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WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS

Year 2017, Volume: 155 Issue: 155, 255 - 260, 03.12.2017

Anıl Ardahanlıoğlu Efe Demirci

https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227

Abstract

The geoscientists have always wondered what evolutionary processes the Early Earth went through until
it reached today. The beginning of the plate tectonics poses another matter of debate in these processes.
Yet, the debates on when the plate tectonics began have not been resolved. In this sense, especially
the lack of records regarding the period of time before the Cambrian Era is considered the biggest
obstacle against resolution of these debates. The geoscientists have befi tted from various methods to
come up with different proposals about the beginning of the plate tectonics. The most notable rock type
among the ones produced by the mantle is the komatiites. While the oldest datable komatiite is 3.82
Ga; the youngest is 0.086 Ga. With the high content of magnesium they contain, their special texture
and the geological setting, the komatiites are not similar to any other rock groups which can currently
be examined. Though they were produced in different geological times, no up to date forms of these
rocks have been observed. Given the formation conditions of komatiites, recorded time intervals and the
content of magnesium they contain, they might indicate when the plate tectonics began.

Keywords

Crust Plate Tectonic Continental Crust Earth Komatiite

References

  • Arndt, N. T., Nisbet, E. G., 1982. What is a komatiite?, in Komatiites, edited by N. T. Arndt and E. G.
  • Nisbet, Allen and Unwin, Concord, Massachusetts 19– 28
  • Arndt, N., Ginibre, C. et al. 1998. Were komatiites wet? Geology, 26, 739–742.
  • Arndt, N., Lesher, C.M., 2004. Komatiite. Encyclopedia of Geology. Elsevier, 260-268.
  • Arndt, N., Lescher, C.&Barnes, S. J. 2008. Komatiite. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Bédard, J.H., 2006. A catalytic delamination-driven model for coupled genesis of Archaean crust and sub- continental lithospheric mantle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 1188–1214, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2005.11.008.
  • Blichert-Toft, J., Arndt, N.T., Wilson, A., Coetzee, G. 2015. Hf and Nd isotope systematics of early Archean komatiites from surface sampling and ICDP drilling in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. American Mineralogist 100, 2396–2411.
  • Bradley DC. 2008. Passive margins through earth history. Earth-Science Reviews. 91:1–26
  • Cawood, P.A., Kröner A., Pisarevsky S., 2006. Precambrian plate tectonics: criteria and evidence. Geological Society of America Today 16, 4–11.
  • Condie, K.C., Kröner A., 2008. When did plate tectonics begin? Evidence from the geologic record. See Condie & Pease 2008. Geological Society of America Spacial Papers 440, 281–94, doi: 10.1130/2008.2440(14)
  • Condie, K.C., Aster, C.R., van Hunen, J., 2016. A great thermal divergence in the mantle beginning 2.5 Ga:Geochemical constraints from greenstone basalts and komatiites. Geoscience Frontiers 7, 4, 543-553, doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2016.01.006.
  • Gerya, T. V., Stern, B.,Baes, M., Sobolev, S. V., Whattam, S. A., 2015. Plate tectonics on the Earth triggered by plume-induced subduction initiation. Nature 527, 221-225, DOI: 10.1038/nature15752
  • Harrison, T.M., 2009. The Hadean crust: Evidence from >4 Ga zircons. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 37, 479–505.
  • Herzberg, C., Asimow, P. D. et al. 2007. Temperatures in ambient mantle and plumes: constraints from basalts, picrites, and komatiites. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 8, 1–34.
  • Hopkins M., Harrison T.M., Manning C.E., 2008. Low heat flow inferred from >4Gyr zircons suggests Hadean plate boundary interactions. Nature 456, 493–96.
  • Kerr, A. C., Arndt, N. T., 2001. A note on the IUGS reclassification of the high-Mg and picritic volcanic rocks. Journal of Petrology 42, 11, 2169-2171.
  • Komiya T., Maruyama S., Masuda T., Nohda S., Hayashi M., Okamoto K., 1999. Plate tectonics at 3.8–3.7 Ga: field evidence from the Isua accretionary complex, southern West Greenland: Journal of Geology 107, 515–54.
  • Korenaga, J., 2013. Initiation and evolution of plate tectonics on Earth. Theories and Observations. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 41, 117–151.
  • Le Bas, M.J., Streckeisen, A.L., 1991. The IUGS systematics of igneous rocks. Journal of the Geological Society, London 148,825-833.
  • LE MAITRE, R. W. (Ed.) 2002. Igneous Rocks. A Classification And Glossary Of Terms. Recommendations Of The International Union Of Geological Sciences Subcommission On The Systematics Of Igneous Rocks, 2nd Ed. Xvi + 236 Pp. Cambridge
  • Nutman, A.P., Bennett, V.C., Friend, C.R.L. 2015. Proposal for a continent ‘Itsaqia’ amalgamated at 3.66 Ga and rifted apart from 3.53 Ga: Initiation of a Wilson Cycle near the start of the rock record. American Journal of Science, 315, 509–536.
  • Parman, S., Grove, S. T., Dann, J., 2001. The production of Barberton komatiites in an Archean subduction zone. Geophysıcal Research Letters 28, 2513–2516.
  • Parman, S. W., Grove, T. L., Dann, J. C. & deWit, M. J. 2004. A subduction origin for komatiites and cratonic lithospheric mantle. South African Journal of Geology, 107, 107–118.
  • Santosh, M, Arai, T., Maruyama, S. 2017. Hadean Earth and primordial continents: the cradle of prebiotic life. Geoscience Frontiers, 8, 309-327.
  • Shirey S.B., Kamber B.S., Whitehouse M.J., Mueller P.A., Basu A.R., 2008. A review of the isotopic and trace element evidence for mantle and crustal processes in the Hadean and Archean. implications for the onset of plate tectonic subduction. See Condie & Pease 2008, Geological Society of America Spacial Papers 440, 1–29, doi: 10.1130/2008.2440(01)
  • Stern, R. J., Leybourne, M. I., Tsujimori. T., 2017. Kimberlites and the start of plate tectonics: REPLY. Geology 45(1):e406-e406, DOI: 10.1130/G38725Y.1
  • Viljoen, M. J. ve Viljoen, R. P., 1969. The geology and geochemistry of Lower Ultramafic Unit of the Onverwatch Group and a proposed new class of igneous rocks. In: Upper Manttle Project, Geological Society of South Africa Spacial Publication 2, 55-85.
  • Walter, J. M., 1998. Melting of Garnet Peridotite and the Origin of Komatiite and Depleted Lithosphere. Journal of Petrology 39, 1, 29-60.
  • Zhang, C., Holtz, F., Koepke, J., Wolff, P. E., Ma, C., Bedard, J., 2013. Constraints from experimental melting of amphibolite on the depth of formation of garnet-rich restites, and implications for models of Early Archean crustal growth. Precambrian Research 231, 206–217.

Year 2017, Volume: 155 Issue: 155, 255 - 260, 03.12.2017

Anıl Ardahanlıoğlu Efe Demirci

https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227

Abstract


References

  • Arndt, N. T., Nisbet, E. G., 1982. What is a komatiite?, in Komatiites, edited by N. T. Arndt and E. G.
  • Nisbet, Allen and Unwin, Concord, Massachusetts 19– 28
  • Arndt, N., Ginibre, C. et al. 1998. Were komatiites wet? Geology, 26, 739–742.
  • Arndt, N., Lesher, C.M., 2004. Komatiite. Encyclopedia of Geology. Elsevier, 260-268.
  • Arndt, N., Lescher, C.&Barnes, S. J. 2008. Komatiite. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  • Bédard, J.H., 2006. A catalytic delamination-driven model for coupled genesis of Archaean crust and sub- continental lithospheric mantle. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 70, 1188–1214, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2005.11.008.
  • Blichert-Toft, J., Arndt, N.T., Wilson, A., Coetzee, G. 2015. Hf and Nd isotope systematics of early Archean komatiites from surface sampling and ICDP drilling in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa. American Mineralogist 100, 2396–2411.
  • Bradley DC. 2008. Passive margins through earth history. Earth-Science Reviews. 91:1–26
  • Cawood, P.A., Kröner A., Pisarevsky S., 2006. Precambrian plate tectonics: criteria and evidence. Geological Society of America Today 16, 4–11.
  • Condie, K.C., Kröner A., 2008. When did plate tectonics begin? Evidence from the geologic record. See Condie & Pease 2008. Geological Society of America Spacial Papers 440, 281–94, doi: 10.1130/2008.2440(14)
  • Condie, K.C., Aster, C.R., van Hunen, J., 2016. A great thermal divergence in the mantle beginning 2.5 Ga:Geochemical constraints from greenstone basalts and komatiites. Geoscience Frontiers 7, 4, 543-553, doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2016.01.006.
  • Gerya, T. V., Stern, B.,Baes, M., Sobolev, S. V., Whattam, S. A., 2015. Plate tectonics on the Earth triggered by plume-induced subduction initiation. Nature 527, 221-225, DOI: 10.1038/nature15752
  • Harrison, T.M., 2009. The Hadean crust: Evidence from >4 Ga zircons. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 37, 479–505.
  • Herzberg, C., Asimow, P. D. et al. 2007. Temperatures in ambient mantle and plumes: constraints from basalts, picrites, and komatiites. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 8, 1–34.
  • Hopkins M., Harrison T.M., Manning C.E., 2008. Low heat flow inferred from >4Gyr zircons suggests Hadean plate boundary interactions. Nature 456, 493–96.
  • Kerr, A. C., Arndt, N. T., 2001. A note on the IUGS reclassification of the high-Mg and picritic volcanic rocks. Journal of Petrology 42, 11, 2169-2171.
  • Komiya T., Maruyama S., Masuda T., Nohda S., Hayashi M., Okamoto K., 1999. Plate tectonics at 3.8–3.7 Ga: field evidence from the Isua accretionary complex, southern West Greenland: Journal of Geology 107, 515–54.
  • Korenaga, J., 2013. Initiation and evolution of plate tectonics on Earth. Theories and Observations. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 41, 117–151.
  • Le Bas, M.J., Streckeisen, A.L., 1991. The IUGS systematics of igneous rocks. Journal of the Geological Society, London 148,825-833.
  • LE MAITRE, R. W. (Ed.) 2002. Igneous Rocks. A Classification And Glossary Of Terms. Recommendations Of The International Union Of Geological Sciences Subcommission On The Systematics Of Igneous Rocks, 2nd Ed. Xvi + 236 Pp. Cambridge
  • Nutman, A.P., Bennett, V.C., Friend, C.R.L. 2015. Proposal for a continent ‘Itsaqia’ amalgamated at 3.66 Ga and rifted apart from 3.53 Ga: Initiation of a Wilson Cycle near the start of the rock record. American Journal of Science, 315, 509–536.
  • Parman, S., Grove, S. T., Dann, J., 2001. The production of Barberton komatiites in an Archean subduction zone. Geophysıcal Research Letters 28, 2513–2516.
  • Parman, S. W., Grove, T. L., Dann, J. C. & deWit, M. J. 2004. A subduction origin for komatiites and cratonic lithospheric mantle. South African Journal of Geology, 107, 107–118.
  • Santosh, M, Arai, T., Maruyama, S. 2017. Hadean Earth and primordial continents: the cradle of prebiotic life. Geoscience Frontiers, 8, 309-327.
  • Shirey S.B., Kamber B.S., Whitehouse M.J., Mueller P.A., Basu A.R., 2008. A review of the isotopic and trace element evidence for mantle and crustal processes in the Hadean and Archean. implications for the onset of plate tectonic subduction. See Condie & Pease 2008, Geological Society of America Spacial Papers 440, 1–29, doi: 10.1130/2008.2440(01)
  • Stern, R. J., Leybourne, M. I., Tsujimori. T., 2017. Kimberlites and the start of plate tectonics: REPLY. Geology 45(1):e406-e406, DOI: 10.1130/G38725Y.1
  • Viljoen, M. J. ve Viljoen, R. P., 1969. The geology and geochemistry of Lower Ultramafic Unit of the Onverwatch Group and a proposed new class of igneous rocks. In: Upper Manttle Project, Geological Society of South Africa Spacial Publication 2, 55-85.
  • Walter, J. M., 1998. Melting of Garnet Peridotite and the Origin of Komatiite and Depleted Lithosphere. Journal of Petrology 39, 1, 29-60.
  • Zhang, C., Holtz, F., Koepke, J., Wolff, P. E., Ma, C., Bedard, J., 2013. Constraints from experimental melting of amphibolite on the depth of formation of garnet-rich restites, and implications for models of Early Archean crustal growth. Precambrian Research 231, 206–217.
There are 29 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Engineering
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Anıl Ardahanlıoğlu

Efe Demirci This is me

Publication Date December 3, 2017
Published in Issue Year 2017 Volume: 155 Issue: 155

Cite

APA Ardahanlıoğlu, A., & Demirci, E. (2017). WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration, 155(155), 255-260. https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227
AMA Ardahanlıoğlu A, Demirci E. WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS. Bull.Min.Res.Exp. December 2017;155(155):255-260. doi:10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227
Chicago Ardahanlıoğlu, Anıl, and Efe Demirci. “WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS”. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration 155, no. 155 (December 2017): 255-60. https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227.
EndNote Ardahanlıoğlu A, Demirci E (December 1, 2017) WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration 155 155 255–260.
IEEE A. Ardahanlıoğlu and E. Demirci, “WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS”, Bull.Min.Res.Exp., vol. 155, no. 155, pp. 255–260, 2017, doi: 10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227.
ISNAD Ardahanlıoğlu, Anıl - Demirci, Efe. “WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS”. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration 155/155 (December 2017), 255-260. https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227.
JAMA Ardahanlıoğlu A, Demirci E. WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS. Bull.Min.Res.Exp. 2017;155:255–260.
MLA Ardahanlıoğlu, Anıl and Efe Demirci. “WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS”. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration, vol. 155, no. 155, 2017, pp. 255-60, doi:10.19111/bulletinofmre.314227.
Vancouver Ardahanlıoğlu A, Demirci E. WHEN DID THE PLATE TECTONICS BEGIN? THE INCEPTION OF PLATE TECTONICS BASED ON THE EXISTENCE OF KOMATIITES AND THEIR MgO VARIATIONS. Bull.Min.Res.Exp. 2017;155(155):255-60.

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