Abstract
THE late Archaean eon (3 to 2.5 billion years ago) seems to have been a time of profound geological changes1–5: rapid growth of the continents, of the volume of cratonic sediments and of the area of the continental shelves was accompanied by widespread emplacement of potassium-rich granitic rocks, leading to the 'cratonization' of the continental crust3,6. There is also evidence for climate change7,8 at this time, possibly reflecting changes in the composition of the atmosphere and the volume of the oceans. The period ends with the Huronian glaciation, the first well documented glacial episode9, and this transition appears to be marked by a strong increase in the intensity of the geomagnetic field10. Here we present simulations of mantle convection at the end of the late Archaean, and show that a breakdown of two-layer convection (a 'flush' instability11) occurring at this time could have led to a period of volcanic and tectonic activity that might account for the reported geological and palaeoenvironmental changes.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Armstrong, R. L. Austr. J. Earth Sci. 38, 613–630 (1991).
Taylor, S. R. & McLennan, S. M. The Continental Crust: its Composition and Evolution (Blackwell Scientific, Boston, 1985).
Taylor, S. R. & McLennan, S. M. Rev. Geophys. 33, 241–265 (1995).
Kröner, A. Precambrian Plate Tectonics (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1981).
Condie, K. C. Archaean Crustal Evolution (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1984).
Percival, J. A. in Archean Crustal Evolution (ed. Condie, K. C.) 357–410 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994).
Kasting, J. F. Science 259, 920–926 (1993).
Des Marais, D. J. in Archean Crustal Evolution (ed. Condie, K. C.) 505–523 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994).
Crowley, T. J. Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 21, 828–877 (1983).
Hale, C. J. Nature 329, 233–237 (1986).
Christensen, U. & Yuen, D. A. J. geophys. Res. 90, 10291–10300 (1985).
Tackley, P. J. Rev. Geophys. 33 Suppl., 275–282 (1995).
Steinbach, V., Yuen, D. A. & Zhao, W. Geophys, Res. Lett. 20, 1119–1122 (1993).
Yuen, D. A. et al. Phys. Earth planet Inter. 86, 185–203 (1994).
Solheim, L. P. & Peltier, W. R. J. geophys. Res. 99, 6997–7018 (1994).
Stein, M. & Hofman, A. W. Nature 372, 63–68 (1994).
Calvert, A. J., Sawyer, E. W., Davis, W. J. & Ludden, J. N. Nature 375, 670–674 (1995).
Spohn, T. & Schubert, G. J. geophys. Res. 87, 4682–4696 (1982).
Spohn, T. & Breuer, D. in Evolution of the Earth and Planets (eds Takahashi, E., Jeanloz, R. & Rubie, D. C.) 55–71 (Geophys. Monogr. Ser. 74, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington DC, 1993).
Stevenson, D. J., Spohn, T. & Schubert, G. Icarus 54, 466–489 (1983).
Schubert, G. & Reymer, A. P. S. Nature 316, 336–339 (1985).
Galer, S. J. G. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 105, 214–228 (1993).
McGovern P. & Schubert, G. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 96, 27–37 (1989).
Armstrong, R. L. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 301, 433–471 (1981).
Boyd, F. P. & Gurney, J. J. Science 232, 427–477 (1986).
Arndt, N. T. in Archean Crustal Evolution (ed. Condie, K. C.) 11–44 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994).
Tajika, E. & Matsui, T. in Origin of the Earth (eds Newsom, H. E. & Jones, J. H.) 347–370 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1990).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Breuer, D., Spohn, T. Possible flush instability in mantle convection at the Archaean–Proterozoic transition. Nature 378, 608–610 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/378608a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/378608a0
This article is cited by
-
Widespread reworking of Hadean-to-Eoarchean continents during Earth’s thermal peak
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Mesoscale structures in the transition zone: Dynamical consequences of boundary layer activities
Earth, Planets and Space (2014)
-
Parameterized thermal model of a mixed mantle convection
Acta Seismologica Sinica (1999)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
