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 …

One of the most contentious areas of Earth Science today is when, or whether or not modern-
style plate tectonics was in operation in the Archean Eon. In this review we present evidence …

The lower plate is the dominant agent in modern convergent margins characterized by
active subduction, as negatively buoyant oceanic lithosphere sinks into the asthenosphere …

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 …

Abstract The East African Orogen, extending from southern Israel, Sinai and Jordan in the
north to Mozambique and Madagascar in the south, is the world́s largest Neoproterozoic to …

TTGs (tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite) are one of the archetypical lithologies of
Archaean cratons. Since their original description in the 1970s, they have been the subject …

This work examines the global distribution of Archaean and modern igneous rock's
compositions, without relying on preconceptions about the link between rock compositions …

Ultrahigh temperature (UHT) metamorphism is the most thermally extreme form of regional
crustal metamorphism, with temperatures exceeding 900° C. UHT crustal metamorphism is …

Earth's continental crust is dominantly made of buoyant, felsic igneous material (granitoids),
that was ultimately extracted from the mantle as a result of Earth's differentiation. Since felsic …

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 …