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Formation of an Archaean continent

Nature volume 357, pages 553–562 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

About 30% of the Earth is covered by continents, but only about 10 small kernels of these continentsae—known as Archaean cratonsae—are continental fragments formed before 2.5 Gyr ago. The Kaapvaal craton of South Africa, which formed and stabilized between 3.7 and 2.7 Gyr ago, is one of the oldest reasonably sized examples of these continental fragments. It consists of a mosaic of subdomains that have been welded together by processes similar to those of modern-day plate tectonics. The earliest subdomains may have owed their origin to the onset of efficient recycling from the Earth's hydrosphere into the mantle.

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Author notes

  1. Rodger J. Hart: seconded from South African Geological Survey

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa

    Maarten J. de Wit, Cornel E. J. de Ronde & Marian Tredoux

  2. Department of Geology, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

    Chris Roering

  3. Schon-land Research Centre, University of the W/twatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa

    Rodger J. Hart

  4. Department of Geochemistry, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa

    Richard A. Armstrong

  5. BPI Geophysics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa

    Rod W. E. Green & Ellie Peberdy

  6. College of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    Roger A. Hart

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de Wit, M., de Ronde, C., Tredoux, M. et al. Formation of an Archaean continent. Nature 357, 553–562 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/357553a0

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