Craton Destruction 1: Cratonic Keel Delamination Along a Weak Midlithospheric Discontinuity Layer

Cratons are generally observed to retain thick (>180 km) conductive keels for billions of years. However, some cratons have undergone keel removal, with well‐documented examples being the eastern North China Craton (NCC) and the Wyoming Craton (WC). These keelless subregions appear to have kept a lithospheric bottom at ~80–100‐km depths. This is also the depth range where modern cratons, including the remaining portions of the NCC and the WC,...