Tectonophysics 815 (2021) 228993 Available online 20 July 2021 0040-1951/© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Geodynamic processes inferred from Moho and Curie depths in Central and Southern African Archean Cratons Opeyemi Joshua Akinrinade a, c , Chun-Feng Li a, b, d, * , Ademolawa John Afelumo a a Institute of Marine Geology and Resources, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China b Hainan Institute, Zhejiang University, Sanya 572025, China c Department of Marine Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria d Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Moho depth Curie depth Archean Craton crustal composition thermal perturbation Southern Africa ABSTRACT Central and Southern Africa is home to major Archean Cratons, fanked by Proterozoic mobile belts. The region is characterized by anomalously high topography and shallow Curie depth (Z b ). Factors controlling topography and Z b anomalies in old continental crusts remain poorly understood. In this study, we present high-resolution Moho undulation (Z m ) derived with gravity spectral technique. Archean Cratons and Proterozoic belts are mostly characterized by deep Moho (>36 km), whereas the Moho depths in Mozambique belts is mostly shallow (~26 to 41 km). Extremely shallow Z b (<10 km) is dominant in Archean Cratons, whereas intermediate Z b (10–25 km) is prevalent in the mobile belts. The Curie points are mostly above the Moho. Low surface heat fow (Q s ) in Archean Cratons indicate that Z b is not correlated with thermal perturbation. Shallow Z b are mostly found in areas with low V p /V s ratio, predominantly felsic lower crust and sharp Moho. Shallow Z b also correlate with intense metasomatism and mineral enrichment, as well as depletion in basaltic components and geochemical over- printing by multiple episodes of melt and fuid infltration. Crustal composition is the main factor that controls shallow Z b in Central and Southern Africa Archean Cratons. The regional elevated topography is not due to thermal perturbation as mostly argued by mantle plume hypothesis, but may be caused by regional thermo- chemical mantle upwelling dominated by composition. 1. Introduction Cratons represent approximately 5% of the Earth's total surface area (Hawkesworth et al., 2017). They have low surface heat fow and thick lithospheric roots (Ballard et al., 1987; Celli et al., 2020; de Wit et al., 1992; James et al., 2001; Jordan, 1975; Nyblade and Pollack, 1993b; Peslier et al., 2010; Rudnick et al., 1998), depletion of melts and basaltic components (Artemieva and Mooney, 2002; Ballard et al., 1987; Gung et al., 2003; Polet and Anderson, 1995), high seismic amplitude of Moho and mostly low V p /V s ratio (Abbott et al., 2013; Durrheim and Mooney, 1994), stable and strong lithosphere (P´ erez-Gussiny´ e et al., 2009), and faster seismic velocities (Auer et al., 2014; Becker and Boschi, 2002; Simmons et al., 2010). Central and Southern Africa (Fig. 1) contains one of the largest assemblage of Cratons with unique mineral enrichment (Anhaeusser, 1990; Boyd and Gurney, 1986; Boyd et al., 1985). Crustal structure beneath the Central and Southern Africa has been comprehensively studied using varieties of geophysical methods. In the Archean cratonic blocks and surrounding Proterozoic mobile belt, refraction and refection seismic (de Wit and Tinker, 2004; Durrheim and Green, 1992; Green and Durrheim, 1990), surface wave dispersion and/or receiver functions (Harvey et al., 2001; James et al., 2003; Kwadiba et al., 2003; Nair et al., 2006; Nguuri et al., 2001; Niu and James, 2002; Stankiewicz et al., 2002; Webb et al., 2004; Wright et al., 2003), satellite gravity (Chisenga et al., 2020; Tedla et al., 2011; Webb et al., 2004) and geoid (Globig et al., 2016) have consistently revealed crustal thicknesses of ~30–50.5 km (White-Gaynor et al., 2020). Equally, deep resistivity (De Beer and Stettler, 1988; Jan and van Zijl, 1977; van Zijl, 1969; van Zijl et al., 1970) and magnetotelluric (Khoza et al., 2013a; Khoza et al., 2013b; Müller et al., 2009) surveys defned lithospheric thickness, geotherm, and fuid content. Geochemical and petrographic analyses of crustal xenoliths defned crustal composition (Schmitz and Bowring, 2003a, 2003b) consistent with seismic studies (Niu and James, 2002; Youssof et al., 2013). In south-eastern Africa, noble gases may be associated with CO 2 seeps originating from the lower * Corresponding author at: Institute of Marine Geology and Resources, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China. E-mail address: cfi@zju.edu.cn (C.-F. Li). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tectonophysics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tecto https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2021.228993 Received 13 November 2020; Received in revised form 8 June 2021; Accepted 23 June 2021