The progressive onset and evolution of Precambrian subduction and plate tectonics

The regime of plate tectonics on early Earth is one of the fundamental problems in Earth sciences.Precambrian era takes the majority(ca.88%)of Earth’s history and thus plays a key role in understanding the onset of plate tectonics and the mechanism,distribution and process of Precambrian subduction zones.This paper presents a review on the progresses of subduction and subduction zones in different stages of Precambrian era,and sorts out some key issues and fields that merits further attention.We suggest that there was progressive onset and evolution of subduction and plate tectonics from Archean to Proterozoic eras.We emphasize the importance of comprehensive studies on subduction mechanism,metamorphic type,plate tectonics regime,the compositional evolution of continental crust,and petrogenesis of diverse granitoids formed in the Archean.It is proposed that innovative analytical techniques,big data,experimental petrology and numerical geodynamic modeling will facilitate future studies of Precambrian subduction zones.