Nature Communications (Mar 2020)

An andesitic source for Jack Hills zircon supports onset of plate tectonics in the Hadean

  • Simon Turner,
  • Simon Wilde,
  • Gerhard Wörner,
  • Bruce Schaefer,
  • Yi-Jen Lai

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14857-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 5

Abstract

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The composition and tectonic affiliation of Earth's earliest crust remains disputed. Here, the authors find that Archean Jack Hills zircons crystallized from melts with compositions similar to andesite formed in modern subduction settings, which they suggest is consistent with an early onset of modern-style plate tectonics on Earth.