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 …

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 Earth as a planetary system has experienced significant change since its formation c.
4.54 Gyr ago. Some of these changes have been gradual, such as secular cooling of the …

About four billion years ago, Earth's outer layer is thought to have been composed mostly of
a 25-to 50-km-thick basaltic crust that differentiated to form the oldest stable continental …

The Earth is the only known planet where plate tectonics is active, and different studies have
concluded that plate tectonics commenced at times from the early Hadean to 700 Ma. Many …

Plate tectonics, involving a globally linked system of lateral motion of rigid surface plates, is
a characteristic feature of our planet, but estimates of how long it has been the modus …

Abstract The North China Craton (NCC) is the largest craton on the Chinese Mainland, with
3.8–3.0 Ga rocks occurring mainly in three areas, namely: Anshan-Benxi (Anben), eastern …

One popular view of Venus' climate history describes a world that has spent much of its life
with surface liquid water, plate tectonics, and a stable temperate climate. Part of the basis for …

This hands-on introduction to numerical geodynamic modelling provides a solid grounding
in the necessary mathematical theory and techniques, including continuum mechanics and …

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 …