The Semail (Oman-United Arab Emirates) and other Tethyan-type ophiolites are underlain by a sole consisting of greenschist-to granulite-facies metamorphic rocks. As preserved remnants of the underthrust plate, sole exposures can be used to better understand the formation and obduction of ophiolites. Early models envisioned that the metamorphic sole of the Semail ophiolite formed as a result of thrusting of the hot ophiolite lithosphere over adjacent oceanic crust during initial emplacement; however, calculated pressures from granulite-facies mineral assemblages in the sole suggest the metamorphic rocks formed at >35 km depth, and are too high to be explained by the currently preserved thickness of ophiolite crust and mantle (up to 15-20 km). We have used high-precision U-Pb zircon dating to study the formation and evolution of the metamorphic sole at two well-studied localities. Our previous research and new results show that the ophiolite crust formed from 96.12-95.50 Ma. Our new dates from the Sumeini and Wadi Tayin sole localities indicate peak metamorphism at 96.16 and 94.82 Ma (± 0.022 to 0.035 Ma), respectively. The dates from the Sumeini sole locality show for the first time that the metamorphic rocks formed either prior to or during formation of the ophiolite crust, and were later juxtaposed with the base of the ophiolite. These data, combined with existing geochemical constraints, are best explained by formation of the ophiolite in a supra-subduction zone setting, with metamorphism of the sole rocks occurring in a subducted slab. The 1.3 Ma difference between the Wadi Tayin and Sumeini dates indicate that, in contrast to current models, the highest-grade rocks at different sole localities underwent metamorphism, and may have returned up the subduction channel, at different times.

Zircon crystals offer a unique combination of suitability for high-precision radiometric dating and high resistance to alteration. Paleomagnetic experiments on ancient zircons may potentially constrain the earliest geodynamo, which holds broad implications for the early Earth interior and atmosphere. However, the ability of zircons to record accurately the geomagnetic field has not been fully demonstrated. Here we conduct thermal and room temperature alternating field (AF) paleointensity experiments on 767.1 thousand year old (ka) zircons from the Bishop Tuff, California. The rapid emplacement of these zircons in a well-characterized magnetic field

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The Acasta Gneiss Complex of the Northwest Territories, Canada, contains some of the earliest terrestrial continental crust and thus provides a critical sample set for characterization of crustforming processes on the early Earth. Here we report the results of a combined Lu-Hf and U-Pb isotopic study of zircons from predominantly felsic orthogneisses from the Acasta Gneiss Complex that crystallized between ~4.0 and 2.9 Ga, many of which contain complex zoning and therefore require an analytical treatment suited to distinguish amongst compositionally distinct age and Hf isotopic domains. To ensure the reliability of the analyses and of subsequent geologic interpretations, we employed the laser ablation split-stream (LASS) technique to concurrently measure the Lu-Hf and U-Pb isotopic systems in zircon. Our results confirm prior findings of precursor Hadean crust (>4.0 Ga) in the source of these rocks and the continued involvement of