GD1.4

The theory of plate tectonics is widely accepted by scientists and provides a robust framework with which to describe and predict the behavior of Earth’s rigid outer shell – the lithosphere – in space and time. Expressions of plate tectonic interactions at the Earth’s surface also provide critical insight into the machinations of our planet’s inaccessible interior, and allow postulation about the geological characteristics of other rocky bodies in our solar system and beyond. Formalization of this paradigm occurred at a landmark Penrose conference in 1969, representing the culmination of centuries of study, and our understanding of the “what”, “where”, “why”, and “when” of plate tectonics on Earth has continued to improve since. Here, we summarize the major discoveries that have been made in these fields and present a modern-day holistic model for the geodynamic evolution of the Earth that best accommodates key lines of evidence for its changes over time. Plate tectonics probably began at a global scale during the Mesoarchean (c. 2.9–3.0 Ga), with firm evidence for subduction in older geological terranes accounted for by isolated plate tectonic ‘microcells’ that initiated at the heads of mantle plumes. Such early subduction likely operated at shallow angles and was short-lived, owing to the buoyancy and low rigidity of hotter oceanic lithosphere. A transitional period during the Neoarchean and Paleoproterozoic/Mesoproterozoic was characterized by continued secular cooling of the Earth’s mantle, which reduced the buoyancy of oceanic lithosphere and increased its strength, allowing the angle of subduction at convergent plate margins to gradually steepen. The appearance of rocks during the Neoproterozoic (c. 0.8–0.9 Ga) diagnostic of subduction do not mark the onset of plate tectonics, but simply record the beginning of modern-style cold, deep, and steep subduction that is an end-member state of an earlier, hotter, mobile lid regime

How to cite: Palin, R. and Santosh, M.: Plate tectonics: what, where, why, and when?, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-560, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-560, 2021.

In the plate tectonic convection regime, the external lid is subdivided into discrete plates that move independently. Although it is known that the system of plates is mainly dominated by slab-pull forces, it is not yet clear how, when and why plate tectonics became the dominant geodynamic process in our planet. It could have started during the Meso-Archean (3.0-2.9 Ga). However, it is difficult to conceive a subduction driven system at the high mantle potential temperatures (Tp) that are thought to have existed around that time, because Tp controls the thickness and the strength of the compositional lithosphere making subduction unlikely. In recent years, however, a credible solution to the problem of subduction initiation during the Archean has been advanced, invoking a plume-induced subduction mechanism[1] that seems able to generate plate-tectonic like behaviour to first order. However, it has not yet been demonstrated how these tectonic processes interact with each other, and whether they are able to eventually propagate to larger scale subduction zones.

The Archean Eon was characterized by a high Tp[2], which generates weaker plates, and a thick and chemically buoyant lithosphere. In these conditions, slab pull forces are inefficient, and most likely unable to be transmitted within the plate. Therefore, plume-related proto-plate tectonic cells may not have been able to interact with each other or showed a different interaction as a function of mantle potential temperature and composition of the lithosphere. Moreover, due to secular change of Tp, the dynamics may change with time. In order to understand the complex interaction between these tectonic seeds it is necessary to undertake large scale 3D numerical simulations, incorporating the most relevant phase transitions and able to handle complex constitutive rheological model.

Here, we investigate the effects of the composition and Tp independently to understand the potential implications of the interaction of plume-induced subduction initiation. We employ a finite difference visco-elasto-plastic thermal petrological code using a large-scale domain (10000 x 10000 x 1000 km along x, y and z directions) and incorporating the most relevant petrological phase transitions. We prescribed two oceanic plateaus bounded by subduction zones and we let the negative buoyancy and plume-push forces evolve spontaneously. The paramount question that we aim to answer is whether these configurations allow the generation of stable plate boundaries. The models will also investigate whether the presence of continental terrain helps to generate plate-like features and whether the processes are strong enough to generate new continental terrains or assemble them

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[1]       T. V. Gerya, R. J. Stern, M. Baes, S. V. Sobolev, and S. A. Whattam, “Plate tectonics on the Earth triggered by plume-induced subduction initiation,” Nature, vol. 527, no. 7577, pp. 221–225, 2015.

[2]       C. T. Herzberg, K. C. Condie, and J. Korenaga, “Thermal history of the Earth and its petrological expression,” Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., vol. 292, no. 1–2, pp. 79–88, 2010.

[3]       R. M. Palin, M. Santosh, W. Cao, S.-S. Li, D. Hernández-Uribe, and A. Parsons, “Secular metamorphic change and the onset of plate tectonics,” Earth-Science Rev., p. 103172, 2020.

How to cite: Piccolo, A., Kaus, B., White, R., Arndt, N., and Riel, N.: Emergence of plate tectonic during the Archean: insights from 3D numerical modelling., EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-8809, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8809, 2021.

The Lewisian Gneiss Complex (LGC) in NW Scotland, a classic example of Archean lower crust, is mostly composed of deformed and metamorphosed tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) gneisses, gneissose granite sheets, and subordinate mafic, ultramafic, and metasedimentary lithologies. It has been traditionally subdivided into three regions that are interpreted to record discrete ages and metamorphic histories, and which are separated by crustal-scale shear zones. A smear of concordant U–Pb zircon ages from the granulite-facies central region has been interpreted to record metamorphic resetting of earlier magmatic and granulite facies metamorphic ages during a subsequent high-temperature metamorphic event. Here, we present U–Pb and Hf isotope data collected via laser-ablation split-stream (LASS) analyses of zircon cores from twenty-seven felsic meta-igneous rocks from the northern, southern, and central regions of the LGC, as well as U–Pb data from zircon rims within most of those samples.

In samples from the northern and southern regions, the crystallization age (i.e., from zircon cores) was calculated from the upper-intercept age, yielding age range of 2.82-2.63 Ga for the northern, and 3.11–2.63 Ga for the southern region. Zircons in these samples generally have thin or no rims, suggesting an absence of a prolonged high-grade (granulite facies) metamorphic event in those regions. In the central region, zircon cores yield U–Pb crystallization ages between ca. 3.0 Ga and 2.7 Ga, while zircon rims define a continuous spread of ages from ca. 2.8 to 2.4 Ga. Overall, the central region exhibits a continuous and overlapping smear of zircon core and rim ages, suggesting a protracted thermal event in which high-ultrahigh temperature conditions were maintained for >200 m.y., and that discrete magmatic and metamorphic ‘events’ are difficult to identify. Nevertheless, an estimation of the crystallization age of each sample is crucial for interpreting their Lu–Hf isotopic signature. Zircon cores from the tonalite–trondhjemite gneisses have broadly chondritic compositions with a range of calculated mean initial εHf of +2.5 to –1.2, potentially reflecting a mixture of juvenile material and reworked crust, with one outlier at εHf_i = +4.5 perhaps indicating a renewed influx of juvenile magma. Granite gneisses also have near-chondritic values, although the range is larger and the two youngest granite gneisses have slightly sub-chondritic εHf_i (–1.5 and –2.5), which indicates that pre-existing crust was involved in their formation. Since there is no significant difference in the Hf isotopic composition between rocks from the three regions, or between the TTG and granite gneisses, we suggest that the broadly chondritic εHf_i in most of our samples reflects mixing of both depleted mantle and evolved crust during their generation. Despite the similarity of the U-Pb and εHf data from the three regions, the data do not allow to unambiguously discriminate whether the LGC is composed of different levels of a once continuous Archean continent or discrete microcontinents that were amalgamated in the late Archean to Paleoproterozoic.

How to cite: Gutieva, L., Dziggel, A., Volante, S., and Johnson, T.: Zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf record from the Archean Lewisian Gneiss Complex, NW Scotland, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-15688, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15688, 2021.

This study provides the results of research of the garnet-biotite crustal xenoliths from the Yubileinaya (372±4.8 Ma) and Sytykanskaya (363±13 Ma) kimberlite pipes of the Alakit-Markhinsky field (Siberian craton). Isotopic evidence on zircons from similar crustal xenoliths (Grt+Bt+Pl+Kfs+Qtz±Scp) showed Archean Hf model ages (TDM = 3.13-2.5 Ga) and thus indicated that most of the lower and middle crust beneath the Markha terrane was produced in the Archean time (Shatsky et al., 2016).

The xenoliths are represented by the assemblage Grt+Bt+Pl+Kfs±Opx. Quartz is present only as rare inclusions in garnets. The rocks are coarse-grained, slightly foliated with garnets porphyroblasts of up to 5 cm in size. A spectacular feature of the rocks is an abundance of K-feldspar. Garnet grains are almost compositionally homogeneous, although they show a rimward decrease of the Mg and Ca contents indicating exchange reactions during cooling. Biotites are characterized by high F increasing from 1.5 wt.% in cores up to 2.2 wt.% in rims, as well as TiO₂ up to 7.8 wt.%, which is typical for high-grade rocks. Orthopyroxene (up to 5.5 wt. % Al₂O₃) relics are preserved both as inclusions in garnet and as individual grains in the rock matrix. Plagioclase occurs both as separate grains and as lamellae in potassium feldspar.

The bulk chemical compositions correspond to a metagraywacke. The REE spectra in these rocks are rather flat with slight enrichment in LREE. All the studied rocks are characterized by a distinct negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 0.31-0.45).

Calculations using the PERPLEX software version 6.7.6 (Connolly, 2005) for Mg and Ca in Grt, Mg in Bt, and Ca in Pl indicated temperatures 630-730°C and pressures 5.8-7.2 kbar for the rocks. However, equilibria involving Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene corresponds to temperatures of 750-800^oС at a similar pressure. It indicates that metamorphism of the garnet-biotite rocks reached higher temperatures, but they were actively modified later during cooling and insignificant decompression (by about 1 kbar). Calculations using the TWQ software version 2.3 (Berman, 2007) indicate consistent temperatures 610-680°C for the garnet-orthopyroxene and 640-690^oC for garnet-biotite Mg-Fe exchange equilibria. Calculations using the Grs+2Prp+Kfs+H₂O=Phl+3En+3An equilibrium demonstrated water activity below 0.1. Such low water activity could indicate an influence of highly concentrated alkaline Cl-F-bearing brines. This assumption is confirmed by extensive development of potassium feldspar, absence of quartz in the matrix, and elevated Cl contents of biotite, 0.1-0.3 wt. % at high #Mg (>0.7) and F content.

The study is supported by the Russian Science Foundation project 18-17-00206.

 References

Berman, R. G. (2007). winTWQ (version 2.3): a software package for performing internally-consistent thermobarometric calculations. Geological survey of Canada, open file, 5462, 41.

Connolly, T. M., & Begg, C. E. (2005). Database systems: a practical approach to design, implementation, and management. Pearson Education.

Shatsky, V. S., Malkovets, V. G., Belousova, E. A., ... & O’Reilly, S. Y. (2016). Tectonothermal evolution of the continental crust beneath the Yakutian diamondiferous province (Siberian craton): U–Pb and Hf isotopic evidence on zircons from crustal xenoliths of kimberlite pipes. Precambrian Research, 282, 1-20.

How to cite: Seliutina, N., Safonov, O., Yapaskurt, V., Varlamov, D., Sharygin, I., and Konstantinov, K.: P-T-fluid conditions of mineral equilibria in garnet-biotite crustal xenoliths from the Yubileinaya and Sytykanskaya kimberlite pipes, Yakutian kimberlite province., EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-2468, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2468, 2021.

The biogenicity of proposed stromatolite structures from Eoarchean (ca. 3.71 Ga) rocks of the Isua Supracrustal Belt (ISB) in West Greenland is under debate. Our 2020 publication argues against biogenicity for the proposed stromatolites. The subsequent Comment to our work challenged some of our fundamental arguments for a tectonic origin to the structures. This Comment has been an opportunity for us to elaborate on these structures and further refine and solidify our initial conclusion that they represent the expected outcome of the tectonic deformation displayed in the ISB. This dialogue between groups is essential as the consequence of these structures being biogenic would move the date for complex microbial communities 200 million years closer to Earth's formation, to a time when Earth’s surface would have been even less habitable. Here we reexamine our four key observations that support our tectonic origin. First, we report detailed field characterization and structural analysis to show that the structures are linear inverted ridges aligned with azimuths of local and regional fold axes and parallel to linear structures; they were never primary linear, deformation-parallel stromatolites or deformed conical stromatolites. Second, our combined major element (e.g., Ca, Mg, Si) scanning μXRF maps fail to reveal internal laminations for the cores of these structures, but other authors argue layers are present. In the instance where layers appear to be preserved, we argue that an amorphous core is still present.  Also, layering on its own is inconclusive of a biogenic origin as relict internal laminations could be preserved. Third, the gross morphology of these structures being nearly identical in morphology and dimensions to clearly tectonic structures only tens of meters away is a more reliable indicator of a tectonic versus biogenic origin than internal laminations. Lastly, discontinuous field relationships and absence of primary sedimentary structures that could serve as way-up indicators preclude confident assignment of these outcrops as being structurally overturned, as originally argued. Collectively, our results reinforce that the Isua structures are the expected result of a tectonic fabric that preserves no fine-scale primary sedimentary structures and were probably never stromatolites.

How to cite: Zawaski, M., Kelley, N., Orlandini, P. (., Nichols, C., Allwood, A., and Mojzsis, S.: The Isua (Greenland) relict stromatolites cannot be confidently interpreted as original sedimentary structures, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-13722, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13722, 2021.