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An andesitic source for Jack Hills zircon supports onset of plate tectonics in the Hadean

Earth Sciences

An andesitic source for Jack Hills zircon supports onset of plate tectonics in the Hadean

S. Turner, S. Wilde, et al.

This compelling study by Simon Turner and colleagues challenges traditional views on Earth's early crust by revealing that the ancient Jack Hills zircons originated from andesitic melts in a subduction environment, raising intriguing questions about the onset of plate tectonics as early as 4.3 billion years ago.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
The composition and origin of Earth's early crust remains hotly debated. This study uses partition coefficients to invert the trace element composition of 4.3–3.3 Gyr Jack Hills zircons to calculate the composition of the melts from which they crystallized. The results strongly indicate that the protolith for the Jack Hills zircons was an andesite formed in a modern subduction setting, not an intra-plate mafic rock, a TTG, or a Sudbury-like impact melt. No secular variation was found between 4.3 and 3.3 Gyr, implying little change in the composition or tectonic affinity of the Earth's early crust from the Hadean to Mesoarchaean, suggesting an early onset of plate tectonics.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Mar 06, 2020
Authors
Simon Turner, Simon Wilde, Gerhard Wörner, Bruce Schaefer, Yi-Jen Lai
Tags
Earth's early crust
Jack Hills
zircons
andesite
plate tectonics
subduction setting
trace element composition

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