Remnants of Eoarchean continental crust derived from a subducted proto-arc

被引:163
作者
Ge, Rongfeng [1 ,2 ]
Zhu, Wenbin [1 ]
Wilde, Simon A. [2 ]
Wu, Hailin [1 ]
机构
[1] Nanjing Univ, Sch Earth Sci & Engn, State Key Lab Mineral Deposits Res, Nanjing 210093, Jiangsu, Peoples R China
[2] Curtin Univ, Dept Appl Geol, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
基金
中国博士后科学基金;
关键词
SOUTHERN WEST GREENLAND; ISUA GREENSTONE-BELT; ZIRCON U-PB; PLATE-TECTONICS; TARIM CRATON; LU-HF; MAGMATIC HISTORY; TIBETAN PLATEAU; AQTASHTAGH AREA; GNEISS COMPLEX;
D O I
10.1126/sciadv.aao3159
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Eoarchean [3.6 to 4.0 billion years ago (Ga)] tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) is the major component of Earth's oldest remnant continental crust, thereby holding the key to understanding how continental crust originated and when plate tectonics started in the early Earth. TTGs are mostly generated by partial melting of hydrated mafic rocks at different depths, but whether this requires subduction remains enigmatic. Recent studies show that most Archean TTGs formed at relatively low pressures (<= 1.5 GPa) and do not require subduction. We report a suite of newly discovered Eoarchean tonalitic gneisses dated at similar to 3.7 Ga from the Tarim Craton, northwestern China. These rocks are probably the oldest high-pressure TTGs so far documented worldwide. Thermodynamic and trace element modeling demonstrates that the parent magma may have been generated by water-fluxed partial melting of moderately enriched arc-like basalts at 1.8 to 1.9 GPa and 800 degrees to 830 degrees C, indicating an apparent geothermal gradient (400 degrees to 450 degrees C GPa(-1)) typical for hot subduction zones. They also locally record geochemical evidence for magma interaction with a mantle wedge. Accordingly, we propose that these high-pressure TTGs were generated by partial melting of a subducted proto-arc during arc accretion. Our model implies that modern-style plate tectonics was operative, at least locally, at similar to 3.7 Ga and was responsible for generating some of the oldest continental nuclei.
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页数:11
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