Plate tectonics in the Archean: Observations versus interpretations

Zheng, YongFei

doi:10.1007/s11430-023-1210-5

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The secrets behind the habitable Earth lie in the well-tuned cycles of carbon and other life-essential volatile elements [ 1 ]. It has been widely accepted that volatile recycling between the deep and surface reservoirs is dominated by ancient and modern plate tectonics that initiated in the Archean and Neoproterozoic, respectively [ 4–6 ], with episodic perturbations by short-lived but catastrophic eruptions of large igneous provinces (LIPs) [ 7 ]. Earth's long-term [>1 million year (Myr)] climate depends on the stability of steady-state source-and-sink feedbacks of atmospheric CO 2 [ 8 ], in which the volcanic and metamorphic CO 2 inputs to the atmosphere are consumed in equivalent amount by surface sinks via carbonate precipitation and organic carbon burial [ 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep carbon recycling viewed from global plate tectonics

Zhang,

Xu,

Sano

2024

National Science Review

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Plate tectonics plays an essential role in the redistribution of life-essential volatile elements between Earth's interior and surface, whereby our planet has been well tuned to maintain enduring habitability over much of its history. Here we present an overview of deep carbon recycling in the regime of modern plate tectonics, with a special focus on convergent plate margins for assessing global carbon mass balance. The up-to-date flux compilation implies approximate balance between deep carbon outflux and subduction carbon influx within uncertainty but remarkably limited return of carbon to convecting mantle. If correct, carbon would gradually accumulate in the lithosphere over time by (i) massive subsurface carbon storage occurring primarily in continental lithosphere from convergent margins to continental interior and (ii) persistent surface carbon sinks to seafloors sustained by high-flux deep CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Further assessment of global carbon mass balance requires updates on fluxes of subduction-driven carbon recycling paths and reduction in uncertainty of deep carbon outflux. From a global plate tectonics point of view, we particularly emphasize that continental reworking is an important mechanism for remobilizing geologically sequestered carbon in continental crust and sub-continental lithospheric mantle. In light of recent advances, future research is suggested to focus on a better understanding of the reservoirs, fluxes, mechanisms, and climatic effects of deep carbon recycling following an integrated methodology of observation, experiment, and numerical modeling, with the aim of decoding the self-regulating Earth system and its habitability from the deep carbon recycling perspective.

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