The formation and preservation of cratons—the oldest parts of the continents, comprising
over 60 per cent of the continental landmass—remains an enduring problem. Key to craton …

The continental crust is unique to the Earth in the solar system, and controversies remain
regarding its origin, accretion and reworking of continents. The plate tectonics theory has …

The inception of plate tectonics on Earth and its subsequent evolution are discussed on the
basis of theoretical considerations and observational constraints. The likelihood of plate …

4.1 Introduction 51 4.2 Elastic constants 52 4.3 Isothermal versus adiabatic elastic constants
55 4.4 Experimental techniques 57 4.5 Some general trends in elasticity: Birch's law 59 4.6 …

The thermal thickness of Precambrian lithosphere is modeled and compared with estimates
from seismic tomography and xenolith data. We use the steady state thermal conductivity …

Reconstructing Earth history during the Hadean defies the traditional rock-based approach
in geology. Given the extremely limited locality of Hadean zircons, some indirect approach …

This paper reports a new 1°× 1° global thermal model for the continental lithosphere (TC1).
Geotherms for continental terranes of different ages (> 3.6 Ga to present) constrained by …

In the early 1980s, evidence that crustal rocks had reached temperatures> 1000° C at
normal lower crustal pressures while others had followed low thermal gradients to record …

In contrast to modern-day plate tectonics, studying Precambrian geodynamics presents a
unique challenge as currently there is no agreement upon paradigm concerning the global …

The bulk Earth composition contains probably less than 0.3% of water, but this trace amount
of water can affect the long-term evolution of the Earth in a number of different ways. The …