Canadian Cordillera
Cordilleras are the site of tectonic accretion and mountain building through the sustained action of convergent tectonic forces. In northwestern Canada, research into the architecture of the Canadian Cordillera has been historically limited by sparse geophysical monitoring infrastructure. In 2012, our group established a CFI-funded network of broadband seismograph stations (Yukon-Northwest Seismograph Network, YNSN) that provide open, continuous data in real time across northwestern Canada. Led by former Banting Fellow A. Schaeffer and colleagues at the Northwest Territories Geological Survey, our group installed an additional network of stations on Banks Island, NT, in the western Canadian Arctic (Banks Island Seismic Network, BISN). Results from these studies are accumulating fast and our group has made outstanding discoveries on the structure and dynamics of the lithosphere in the Cordillera. Specifically, we has found conclusive evidence that hidden processes in the lithospheric mantle play a dominant role in shaping the Canadian Cordillera.
Pascal Audet
Professor of Geophysics & University Research Chair
Publications
A Reference Model of Crustal Thickness and Vp/Vs of Western Canada
The Canadian Cordillera marks a transition region from the current plate boundary through the Phanerozoic Cordilleran orogen to the …
Mantle structure and dynamics at the eastern boundary of the northern Cascadia backarc
The tectonics of southwestern Canada are dominated by the Cascadia subduction zone. The northern Cascadia backarc encompasses a > …
A New P-Wave Tomographic Model (CAP22) for North America: Implications for the Subduction and Cratonic Metasomatic Modification History of Western Canada and Alaska
Our understanding of the present-day state and evolution of the Canadian and Alaskan mantle is hindered by a lack of absolute …
Lithospheric S‐wave velocity variations beneath the Mackenzie Mountains and Northern Canadian Cordillera
The Mackenzie Mountains (MMs) in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada, are an enigmatic mountain range. They are currently …
Crustal seismic anisotropy along the continental margin in western Canada from receiver function analysis
Coastal British Columbia (BC), Canada, has the highest seismic hazard in the country due to convergent and transpressive deformation at …
Seismic evidence for a weakened thick crust at the Beaufort Sea continental margin
The Canadian Beaufort Sea continental margin of northwestern Canada is a Cenozoic convergent margin, potentially representing a rare …
Evidence for asthenospheric flow rotation in northwest Canada: insights from shear wave splitting
The Mackenzie Mountains (MM) of northwest Canada are an actively uplifting, seismogenic salient of the northern Canadian Cordillera …
Surface-Wave Tomography of the Northern Canadian Cordillera Using Earthquake Rayleigh Wave Group Velocities
We measure fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion from regional earthquakes and employ transdimensional Bayesian …
Moho variations across the northern Canadian Cordillera
Moho morphology in orogens provides important constraints on the rheology and density structure of the crust and underlying mantle. …
Seismic evidence for craton chiseling and displacement of lithospheric mantle by the Tintina Fault in the Northern Canadian Cordillera
The Northern Canadian Cordillera (NCC) of northwestern Canada is segmented by several margin-parallel, right-lateral strike-slip faults …
The upper mantle structure of northwestern Canada from teleseismic body wave tomography
The Northern Canadian Cordillera (NCC) is an actively deforming orogenic belt in northwestern Canada. Geochemical and geophysical data …
Seismic evidence for a mantle suture and implications for the origin of the Canadian Cordillera
The origin of the North American Cordillera and its affinity with the bounding craton are subjects of contentious debate. The …
Seismic evidence for lithospheric thinning and heat in the Northern Canadian Cordillera
Geophysical and geological data indicate that the lithosphere in the northern Canadian Cordillera (NCC) is thin and hot. However, lack …
Mapping Curie depth across western Canada from a wavelet analysis of magnetic anomaly data
In western Canada, geophysical studies infer an abrupt change in crustal temperatures between the Canadian Cordillera and the adjacent …
EON-ROSE and the Canadian Cordillera Array–Building Bridges to Span Earth System Science in Canada
EON-ROSE (Earth-System Observing Network-Réseau d’Observation du Système terrestrE) is a new initiative for a pan-Canadian research …
Deep crustal earthquakes in the Beaufort Sea, western Canadian arctic, from teleseismic depth phase analysis
The Beaufort Sea seismic cluster in the western Canadian Arctic is an active seismic zone characterized by approximately one magnitude …
Structure and fabric of the crust and uppermost mantle in the northern Canadian Cordillera from Rayleigh-wave tomography
The seismic structure and fabric of the lithosphere and underlying mantle beneath the northern Canadian Cordillera provides important …
Source Properties of the 16 July 2014 Magnitude ∼4.5 Double Earthquakes in the Northern Canadian Cordillera
On 16 July 2014, two moderate earthquakes with similar body‐wave magnitude (MB
4.5 and 4.6) and epicentral location occurred within 9 …
Architecture of the crust and uppermost mantle in the northern Canadian Cordillera from receiver functions
The northern Canadian Cordillera (NCC) is an active orogenic belt in northwestern Canada characterized by deformed autochtonous and …
Seismic velocity model of the crust in the northern Canadian Cordillera from Rayleigh wave dispersion data
Models of the seismic velocity structure of the crust in the seismically active northern Canadian Cordillera remain poorly constrained, …
Control of lithospheric inheritance on neotectonic activity in northwestern Canada?
Lithospheric inheritance is thought to affect the location and reactivation of tectonic structures through successive cycles of …