The Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode: Prelude to Modern Plate Tectonics

Stern, Robert

doi:10.1130/gsatg480a.1

Cited by 75 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(39 reference statements)

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“…Notably during the boring billion, oxygen levels were low and there is no evidence of glaciation (Hoffman et al., 2017; Holland, 2006; Planavsky et al., 2014). However, whether plate tectonics reached an orogenic climax (Van Kranendonk & Kirkland, 2013), was intermittent (Silver & Behn, 2008), experienced orogenic quiescence (Tang, Ji, et al., 2021) or a full plate tectonic shutdown (Stern, 2020) during the Mesoproterozoic represents the contentious diversity of opinion that we address in this study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enigmatic Mid‐Proterozoic Orogens: Hot, Thin, and Low

Spencer

Mitchell

Brown

2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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Uniformitarianism-"the present is the key to the past"-limits our ability to fully understand the emergence and evolution of plate tectonics during the Precambrian (Stern & Gerya, 2021). Before the Proterozoic, the volume of preserved continental crust is too small to argue that localized evidence of short-lived subduction demonstrates the existence of a fragmented lithosphere and a linked network of boundaries, that is, a global plate tectonics mode, although this remains permissible (Brown et al., 2020;O'Neill et al., 2018). Whether plate tectonics emerged during or before the Archean relies mostly on geochemical arguments (Guo & Korenaga, 2020), which can sometimes be inconclusive and open to alternative interpretation (Brown et al., 2020;O'Neill et al., 2018). Notwithstanding, there is general agreement that plate tectonics has been operating on Earth since the end of the Archean. Also, geophysical evidence of subduction becomes widespread in the Paleoproterozoic (Wan et al., 2020) supporting the interpretation that a plate tectonics mode operated at least by the early Paleoproterozoic.Despite the broad consensus that plate tectonics was operational by the early Proterozoic, the style and continuity of plate tectonics during the remainder of the eon have proven to be controversial, with both a distinct Proterozoic style of plate tectonics or a period of single-lid tectonics in the Mesoproterozoic being proposed as alternatives to the null hypothesis of uniformitarianism (

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enigmatic Mid‐Proterozoic Orogens: Hot, Thin, and Low

Spencer

Mitchell

Brown

2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…The diminished delivery of sediments to trenches during the boring billion led to reduced subduction globally and a period of decreased plate tectonic activity and possibly to a single lid episode (Stern, 2020). The continuing secular cooling of the mantle and the unprecedented scale of surface erosion following the snowball Earth glaciations brought the boring billion to an end, initiated the contemporary geodynamic cycle with continuous modern plate tectonics, and probably triggered the Cambrian explosion of life on Earth (e.g., Stern, 2016;Sobolev and Brown, 2019).…”

Section: Development Of Cratonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical modeling of subduction: State of the art and future directions

Gerya

2022

Geosphere

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During the past five decades, numerical modeling of subduction, one of the most challenging and captivating geodynamic processes, remained in the core of geodynamic research. Remarkable progress has been made in terms of both in-depth understanding of different aspects of subduction dynamics and deciphering the diverse and ever-growing array of subduction zone observations. However, numerous key questions concerning subduction remain unanswered defining the frontier of modern Earth Science research. This review of the past decade comprises numerical modeling studies focused on 12 key open topics: • Subduction initiation • Subduction termination • Slab deformation, dynamics, and evolution in the mantle • 4D dynamics of subduction zones • Thermal regimes and pressure-temperature (P-T) paths of subducted rocks • Fluid and melt processes in subduction zones • Geochemical transport, magmatism, and crustal growth • Topography and landscape evolution • Subduction-induced seismicity • Precambrian subduction and plate tectonics • Extra-terrestrial subduction • Influence of plate tectonics for life evolution. Future progress will require conceptual and technical progress in subduction modeling as well as crucial inputs from other disciplines (rheology, phase petrology, seismic tomography, geochemistry, numerical theory, geomorphology, ecology, planetology, astronomy, etc.). As in the past, the multi-physics character of subduction-related processes ensures that numerical modeling will remain one of the key quantitative tools for integration of natural observations, developing and testing new hypotheses, and developing an in-depth understanding of subduction. The review concludes with summarizing key results and outlining 12 future directions in subduction and plate tectonics modeling that will target unresolved issues discussed in the review.

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“…The Mesoproterozoic Era, more speci cally 1.8-0.8 billion years (Gyr) ago is one of the most enigmatic period of time on Earth that has been referred to as "the boring billion" 1 . It was related to a prolonged phase of tectonic quiescence [2][3][4][5] from several proxies of tectonic activities, notably: 1) the paucity of passive margins in the geological record 6 ; 2) a systematic decrease in normalized seawater 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio 7 , which is a hallmark of juvenile (igneous rocks produced directly by mantle melting) rock erosion.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Far from boring: a new Grenvillian perspective on Mesoproterozoic tectonics

Gervais

Beaudry

Kavanagh-Lepage

et al. 2021

Preprint

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As determining when plate tectonics began on Earth is a highly debated subject, it is crucial to understand the “boring billion” (1.8 to 0.8 billion years ago), a period of tectonic quiescence inferred from proxies, such as the average chemical composition of the mineral zircon on Earth and the isotopic composition of seawater derived from marine rocks. Yet this period saw the construction of what may have been the biggest mountain belt that ever existed, the remnants of which are found in the Grenville Orogen of eastern North-America. This contribution first exposes a compilation of multidisciplinary geological datasets and new geochemical data from igneous suites emplaced during the Grenvillian Orogeny that are incompatible with the current tectonic paradigm. We then present a completely revised model for Grenvillian tectonics. In contrast with the actual Laurentian-centred paradigm, our model involves the construction of a newly revealed continent by amalgamation of volcanic arcs far away from Laurentia (the craton forming the core of actual North-America) and their collision 60 millions year later than the currently accepted timing. This new model resolves the longstanding contradiction between tectonic proxies and geological record and invalidates the view considering the Mesoproterozoic as a tectonically quiet Era.

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The Mesoproterozoic Single-Lid Tectonic Episode: Prelude to Modern Plate Tectonics

Cited by 75 publications

References 33 publications

Enigmatic Mid‐Proterozoic Orogens: Hot, Thin, and Low

Enigmatic Mid‐Proterozoic Orogens: Hot, Thin, and Low

Numerical modeling of subduction: State of the art and future directions

Far from boring: a new Grenvillian perspective on Mesoproterozoic tectonics

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