Rt. Williams et al., Global geoscience transect 20. Central Appalachians: Cratonic North America to the Atlantic abyssal plain, INT GEOL R, 41(8), 1999, pp. 711-738
The Central Appalachian Geoscience Transect (GGT20) extends from the Atlant
ic coast across the Appalachian orogen to the Grenvillian structural front
in the cratonic interior of North America. The character of the continental
crust along the transect results from two Wilson cycles during Proterozoic
and Phanerozoic time, comprised of the Grenvillian orogeny, Eocambrian rif
ting, Paleozoic orogeny, and Mesozoic rifting. The purpose of the transect
is to address questions regarding the Paleozoic development of the eastern
margin of North America related to: (1) structural development of the middl
e and lower crust during rifting and orogeny; (2) sources of major potentia
l field anomalies, including the New York-Alabama magnetic lineament; (3) d
isplacement termination of the Appalachian foreland thrust; and (4) thrust
displacement transfer from the crystalline terranes into the foreland.