Gneiss domes and crustal flow

Gneiss domes are ubiquitous structures in all exhumed orogens, and their formation represents a first order thermal-tectonic process that has operated from the Archean to the present. The vertical flow of crust to create domal structures is a significant factor in the redistribution of heat and material in orogens and therefore in the evolution of continents. Worldwide, gneiss domes display many similarities in geometry (aspect ratio), petrology, and structure, and these similarities transcend differences in tectonic setting. Gneiss domes are cored by high-grade metamorphic rocks (including migmatite) ± granitoids, and the core rocks commonly record a component of isothermal decompression,...