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Kevin Burke
Professor of Geology, Tectonics
Goldsmid Scholar of University College, London, 1948 -1951
DSIR Research Studentship, University College London, 1951-1953
B.Sc. Special Geology, 1951
Ph.D. University of London, 1953
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Department
University of Houston
Houston, Texas 77204-5007
Office: SR1 211 A
Phone: (713) 743-3397
Fax: (713) 748-7906
kburke@uh.edu
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Research Interests
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My primary interest is in tectonics which I define as: " The large scale evolution of planetary lithospheres"
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| 1111 Once the plate structure of Earth's lithosphere was recognized it became appropriate to interpret Earth history as related to complex, inter-woven cycles of the opening and the closing of the ocean basins. I have called these cycles Wilson cycles after Tuzo Wilson who first suggested this approach to historical geology. The diversity of operation of the Wilson Cycle attracts my interest. How different, if at all, were Wilson cycles between 4.0 Ga. and 2.5 Ga? What has Asia,a continent assembled in the past 550 My, to tell? How peculiar is Africa today? How peculiar was it while Gondwana was being assembled? How much of the history of the Caribbean over the last 150 My would be discernable if the Caribbean ocean were to close? What are the roles of deep-seated and shallow-sourced mantle plumes in tectonics? |
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Derivation of Large Igneous Provinces (LIPS) of the past 200 My from close to the Core/Mantle boundary
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| Surprisingly doubts have revived about the existence of Mantle plumes. Rather than fight again the battles of 30 years ago Trond Torsvik (NGU) and I are concentrating on LIPS. Using a new paleomagnetic approach we have rotated the 25 cataloged LIPS of the past 200 My to the locations that they occupied wrt the spin-axis and the mantle at the time of their eruption. When erupted 23 of those 25 LIPS overlay regions that are now occupied by parts of the D" zone (just above the CMB Core/Mantle boundary) that have slower than average shear wave velocities. If the 25 LIPS were randomly distributed on the Earth's surface only ~6 could be expected to overlie slow regions. Because of the concentration we conclude that most LIPS of the past 200 My originated from mantle plumes that rose from the slower parts of the D" zone close to the CMB. |
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Deformed Alkaline Rocks and Carbonatites (DARCS) as markers of suture zones
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| Alkaline rocks and carbonatites have rightly excited petrological and mineralogical interest for more than 100 years. With Lew Ashwal ( U. Witwatersrand) and others I am focusing on DARCS. The idea that drives us is that alkaline rocks are formed in intracontinental rifts which in some cases have become continental margins. Deformation occurs only after a full Wilson cycle when the continental margin is caught up in collision. We found that 90% (28 of 32) African DARCS occur in known Proterozoic suture zones. In India, working with C. Leelanandam, we have located over 50 DARCS in suture zones of the Great 4,000 km long S-shaped Proterozoic fold belt. Where new rifts occur over old sutures we suggest that associated alkaline rocks have been derived from the melting of DARCS in the underlying mantle lithosphere. |
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Curriculum Vitae
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Current Research Projects
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Complete Publications
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Most Recent Publications
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Current Graduate Students and Project Supervised
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Graduate Dissertations and Theses Previously Supervised/Advisor's Alumnae Locator
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Course Taught/Course Resources
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Other Useful Web Sites:
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Journal Of African Earth Sciences
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International Lithosphere Program
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Journal Of Asian Earth Sciences
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Selected Publications
Crowley T.J. and Burke, K. (Editors) Tectonic Boundary Conditions for Climate reconstructions.Oxford Univ. Press x plus 285 pages
Burke,K. Ashwal,L.& Webb,S.(2003) New Way to map old sutures using deformed alkaline rocks and carbonatites. GEOLOGY v.31p391-394.
Bosworth, W. Burke,K. & Strecker,M.(2003) Effect of stress fields on Magma chamber stability and the formation of collapse calderas. TECTONICS vol.22 No.4 doi:10.1029/2002TC001369.2003
Africa's Petroleum Systems:four tectonic Aces in the past 600 million years, in Petroleum Geology of Africa
Bjorklund,T.J.& K.Burke (2002) Four dimensional, analysis of the inversion of the Whittier fold-thrust system of the Los Angeles Basin over the past 16 million years. J.Struct.Geol.v.24 p.1369-1397.
Bjorklund,T. Burke,K. Hua-Wei Zhou and R. Yeats.(2002) Miocene volcanism and extension in the Puente hills half-graben of the Los Angeles basin. GEOLOGY v.30 p.447-450
Lytwyn J, E Rutherford K. Burke and Chunshou Xia (2001): Volcanic, Plutonic and Turbiditic rocks of Sumba: Journ Asian Earth Sciences v.19. p.481-500
Rutherford, E. Burke, K. Lytwyn, J. (2001):Tectonic history of Sumba island since the Late Cretaceous and its rapid Miocene escape into the Sunda forearc. Journ.Asian Earth Sciences v.19.p.453-479.
Burke,K. (2001). Origin of the Cameroon Line of volcano-capped swells. J.Geology vol.109.p.349-362
Burke,K. (1996) The African Plate, 24th du Toit Memorial lecture South Afr. Journ Geol. vol 99 pp 339-409
Burke,K.& Lytwyn,J.(1993) Origin of the rift under the Amazon basin as a result of continental collision during Panafrican time. Intl. Geology Review v.35 p.881-897.
Robertson,P.& Burke.K.(1989) Evolution of the Southern Caribbean Plate boundary Zone in the vicinity of Trinidad and Tobago. Bull AAPG v.73 p.490-509.
Ashwal,L.D.& K.Burke (1989) African lithospheric structure volcanism and topography EPSL v.96 p.8-14
Burke,K& Sengor.C. (1988) Ten-metre global sea-level change associated with South Atlantic Aptian salt deposition. marine Geology v.83 p.309-312
Burke,K. (1988) Tectonic evolution of the Caribbean: Ann.Rev.Earth &Planetary Sci. 201-230
Harrison,T.M.& Burke,K.(1988) Ar/Ar thermochronology of sedimentary basins using detrital feldspars p.141-145. in Thermal History of sedimentary basins ed. N. Naeser & T.McCulloh. Springer Verlag
Burke,K. Kidd,W.& Kusky,T. (1986) Archean foreland basin tectonics in the Witwatersrand basin,S. Africa. Tectonicsv.5.p.439-456
Was the laramide orogeny related to subduction of an oceanic plateau
Were Archean continental thermal gradients much steeper than those of today?
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