Arc-continent collision: orogeny and continental growth

Abstract

The mid-Ordovician Grampian Orogen of western Irish Caledonides, the Miocene Bismarck Orogen of New Guinea, and the early Cretaceous Nevadan Orogen of the Sierra Nevada probably developed bythe collision of a supra-subduction zone (SSZ) ophiolite/oceanic arc(s) with a continental margin followedby a flip in subduction polarity, leading to theaddition of oceanic arc complexes to the edges ofcontinents and, hence, continental growth