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Early Archaean tectonics and mantle redox recorded in Witwatersrand diamonds

Nature Geoscience volume 9, pages 255–259 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Plate tectonics plays a vital role in the evolution of our planet. Geochemical analysis of Earth’s oldest continental crust suggests that subduction may have begun episodically about 3.8 to 3.2 billion years ago, during the early Archaean or perhaps more than 3.8 billion years ago, during the Hadean. Yet, mantle rocks record evidence for modern-style plate tectonics beginning only in the late Archaean, about 3 billion years ago. Here we analyse the nitrogen abundance, as well as the nitrogen and carbon isotopic signatures of Archaean placer diamonds from the Kaapvaal craton, South Africa, which formed in the upper mantle 3.1 to 3.5 billion years ago. We find that the diamonds have enriched nitrogen contents and isotopic compositions compared with typical mantle values. This nitrogen geochemical fingerprint could have been caused by contamination of the mantle by nitrogen-rich Archaean sediments. Furthermore, the carbon isotopic signature suggests that the diamonds formed by reduction of an oxidized fluid or melt. Assuming that the Archaean mantle was more reduced than the modern mantle, we argue that the oxidized components were introduced to the mantle by crustal recycling at subduction zones. We conclude, on the basis of evidence from mantle-derived diamonds, that modern-style plate tectonics operated as early as 3.5 billion years ago.

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Figure 1: Kaapvaal cratonic crust and lithospheric mantle age distributions compared with estimated formation of the Witwatersrand diamonds.
Figure 2: Cathodoluminescence image of Wits-15 revealing complex intra-diamond growth zonation and accompanying changes in carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions.
Figure 3: Carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of the Wits diamonds and comparison with diamond data worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. James and D. White at Museum Africa Johannesburg for access to the historical diamond collection; R. Gibson and B. Cairncross for facilitating the loan of the specimens; S. Connell and T. Mashepo for diamond sectioning; L. Blackwell for the assistance with the diamond imaging. We thank T. Stachel for use of the De Beers Diamond Laboratory at the University of Alberta and informative discussion. We thank C. Skinner of De Beers Exploration for sponsorship of this project. K.A.S. and S.T. acknowledge support from the CIMERA NRF-DST Centre of Excellence at the University of Johannesburg.

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Author notes

  1. Sebastian Tappe

    Present address: Present address: Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Katie A. Smart, Susan J. Webb & Lewis D. Ashwal

  2. The De Beers Group of Companies, Corporate Headquarters West Campus, 59 Crownwood Road, Johannesburg 2013, South Africa

    Sebastian Tappe

  3. Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa

    Sebastian Tappe

  4. Canadian Centre for Isotopic Microanalysis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Richard A. Stern

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Contributions

K.A.S. and S.T. conceived the model and prepared the initial manuscript. R.A.S. carried out the SIMS carbon and nitrogen isotope, as well as nitrogen concentration analyses. K.A.S. conducted FTIR nitrogen analyses. All authors contributed to preparation of the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Katie A. Smart.

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Smart, K., Tappe, S., Stern, R. et al. Early Archaean tectonics and mantle redox recorded in Witwatersrand diamonds. Nature Geosci 9, 255–259 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2628

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