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 …

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 …

Archean rocks of the tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) suite are dominant
constituents of Earth's earliest preserved silicic crust, while conversely rare in Phanerozoic …

Abstract The Archean Anshan Complex (AAC) in northeastern China is one of the best-
preserved ca. 3.8 Ga outcrops worldwide, which are key to understanding the evolution of …

Abstract The U-Th-Pb system is perhaps one of the most versatile isotopic systems in use by
Earth scientists, widely applied to both date and compositionally trace geological events …

The process that generated the continental crust has long been debated. One school argues
that, through most of geological time, the crust formed at convergent margins like most …

The timing for the onset of plate tectonics, along with the secular changes in the tectonic
settings of continental crust formation, continue to be debated. Recent interpretations based …

The tectonic style of the Archean Earth is contentious, with ongoing debate concerning the
dominant surface processes controlled by either a plate tectonics regime or alternative styles …

This study presents in-situ U–Pb, Lu–Hf, and Sm–Nd isotopic data for detrital zircon and
apatite collected from ephemeral streams of the East Pilbara Terrane, Western Australia …

The study of magmatic and metamorphic processes is challenged by geological
complexities like geochemical variations, geochronological uncertainties and the …