| 释义 |
▪ I. craton
see crathon.
▪ II. craton, n. Geol.|ˈkrætɒn|
Also † kraton.
[f. kratogen n. with alteration of initial letter, perh. after crater n., etc.]
A large stable block of the earth's crust that has resisted deformation over a (geologically) long period of time; = kratogen n.
1935tr. H. Stille in Research & Progress I. 10 In the Asiatic portion of the latter [sc. continental Eurasia] we observe the same process of continental growth as in Europe. Here too we have primordial craters [corrected (Ibid. 94) to cratons], such as ‘Angaraland’ in the centre of Northern Siberia..and also a ‘Paleo-Asia’. 1942Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. LIII. 1640 The Michigan basin..is a geosyncline defined by causes within its area; the latter [sc. the Allegheny belt] was depressed in complement to uplift near by... Both are within the craton or ‘shield’. 1970Cambr. Anc. Hist. (ed. 3) I. i. i. 5 For these platforms incorporating remnants of past orogenic belts Stille invented the term ‘kraton’, of obscure etymology but considerable convenience. 1979Sci. Amer. Jan. 70/2 Together the shields and platforms constitute the cratons, the stable blocks that are the nuclei of present-day continental masses. 1986New Yorker 24 Feb. 39/3 Had this been a May morning a hundred million years ago,..we would have been many fathoms underwater, in a broad arm of the sea, which covered the continental platform—reached across the North American craton, the Stable Interior Craton—from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.
Hence craˈtonic a., of, pertaining to, or designating a craton.
1935tr. H. Stille in Research & Progress I. 10 And so there arose at last the great craterous [corrected (Ibid. 94) to cratonic] ring ‘Peri-Arctis’. 1944Science 9 June 462/2 The cratonal flexure of the Lower Pennsylvanian miogeosyncline lies west of the Adirondack line. 1971I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth xxii. 320/2 All of these areas lie within the older cratonic regions of Africa. 1976A. & L. Rittmann Volcanoes 120/1 Deposits of mercury, silver, gold, uranium and lead are derived from orogenic volcanism, and iron, copper, nickel, manganese and titanium from cratonic volcanism. 1991Sci. Amer. May 54/1 Simultaneously, another type of ore deposit began to form in cratonal regions, the growth centers of continents. 1992Earth Surface Processes & Landforms XVII. 339 This contradicts Fairbridge and Fiukl's suggestion that cratonic denudation rates are several orders of magnitude less than those of other areas. |