There are active (between St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent) and inactive (e.g. Netherlands Antilles) arcs using the Caribbean Plate for reference. Another way is the geodynamic - geomorphological maturity of crustal sections which can also be applied to arc settings.

1.Pre-mature

Geodynamic setting

Moderately eroded and active mountain belts of Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic age (e.g., Andes)

including island arcs with high altitude mountains and no etch planation

Chemical weathering

Absent (only slightly altered parent material) moderate argillitization

2. Mature

Geodynamic setting

Highly eroded mountain belts of Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic age (e.g., Hercynian/Variscan Mountain Ridges) with moderately high mountains intersected by continental grabens with moderately widespread erosional and depositional plains and only fossil etch plains

Chemical weathering

Argillitization >> duricrusts

3. Super-mature

Geodynamic setting

Deeply eroded cratons of Precambrian age (e.g., Guyana Shield)

intersected by continental grabens and

volcanic arcs at the edge with active etch planation

Chemical weathering

Duricrusts = argillitization

the most recent paper used:

Trends and Composition—A Sedimentological-Chemical- Mineralogical Approach to Constrain the Origin of Quaternary Deposits and Landforms—From a Review to a Manual

Harald G. Dill

Open Access

Dear Professor Dill,

There are large, world class, Cu deposits in Balochistan magmatic arc of Pakistan. The arc started as intra-oceanic in the Cretaceous and became an Andean-type margin in Early Tertiary. Cu (Au, with/without Ag) mineralization is associated with late Tetriary plutons. The following paper is available on the Research Gate, but if there is problem, I may be contacted at: [email protected]

Siddiqui, R.H., Khan, M.A., Jan, M.Q., Kakar, M.I., Kerr, A.C., 2015. Geochemistry and petrogenesis of Oligocene volcaniclastic rocks from the Chagai arc: implications for the emplacement of porphyry copper deposits. Arabian J. Geosci. 8, 8655–8667.

Thank you very much Professor Jan!

In my opinion, it is a combination of active and inactive arcs depending on the time slice taken while getting more and more pre-mature in terms of the triparite geomorphological-geodynamic maturity concept.

HGD