Surface erosion events controlled the evolution of plate tectonics on Earth

Plate tectonics is among the most important geological processes on Earth, but its emergence and evolution remain unclear. Here we extrapolate models of present-day plate tectonics to the past and propose that since about three billion years ago the rise of continents and the accumulation of sedimen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2019-06, Vol.570 (7759), p.52-57
Main Authors: Sobolev, Stephan V., Brown, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/2151/210
704/2151/2809
704/2151/562
Analysis
Boundaries
Control
Earth
Erosion
Erosion control
Evolution
Friction
Geological processes
Geology
Global glaciations
Growth
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hypotheses
Influence
Lithosphere
Lubrication
multidisciplinary
Natural history
Plate tectonics
Rheology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sediments
Sediments (Geology)
Shear strength
Soil erosion
Subduction (geology)
Subduction zones (Geology)
Tectonics
Trenches
Velocity
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Summary:Plate tectonics is among the most important geological processes on Earth, but its emergence and evolution remain unclear. Here we extrapolate models of present-day plate tectonics to the past and propose that since about three billion years ago the rise of continents and the accumulation of sediments at continental edges and in trenches has provided lubrication for the stabilization of subduction and has been crucial in the development of plate tectonics on Earth. We conclude that the two largest surface erosion and subduction lubrication events occurred after the Palaeoproterozoic Huronian global glaciations (2.45 to 2.2 billion years ago), leading to the formation of the Columbia supercontinent, and after the Neoproterozoic ‘snowball’ Earth glaciations (0.75 to 0.63 billion years ago). The snowball Earth event followed the ‘boring billion’—a period of reduced plate tectonic activity about 1.75 to 0.75 billion years ago that was probably caused by a shortfall of sediments in trenches—and it kick-started the modern episode of active plate tectonics. The rise of continents and the accumulation of sediments in trenches since about three billion years ago has had a crucial role in the emergence and evolution of plate tectonics on Earth.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/s41586-019-1258-4