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From plume head to continental lithosphere in the Arabian–Nubian shield

Nature volume 382, pages 773–778 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

The lithosphere of the Arabian–Nubian shield was mainly formed during an interval of about 150 million years near the end of the Proterozoic aeon. The events recorded in the rocks of the shield indicate that an oceanic plateau, formed by the head of an upwelling mantle plume, was later overprinted with continent-like characteristics by plate convergence and its associated magmatism. Similar sequences of events are seen in the geological record from Archaean to recent times, suggesting that the transformation from plume head to continental lithosphere has been an important component of continent generation throughout Earth history.

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Author notes

  1. Steven L. Goldstein

    Present address: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, 10964, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel

    Mordechai Stein

  2. Max Planck Institut für Chemie, Postfach 3060, D–55020, Mainz, Germany

    Steven L. Goldstein

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  1. Mordechai Stein
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  2. Steven L. Goldstein
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Stein, M., Goldstein, S. From plume head to continental lithosphere in the Arabian–Nubian shield. Nature 382, 773–778 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382773a0

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