This Article Appeared in a Journal Published by Elsevier. the Attached

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

This Article Appeared in a Journal Published by Elsevier. the Attached This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier’s archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/copyright Author's personal copy Tectonophysics 589 (2013) 44–56 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Tectonophysics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tecto A planetary perspective on Earth evolution: Lid Tectonics before Plate Tectonics John D.A. Piper ⁎ Geomagnetism Laboratory, Geology and Geophysics, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, UK article info abstract Article history: Plate Tectonics requires a specific range of thermal, fluid and compositional conditions before it will operate Received 27 September 2012 to mobilise planetary lithospheres. The response to interior heat dispersion ranges from mobile lids in con- Received in revised form 30 November 2012 stant motion able to generate zones of subduction and spreading (Plate Tectonics), through styles of Lid Accepted 25 December 2012 Tectonics expressed by stagnant lids punctured by volcanism, to lids alternating between static and mobile. Available online 12 January 2013 The palaeomagnetic record through Earth history provides a test for tectonic style because a mobile Earth of multiple continents is recorded by diverse apparent polar wander paths, whilst Lid Tectonics is recorded by Keywords: fi Planetary tectonics conformity to a single position. The former is dif cult to isolate without extreme selection whereas the latter Lid Tectonics is a demanding requirement and easily recognised. In the event, the Precambrian palaeomagnetic database Plate Tectonics closely conforms to this latter property over very long periods of time (~2.7–2.2 Ga, 1.5–1.3 Ga and 0.75– Palaeomagnetism 0.6 Ga); intervening intervals are characterised by focussed loops compatible with episodes of true polar Precambrian wander stimulated by disturbances to the planetary figure. Because of this singular property, the Palaeopangaea Precambrian palaeomagnetic record is highly effective in showing that a dominant Lid Tectonics operated throughout most of Earth history. A continental lid comprising at least 60% of the present continental area and volume had achieved quasi-integrity by 2.7 Ga. Reconfiguration of mantle and continental lid at ~2.2 Ga correlates with isotopic signatures and the Great Oxygenation Event and is the closest analogy in Earth history to the resurfacing of Venus. Change from Lid Tectonics to Plate Tectonics is transitional and the geological record identifies incipient development of Plate Tectonics on an orogenic scale especially after 1.1 Ga, but only following break-up of the continental lid (Palaeopangaea) in Ediacaran times beginning at ~0.6 Ga has it become comprehensive in the style evident during the Phanerozoic Eon (b0.54 Ga). © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction however, we have a laboratory of preserved crust dating back to within ~0.7 Ga of the planetary origin which provides the opportunity to Ever since the recognition and definition of Plate Tectonics in the monitor the way that the lithosphere has grown and moved. The tem- 1960's, there has been ongoing debate about the temporal duration poral test of the dynamic history comes from palaeomagnetism, the of this process through the planetary history (e.g. Condie and preserved record of the fossil magnetism in rocks and the probability Kröner, 2008; Condie and Pease, 2008; Davies, 1992; Engel et al., that this magnetism is trapped by the lines of force from a simple source 1974; Piper, 1982, 1987; Stern, 2008). Has this tectonic style constrained to the planetary rotation, the Geocentric Axial Dipole prevailed throughout the ~3.9 Ga recorded evolution of the continen- (GAD) model. In this paper I show how limiting evidence from this tal crust or did Earth experience long intervals of lid-style tectonics record of remanent magnetism provides a highly robust definition of punctured by volcanic activity as seen on Mars or episodic mantle tectonic style on Earth since mid-Archaean (~2.8 Ga) times and demon- overturn and resurfacing as seen on Venus (e.g. Frankel, 1996; strates that Lid Tectonics dominated the planetary lithosphere before Nimmo and McKenzie, 1998)? This debate has been stimulated in re- Plate Tectonics became the style characterising the last (Phanerozoic, cent years by the discovery of numerous planetary bodies or b0.54 Ga) Eon of geological time. “super-Earths” and the expectation that many more will be discov- ered in the future by missions such as NASA Kepler (kepler.nasa. 2. Plate Tectonics, Lid Tectonics and planetary resurfacing: gov). Whilst considerable effort has gone into the computer modelling general considerations of potential super-Earths to predict the likelihood of Plate Tectonics, the validity of the conclusions must ultimately depend on observational An important constraint to the current debate is the evidence for data. The universe presents an instantaneous time frame, although recycling of crustal material throughout the preserved continental re- often looking backwards in time over many light years. On Earth cord (Armstrong, 1981; Condie et al., 2009a; Hawkesworth et al., 2010; Taylor and McLennan, 1985); the recognition of zircons dating ⁎ Fax.: +44 151 7943464. from times preceding the oldest crust preserved at the surface is an E-mail address: [email protected]. indication that this recycling has been underway since primary 0040-1951/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.12.042 Author's personal copy J.D.A. Piper / Tectonophysics 589 (2013) 44–56 45 differentiation of the planet (e.g. Van Kranendonk, 2011). However rapid (b100 Myr) resurfacing with the last event completed Earth has also experienced intervals of intense magmatic–tectonic ac- 300–600 Myr ago (Strom et al., 1994) and the planet appears to be tivity interspersed with intervals of prolonged quiescence and the currently heating up pending a future such event. It remains possible motivation for recycling remains largely speculative. Many investiga- that Plate Tectonics analogous to Earth operated during resurfacing tions have highlighted possible causes for periodicity in the recycling although Nimmo and McKenzie (1998) conclude that a combination process including catastrophic slab avalanching into the mantle, man- of high mantle viscosity, high fault strength and thick basaltic crust tle plume generation and supercontinent cycles (Condie, 1998; may prevent subduction from being sustained on Venus and hence Gurnis, 1988; Stein and Hoffman, 1994; Tackley et al., 1994) whilst preclude the key signatures of Plate Tectonics. other workers have suggested that surface processes may be entirely The transition from a quasi-static lid-style to subduction-driven shut down for prolonged periods (O'Neill et al., 2007; Silver and Behn, plate-style tectonics is difficult to predict theoretically because it is 2008). Although these and other authors have usually implied that controlled by a complex interplay of rheological, compositional and this means the shutdown of Plate Tectonics, it remains unclear thermal parameters, in particular the temperature at the core–mantle whether this was really the process operating. boundary, and it also depends critically on the amount of water For purposes of this discussion Plate and Lid Tectonics need to be present at the planetary surface. However, models have become pro- clarified. Our understanding of Plate Tectonics is defined by the way gressively more sophisticated in recent years (Moresi and Solomatov, Earth surface processes have operated during the Phanerozoic Eon 1995, 1998; Rolf and Tackley, 2011; Tackley, 2000; Trompet and (b0.54 Ga), and most specifically since preservation of the remaining Hansen, 1998; van Heck and Tackley, 2011) and have sought to deter- ocean crustal record beginning with break-up of the supercontinent mine the point at which predicted convective stresses exceed the Pangaea in Jurassic times (b0.19 Ga). Plate Tectonics is driven pri- yield stress of a lithospheric lid. In general they predict three convec- marily by buoyancy forces operating within the oceanic lithosphere tive modes comprising (i) a mobile lid in constant motion able to gen- between young elevated constructive margins incremented by the erate zones of subduction and spreading, (ii) a stagnant lid covering products of decompression melting and old, cold and dense margins the whole surface and (iii) an episodic lid where the regime keeps descending back into the mantle. The latter incorporate the process interchanging between static and mobile. of subduction which defines the destructive boundaries of the plates. The most comprehensive models all show that plate tectonics will Tectonic processes occurring within the continental crust are also fo- become more likely as the planetary size increases if the convection is cussed on the plate boundaries and a consequence
Recommended publications
  • Initiation of Plate Tectonics in the Hadean: Eclogitization Triggered by the ABEL Bombardment
    Accepted Manuscript Initiation of plate tectonics in the Hadean: Eclogitization triggered by the ABEL Bombardment S. Maruyama, M. Santosh, S. Azuma PII: S1674-9871(16)30207-9 DOI: 10.1016/j.gsf.2016.11.009 Reference: GSF 514 To appear in: Geoscience Frontiers Received Date: 9 May 2016 Revised Date: 13 November 2016 Accepted Date: 25 November 2016 Please cite this article as: Maruyama, S., Santosh, M., Azuma, S., Initiation of plate tectonics in the Hadean: Eclogitization triggered by the ABEL Bombardment, Geoscience Frontiers (2017), doi: 10.1016/ j.gsf.2016.11.009. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT MANUSCRIPT ACCEPTED P a g e ‐|‐1111‐‐‐‐ ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT ‐ 1‐ Initiation of plate tectonics in the Hadean: 2‐ Eclogitization triggered by the ABEL 3‐ Bombardment 4‐ 5‐ S. Maruyama a,b,*, M. Santosh c,d,e , S. Azuma a 6‐ a Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1, 7‐ Ookayama-Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan 8‐ b Institute for Study of the Earth’s Interior, Okayama University, 827 Yamada, 9‐ Misasa, Tottori 682-0193, Japan 10‐ c Centre for Tectonics, Resources and Exploration, Department of Earth 11‐ Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia 12‐ d School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences 13‐ Beijing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China 14‐ e Faculty of Science, Kochi University, KochiMANUSCRIPT 780-8520, Japan 15‐ *Corresponding author.
    [Show full text]
  • Archaean Cratonization and Deformation in the Northern Superior Province, Canada: an Evaluation of Plate Tectonic Versus Vertical Tectonic Models Jean H
    Precambrian Research 127 (2003) 61–87 Archaean cratonization and deformation in the northern Superior Province, Canada: an evaluation of plate tectonic versus vertical tectonic models Jean H. Bédard a,∗, Pierre Brouillette a, Louis Madore b, Alain Berclaz c a Geological Survey of Canada, Division Québec, 880, ch.Ste-Foy, Quebec City, Que., Canada G1S 2L2 b Géologie Québec, Ministère des ressources naturelles du Québec, 5700, 4e Avenue Ouest, Charlesbourg, Que., Canada G1H 6R1 c Géologie Québec, Ministère des ressources naturelles du Québec, 545 Crémazie Est, bureau 1110, Montreal, Que., Canada H2M 2V1 Accepted 10 April 2003 Abstract The Archaean Minto Block, northeastern Superior Province, is dominated by tonalite–trondhjemite, enderbite (pyroxene tonalite), granodiorite and granite, with subordinate mafic rocks and supracrustal belts. The plutons have been interpreted as the batholithic roots of Andean-type plate margins and intra-oceanic arcs. Existing horizontal-tectonic models propose that penetrative recrystallization and transposition of older fabrics during terrane assembly at ∼2.77 and ∼2.69 Ga produced a N-NW tectonic grain. In the Douglas Harbour domain (northeastern Minto Block), tonalite and trondhjemite dominate the Faribault–Thury complex (2.87–2.73 Ga), and enderbite constitutes 50–100 km-scale ovoid massifs (Troie and Qimussinguat complexes, 2.74–2.73 Ga). Magmatic muscovite and epidote in tonalite–trondhjemite have corroded edges against quartz + plagioclase, suggesting resorption during ascent of crystal-charged magma. Foliation maps and air photo interpretation show the common development of 2–10 km-scale ovoid structures throughout the Douglas Harbour domain. Outcrop and thin-section scale structures imply that many plutons experienced a phase of syn-magmatic deformation, typically followed by high temperature sub-magmatic overprints.
    [Show full text]
  • Stagnant Lid Tectonics: Perspectives from Silicate Planets, Dwarf Planets, Large Moons, and Large Asteroids
    Geoscience Frontiers 9 (2018) 103e119 HOSTED BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect China University of Geosciences (Beijing) Geoscience Frontiers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gsf Research Paper Stagnant lid tectonics: Perspectives from silicate planets, dwarf planets, large moons, and large asteroids Robert J. Stern a,*, Taras Gerya b, Paul J. Tackley b a Geosciences Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0688, USA b Department of Earth Sciences, ETH-Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland article info abstract Article history: To better understand Earth’s present tectonic styleeplate tectonicseand how it may have evolved from Received 7 November 2016 single plate (stagnant lid) tectonics, it is instructive to consider how common it is among similar bodies Received in revised form in the Solar System. Plate tectonics is a style of convection for an active planetoid where lid fragment 22 May 2017 (plate) motions reflect sinking of dense lithosphere in subduction zones, causing upwelling of Accepted 16 June 2017 asthenosphere at divergent plate boundaries and accompanied by focused upwellings, or mantle plumes; Available online 1 July 2017 any other tectonic style is usefully called “stagnant lid” or “fragmented lid”. In 2015 humanity completed a50þ year effort to survey the 30 largest planets, asteroids, satellites, and inner Kuiper Belt objects, Keywords: “ ” Stagnant lid which we informally call planetoids and use especially images of these bodies to infer their tectonic Solar system activity. The four largest planetoids are enveloped in gas and ice (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) Plate tectonics and are not considered. The other 26 planetoids range in mass over 5 orders of magnitude and in Planets diameter over 2 orders of magnitude, from massive Earth down to tiny Proteus; these bodies also range Moons widely in density, from 1000 to 5500 kg/m3.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Plate Tectonics Needed to Evolve Technological Species on Exoplanets?
    Geoscience Frontiers 7 (2016) 573e580 HOSTED BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect China University of Geosciences (Beijing) Geoscience Frontiers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gsf Research paper Is plate tectonics needed to evolve technological species on exoplanets? Robert J. Stern Geoscience Department, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA article info abstract Article history: As we continue searching for exoplanets, we wonder if life and technological species capable of Received 23 September 2015 communicating with us exists on any of them. As geoscientists, we can also wonder how important is the Received in revised form presence or absence of plate tectonics for the evolution of technological species. This essay considers this 18 November 2015 question, focusing on tectonically active rocky (silicate) planets, like Earth, Venus, and Mars. The Accepted 4 December 2015 development of technological species on Earth provides key insights for understanding evolution on Available online 29 December 2015 exoplanets, including the likely role that plate tectonics may play. An Earth-sized silicate planet is likely Keywords: to experience several tectonic styles over its lifetime, as it cools and its lithosphere thickens, strengthens, Plate tectonics and becomes denser. These include magma ocean, various styles of stagnant lid, and perhaps plate Exoplanets tectonics. Abundant liquid water favors both life and plate tectonics. Ocean is required for early evolution Planetary science of diverse single-celled organisms, then colonies of cells which specialized further to form guts, ap- Intelligent life pendages, and sensory organisms up to the complexity of fish (central nervous system, appendages, eyes). Large expanses of dry land also begin in the ocean, today produced above subduction zones in juvenile arcs and by their coalescence to form continents, although it is not clear that plate tectonics was required to create continental crust on Earth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Types of Natural Resources on Terrestrial Planets And
    OPEN ACCESS Freely available online Jounal of Astrobiology &Outreach Review Article The Types of Natural Resources on Terrestrial Planets and Extraterrestrial Civilizations * Hadi Veysi Department of Agroecology, University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran ABSTRACT In addition to energy resources, natural resources such as metals, metalloids, non-metals, hydrocarbons, etc. are among the elements needed for the creation of a civilization. One of the important debates about intelligent life is to know how extraterrestrial civilizations provide the energy and natural resources needed for their development. Previous studies have not discussed much about the ways which intelligent civilizations can access their energy and natural resources. This study discussed the types of natural resources on terrestrial planets and the types of extraterrestrial civilizations that could use them. The results showed that the type of natural resources in terrestrial planets depends on the amount of liquid water, crust lithology, tectonics style, and the presence of microorganisms on the surface of these planets. Among all types of terrestrial planets, plate tectonics style silicate planets have the most complete natural resources. So these planets can be good targets for the natural resources supply of hominid and superhuman extraterrestrial civilizations. Other terrestrial planets such as carbon planets, coreless planets, iron planets, moons and icy dwarf planets, and even gaseous giant planets, although not be civilizable, but have large natural resources that can be used by superhuman civilizations. Keywords: Kardashev scale; Terrestrial planets; Natural resources ABBREVIATION elements, hydrocarbons, etc. to the manufacturing of tools and machines. These resources are found abundantly in terrestrial Li: Lithium, Be: Beryllium, Na: Sodium, Mg: Magnesium, planets, and natural resources very easier extracted from terrestrial Al: Aluminium, K: Potassium, Ca: Calcium, Sc: Scandium, planets than the other cosmic bodies, such as the stars.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Evolution of Terrestrial Planets: Bi-Stability, Stochastic Effects, and the Non-Uniqueness of Tectonic States
    Geoscience Frontiers 9 (2018) 91e102 HOSTED BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect China University of Geosciences (Beijing) Geoscience Frontiers journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gsf Research Paper On the evolution of terrestrial planets: Bi-stability, stochastic effects, and the non-uniqueness of tectonic states Matthew B. Weller a,b,*, Adrian Lenardic c a Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin, USA b Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, USA c Department of Earth Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA article info abstract Article history: The Earth is the only body in the solar system for which significant observational constraints are Received 14 October 2016 accessible to such a degree that they can be used to discriminate between competing models of Earth’s Received in revised form tectonic evolution. It is a natural tendency to use observations of the Earth to inform more general 25 February 2017 models of planetary evolution. However, our understating of Earth’s evolution is far from complete. In Accepted 9 March 2017 recent years, there has been growing geodynamic and geochemical evidence that suggests that plate Available online 22 March 2017 tectonics may not have operated on the early Earth, with both the timing of its onset and the length of its activity far from certain. Recently, the potential of tectonic bi-stability (multiple stable, energetically Keywords: Planetary interiors allowed solutions) has been shown to be dynamically viable, both from analytical analysis and through Mantle convection numeric experiments in two and three dimensions. This indicates that multiple tectonic modes may Lid-state operate on a single planetary body at different times within its temporal evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Weakness of the Lower Continental Crust: a Condition for Delamination, Uplift, and Escape
    ELSEVIER Tectonophysics 296 (1998) 47±60 Weakness of the lower continental crust: a condition for delamination, uplift, and escape Rolf Meissner a,Ł, Walter Mooney b a Institut fuÈr Geophysik der UniversitaÈt Kiel, Olshausenstr., 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany b US Geologic Survey, Seismology, 345 Middle®eld Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA Accepted 5 February 1998 Abstract We discuss three interconnected processes that occur during continental compression and extension: delamination of the lower crust and sub-crustal lithosphere, escape tectonics (i.e., lateral crustal ¯ow), and crustal uplift. We combine calculations of lithospheric viscosity±depth curves with geologic observations and seismic images of the deep crust to infer the mechanisms controlling these processes. The basic driving force for delamination is the negative buoyancy (in some regions) of the continental lower crust and sub-crustal lithosphere with respect to the warm, mobile asthenosphere. A phase transformation in the lower crust from ma®c granulite facies to eclogite may be important for providing negative buoyancy. Where negative buoyancy exists, the onset of delamination is mainly a question of the presence of a suitable decoupling zone between the denser lithosphere and the lighter upper and middle crust. We estimate the depth to potential decoupling zones by calculating lithospheric viscosity±depth curves based on reasonable geotherms and models of lithospheric composition. Low-viscosity zones occur at three depths: (1) at the base of the felsic (upper) crust; (2) within the lower crust; and (3) several tens of kilometers below the Moho. The commonly observed absence of a high-velocity (>6.8 km=s) lower crustal layer beneath extended crust may be explained by delamination wherein decoupling occurs at the top of the lower crust.
    [Show full text]
  • Tectonic Mechanisms Associated with P–T Paths of Regional Metamorphism: Alternatives to Single-Cycle Thrusting and Heating
    Tectonophysics 392 (2004) 193–218 www.elsevier.com/locate/tecto Tectonic mechanisms associated with P–T paths of regional metamorphism: alternatives to single-cycle thrusting and heating John Wakabayashi* Wakabayashi Geologic Consulting, 1329 Sheridan Lane, Hayward, CA 94544, USA Available online 24 June 2004 Abstract Metamorphic pressure ( P)–temperature (T) paths are commonly used as tools to interpret the tectonic history of orogenic belts, those deformed belts of rocks that record past activity along active plate margins. Many studies and reviews relating P–T path development to tectonics have focused on thrusting–thermal relaxation cycles, with special emphasis on collisional processes. Other studies have assumed that P–T paths resulted from a single tectono-metamorphic event that accounted for the entire burial–exhumation history of the rocks. In many cases, such assumptions may prove invalid. This paper speculates on the relationship of tectonic processes other than thrusting–heating to P–T path development. The processes discussed herein include subduction initiation, triple-junction interactions, initiation and shut off of arc volcanism, subcontinental delamination, and hot spot migration. All of these processes may leave a signature in the metamorphic rock record. Examples are presented from a number of localities, most of which are from the Pacific Rim. Although thrusting– heating cycles have influenced metamorphic evolution in many orogenic belts, the potential impact of other types of tectonic mechanisms should not be overlooked.
    [Show full text]
  • The 142Nd/144Nd Variations in Mantle-Derived Rocks Provide Constraints on the Stirring Rate of the Mantle from the Hadean to the Present
    The 142Nd/144Nd variations in mantle-derived rocks provide constraints on the stirring rate of the mantle from the Hadean to the present Eugenia Hyunga,1,2 and Stein B. Jacobsena aDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 Edited by Donald E. Canfield, Institute of Biology and Nordic Center for Earth Evolution, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M., Denmark, and approved May 1, 2020 (received for review April 15, 2020) Early silicate differentiation events for the terrestrial planets can variations can be used as a tracer for geodynamic mixing of enriched be traced with the short-lived 146Sm-142Nd system (∼100-My half- and depleted reservoirs (1). Measurements of μ142Nd by thermal life). Resulting early Earth-produced 142Nd/144Nd variations are an ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) of roughly present day rocks excellent tracer of the rate of mantle mixing and thus a potential (7, 11), including mantle peridotites, mid-ocean ridge basalts tracer of plate tectonics through time. Evidence for early silicate (MORBs), ocean island basalts (OIBs), kimberlites, and continental differentiation in the Hadean (4.6 to 4.0 Ga) has been provided by flood basalts, have not revealed clearly resolved variations at the 142 144 Nd/ Nd measurements of rocks that show both higher and external reproducibility level of ±5 to 8 ppm (2σ)exceptforsome ± lower ( 20 ppm) values than the present-day mantle, demonstrat- recent results from Réunion and Samoa (12, 13), which have been ing major silicate Earth differentiation within the first 100 My of σ reported to be statistically resolved. solar system formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Stern, R.J., 2020. the Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode
    Call for 2021 Annual Meeting Proposals VOL. 30, NO. 12 | DECEMBER 2020 The Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode: Prelude to Modern Plate Tectonics The Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode: Prelude to Modern Plate Tectonics Robert J. Stern, Geosciences Dept., The University of Texas at Dallas, Box 830688, Richardson, Texas 75083-0688, USA ABSTRACT 1. Active silicate bodies have convecting man- distributed volcanoes are buried and remelted The hypothesis that the Mesoproterozoic tles. Tectonics is the lithospheric expression a few kilometers below the surface. Venus (1600–1000 Ma) tectonic regime was a pro- of mantle convection. exhibits vigorous single-lid behavior domi- tracted single-lid episode is explored. Single- 2. Plate tectonics is lithosphere divided into a nated by mantle plumes and rifts (Ghail, lid tectonic regimes contrast with plate tec- mosaic of strong plates, which move on and 2015); the upward magma flux is presumably tonics because the silicate planet or moon is sink into weaker ductile asthenosphere as a matched by drips and delamination. Mars is a encased in a single lithospheric shell, not a result of subduction. Plates move relative to good example of sluggish single-lid behavior, global plate mosaic. Single-lid tectonics dom- each other across three types of boundaries: with a few great volcanoes and one great rift. inate among the Solar System’s active silicate divergent, convergent, and transform (Bird, From studying other active silicate bodies bodies, and these show a wide range of mag- 2003). The negative buoyancy of old dense of the Solar System we have learned three matic and tectonic styles, including heat pipe oceanic lithosphere sinking in subduction important things: (1) there are two distinct (Io), vigorous (Venus), and sluggish (Mars).
    [Show full text]
  • Continental Crust Formation on Early Earth Controlled by Intrusive Magmatism A
    LETTER doi:10.1038/nature22042 Continental crust formation on early Earth controlled by intrusive magmatism A. B. Rozel1, G. J. Golabek2, C. Jain1, P. J. Tackley1 & T. Gerya1 The global geodynamic regime of early Earth, which operated before for the formation of primordial TTG-like continental crust5,6,9,10. The the onset of plate tectonics, remains contentious. As geological and fully volcanic production of crust modelled in ref. 5 can generate var- geochemical data suggest hotter Archean mantle temperature1,2 and ious temperature profiles in the lithosphere. However, the eruption more intense juvenile magmatism than in the present-day Earth3,4, rate was not obtained self-consistently in their study and geological two crust–mantle interaction modes differing in melt eruption field data12 suggest a predominantly intrusive magmatism. We show efficiency have been proposed: the Io-like heat-pipe tectonics regime here that a fully eruptive magmatism generates a lithosphere that is dominated by volcanism5,6 and the “Plutonic squishy lid” tectonics too cold to form TTGs (and hence a plausible geodynamics model), regime governed by intrusive magmatism, which is thought to apply which could explain why the heat-pipe model is not universally to the dynamics of Venus7–9. Both tectonics regimes are capable accepted and uniformitarian Eoarchean plate tectonic models are of producing primordial tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite still debated7,16. (TTG) continental crust5,10 but lithospheric geotherms and crust An alternative tectonic regime—the Plutonic squishy lid—for production rates as well as proportions of various TTG compositions Archean Earth involves predominantly intrusive mantle-derived differ greatly9,10, which implies that the heat-pipe and Plutonic magmatism7–9, resulting in a hot, thickened crust subjected to internal squishy lid hypotheses can be tested using natural data11.
    [Show full text]
  • Subduction Erosion: Rates, Mechanisms, and Its Role in Arc Magmatism and the Evolution of the Continental Crust and Mantle
    GR-00621; No of Pages 25 Gondwana Research xxx (2011) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Gondwana Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gr GR focus review Subduction erosion: Rates, mechanisms, and its role in arc magmatism and the evolution of the continental crust and mantle Charles R. Stern ⁎ Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0399, USA article info abstract Article history: Subduction erosion occurs at all convergent plate boundaries, even if they are also accretionary margins. Received 30 November 2010 Frontal subduction erosion results from a combination of erosion and structural collapse of the forearc wedge Received in revised form 23 March 2011 into the trench, and basal subduction erosion by abrasion and hydrofracturing above the subduction channel. Accepted 27 March 2011 High rates of subduction erosion are associated with relatively high convergence rates (N60 mm/yr) and low Available online xxxx rates of sediment supply to the trench (b40 km2/yr), implying a narrow and topographically rough fi Handling Editor: M. Santosh subduction channel which is neither smoothed out nor lubricated by ne-grained water-rich turbidites such as are transported into the mantle below accreting plate boundaries. Rates of subduction erosion, which range 3 Keywords: up to N440 km /km/my, vary temporally as a function of these same factors, as well as the subduction of Subduction erosion buoyant features such as seamount chains, submarine volcanic plateaus, island arcs and oceanic spreading Arc magmatism ridge, due to weakening of the forearc wedge. Revised estimates of long-term rates of subduction erosion Crustal recycling appropriate for selected margins, including SW Japan (≥30 km3/km/my since 400 Ma), SW USA (≥30 km3/ Mantle evolution km/my since 150 Ma), Peru and northern Chile (50–70 km3/km/my since N150 Ma), and central (115 km3/ Supercontinent cycle km/my since 30 Ma) and southernmost Chile (30–35 km3/km/my since 15 Ma), are higher than in previous compilations.
    [Show full text]