Understanding of secular evolution of the Earth system is based largely on the rock and
mineral archive preserved in the continental lithosphere. Based on the frequency and range …

Constraining the core's composition is essential for understanding Earth accretion, core
formation and the sustainment of Earth's magnetic field. Earth's outer and inner core exhibit …

Supercontinents signify self-organization in plate tectonics. Over the past~ 2 billion years,
three major supercontinents have been identified, with increasing age: Pangaea, Rodinia …

Earth's magnetic field is generated by fluid motions in the outer core. This geodynamo has
operated for over 3.4 billion years. However, the mechanism that has sustained the …

The search for life in the Universe is a fundamental problem of astrobiology and modern
science. The current progress in the detection of terrestrial-type exoplanets has opened a …

Earth continuously generates a dipole magnetic field in its convecting liquid outer core by a
self-sustained dynamo action. Metallic iron is a dominant component of the outer core, so its …

An enduring mystery about Earth has been the age of its solid inner core. Plausible yet
contrasting core thermal conductivity values lead to inner core growth initiation ages that …

Atmospheric xenon is strongly mass fractionated, the result of a process that apparently
continued through the Archean and perhaps beyond. Previous models that explain Xe …

Earth's global magnetic field arises from vigorous convection within the liquid outer core.
Palaeomagnetic evidence reveals that the geodynamo has operated for at least 3.4 billion …

Resolving the modes of mantle convection through Earth history, ie when plate tectonics
started and what kind of mantle dynamics reigned before, is essential to the understanding …