Mantle convection modeling of the supercontinent cycle: Introversion,extroversion, or a combination?

The periodic assembly and dispersal of continental fragments, referred to as the supercontinent cycle, bear close relation to the evolution of mantle convection and plate tectonics. Supercontinent formation involves complex processes of ＂introversion＂ （closure of interior oceans）, ＂extroversion＂ （closure of exterior oceans）, or a combination of these processes in uniting dispersed continental fragments, Recent developments in numerical modeling and advancements in computation techniques enable us to simulate Earth＇s mantle convection with drifting continents under realistic convection vigor and rheology in Earth-like geometry （i.e., 3D spherical-shell）. We report a numerical simulation of 3D mantle convection, incorporating drifting deformable continents, to evaluate supercontinent processes in a realistic mantle convection regime. Our results show that supercontinents are assembled by a combi- nation of introversion and extroversion processes. Small-scale thermal heterogeneity dominates deep mantle convection during the supercontinent cycle, although large-scale upwelling plumes intermit- tently originate under the drifting continents and/or the supercontinent.

Tectonically asymmetric Earth:From net rotation to polarized westward drift of the lithosphere

The possibility of a net rotation of the lithosphere with respect to the mantle is generally overlooked since it depends on the adopted mantle reference frames, which are arbitrary. We review the geological and geophysical signatures of plate boundaries, and show that they are markedly asymmetric worldwide. Then we compare available reference frames of plate motions relative to the mantle and discuss which is at best able to fit global tectonic data. Different assumptions about the depths of hotspot sources （below or within the asthenosphere, which decouples the lithosphere from the deep mantle） predict different rates of net rotation of the lithosphere relative to the mantle. The widely used no-net-rotation （NNR） reference frame, and low （〈0.2°-0.4°/Ma） net rotation rates （deep hotspots source） predict an average net rotation in which some plates move eastward relative to the mantle （e.g., Nazca）. With fast （〉1°/Ma） net rotation （shallow hotspots source）, all plates, albeit at different velocity, move westerly along a curved trajectory, with a tectonic equator tilted about 30° relative to the geographic equator. This is consistent with the observed global tectonic asymmetries.

Did prolonged two-stage fragmentation of the supercontinent Kenorland lead to arrested orogenesis on the southern margin of the Superior province?

Recent geochronological investigations reinforce the early suggestion that the upper part of the Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup of Ontario, Canada is present in the Animikie Basin on the south shore of Lake Superior. These rocks, beginning with the glaciogenic Gowganda Formation, are interpreted as passive margin deposits. The absence of the lower Huronian （rift succession） from the Animikie Basin may be explained by attributing the oldest Paleoroterozoic rocks in the Animikie Basin （Chocolay Group） to deposition on the upper plate of a north-dipping detachment fault, which lacks sediments of the rift phase. Following thermal uplift that led to opening of the Huronian Ocean on the south side of what is now the Superior province, renewed uplift （plume activity） caused large-scale gravitational folding of the Huronian Supergroup accompanied by intrusion of the Nipissing diabase suite and Senneterre dikes at about 2.2 Ga. Termination of passive margin sedimentation is normally followed by ocean closure but in the Huronian and Animikie basins there was a long hiatus - the Great Stratigraphic Gap - which lasted for about 350 Ma. This hiatus is attributed to a second prolonged thermal uplift of part of Kenorland that culminated in complete dismemberment of the supercontinent shortly before 2.0 Ga by opening of the Circum-Superior Ocean. These events caused regional uplift （the Great Stratigraphic Gap） and delayed completion of the Huronian Wilson Cycle until a regional compressional tectonic episode, including the Penokean orogeny, belatedly flooded the southern margin of the Superior province with foreland basin deposits, established the limits of the Superior structural province and played an important role in constructing Laurentia.