If we accept that a critical condition for plate tectonics is the creation and maintenance of a
global network of narrow boundaries separating multiple plates, then to argue for plate …

The end of the Archean aeon (3.0–2.5 Ga) was a period of fundamental change in many
aspects of the geological record. In Archean cratons, this timespan is marked by a …

The generation, preservation and destruction of continental crust on Earth is of wide interest
in understanding the formation of continents, cratons and supercontinents as well as related …

The geodynamic context of formation of the Archaean continental crust is a matter of debate.
The crust is largely made of grey gneiss complexes, a composite rock assemblage …

The oxygen isotope ratios of Phanerozoic zircons from kimberlite pipes in the Kaapvaal
Craton of southern Africa and the Siberian Platform vary from 4.7 to 5.9‰ VSMOW. High …

Isotopic and trace element analysis of zircons can provide reliable and robust estimates of
age, compositions of coexisting minerals and melts, and constraints on the genesis and …

This substantially revised edition includes recently published information relating to plate
tectonics and continental origin. A large number of new figures have been added, and new …

We report detailed high precision combined single grain U-Pb and Lu-Hf studies of early
zircons to obtain more reliable indications of the extent of mantle depletion and crustal …

As a consequence of secular cooling of the Earth, there is generally no modern analog to
assist in understanding the tectonic style that may have operated in the Archean. Higher …

The integration of fossils, phylogeny, and geochronology has resulted in an increasingly
well-resolved timetable of evolution. Life appears to have taken root before the earliest …