN MID-CONTINENT REGION

While studies of the basins and upper crust of the southern Mid-Continent region are numerous in some areas, geophysical studies of the deep crust and asthenospheric mantle are relatively scarce. Many kinds of geological and geophysical data can contribute to studies of the deep crust and new sources of information from xenoliths, deep drilling data, and seismic data from industry have surfaced in recent years. However, these data, as well as outcrops of the basement, are scarce. The many prominent gravity and magnetic anomalies in the region are well resolved from a regional perspective, but the origin of many of them remains unresolved. Thus, it is important to integrate all geological and geophysical data available if we are to understand the structure and evolution of this region. In this presentation, examples of integrated results in several areas in the southern Mid-Continent region will be presented with the goal of focusing on some key scientific questions and new data that can advance our understanding of deep crustal structure and ultimately the tectonic evolution of this complex and resource-rich region.