Refnement of the supercontinent cycle with Hf, Nd and Sr isotopes

The combined use of Hf,Nd and Sr isotopes is more useful in understanding the supercontinent cycle than the use of only Hf isotopic data from detrital zircons.Sr and Nd seawater isotopes,although not as precise as εNd and εHf distributions,also record input from ocean ridge systems.Unlike detrital zircons where sources cannot be precisely located because of crustal recycling,both the location and tectonic setting often can be constrained for whole-rock Nd isotopic data.Furthermore,primary zircon sources may not reside on the same continent as derivative detrital zircons due to supercontinent breakup and assembly.Common to all of the isotopic studies are geographic sampling biases reflecting outcrop distributions,river system sampling,or geologists,and these may be responsible for most of the decorrelation observed between isotopic systems.Distributions between 3.5 and 2 Ga based on εHf median values of four detrital zircon databases as well as our compiled εNd database are noisy but uniformly distributed in time,whereas data between 2 and 1 Ga data are more tightly clustered with smaller variations.Grouped age peaks suggest that both isotopic systems are sampling similar types of orogens.Only after 1 Ga and before 3.5 Ga do we see wide variations and significant disagreement between databases,which may partially reflect variations in both the number of sample locations and the number of samples per location.External and internal orogens show similar patterns in εNd and εHfwith age suggesting that both juvenile and reworked crustal components are produced in both types of orogens with similar proportions.However,both types of orogens clearly produce more juvenile isotopic signatures in retreating mode than in advancing mode.Many secular changes in εHf and εNd distributions correlate with the supercontinent cycle.Although supercontinent breakup is correlated with short-lived decreasing εHf and εNd （≤ 100 Myr） for most supercontinents,there is no isotopic evidence for the breakup of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent Nuna.Assembly of supercontinents by extroversion is recorded by decreasing εNd in granitoids and metasediments and decreasing εHf in zircons,attesting to the role of crustal reworking in external orogens in advancing mode.As expected,seawater Sr isotopes increase and seawater Nd isotopes decrease during supercontinent assembly by extroversion.Pangea is the only supercontinent that has a clear isotopic record of introversion assembly,during which median εNd and εHf rise rapidly for ≤ 100 Myr.Although expected to increase,radiogenic seawater Sr decreases （and seawater Nd increases） during assembly of Pangea,a feature that may be caused by juvenile input into the oceans from new ocean ridges and external orogens in retreating mode.The fact that a probable onset of plate tectonics around 3 Ga is not recorded in isotopic distributions may be due the existence of widespread felsic crust formed prior to the onset of plate tectonics in a stagnant lid tectonic regime,as supported by Nd and Hf model ages.

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.

Evolution of stress fields during the supercontinent cycle

We investigate the evolution of stress fields during the supercontinent cycle using the 2D Cartesian geometry model of thermochemical convection with the non-Newtonian rheology in the presence of floating deformable continents.In the course of the simulation,the supercontinent cycle is implemented several times.The number of continents considered in our model as a function of time oscillates around 3.The lifetime of a supercontinent depends on its dimension.Our results suggest that immediately before a supercontinent breakup,the over-lithostatic horizontal stresses in it(referring to the mean value by the computational area)are tensile and can reach-250 MPa.At the same time,a vast area beneath a supercontinent with an upward flow exhibits clearly the over-lithostatic compressive horizontal stresses of 50-100 МРа.The reason for the difference in stresses in the supercontinent and the underlying mantle is a sharp difference in their viscosity.In large parts of the mantle,the over-lithostatic horizontal stresses are in the range of±25 MPa,while the horizontal stresses along subduction zones and continental margins are significantly larger.During the process of continent-to-continent collisions,the compressive stresses can approximately reach 130 MPa,while within the subcontinental mantle,the tensile over-lithostatic stresses are about-50 MPa.The dynamic topography reflects the main features of the su-percontinent cycle and correlates with real ones.Before the breakup and immediately after the disin-tegration of the supercontinent,continents experience maximum uplift.During the supercontinent cycle,topographic heights of continents typically vary within the interval of about±1.5 km,relatively to a mean value.Topographic maxima of orogenic formations to about 2-4 km are detected along continent-to-continent collisions as well as when adjacent subduction zones interact with continental margins.

Key Dolerite Dyke Swarms of Amazonia:U-Pb Constraints on Supercontinent Cycles and Geodynamic Connections with Global LIP Events Through Time

High-resolution U–Pb(ID-TIMS,baddeleyite)ages are presented for mafic dykes from selected swarms in two important Amazonian regions:the Carajás Province in the east,and the Rio Apa block in the southwest–areas

Speculations on the mechanisms for the formation and breakup of supercontinents

The supercontinent cycle has had a profound effect on the Earth＇s evolution since the Late Archean but our understanding of the forces responsible for its operation remains elusive.Supercontinents appear to form by two end-member processes：extroversion,in which the oceanic lithosphere surrounding the supercontinent（exterior ocean） is preferentially subducted（e.g.Pannotia）,and introversion in which the oceanic lithosphere formed between dispersing fragments of the previous supercontinent（interior ocean） is preferentially subducted（e.g.Pangea）.Extroversion can be explained by ＂top-down＂ geodynamics, in which a supercontinent breaks up over a geoid high and amalgamates above a geoid low. Introversion,on the other hand,requires that the combined forces of slab-pull and ridge push（which operate in concert after supercontinent break-up） must be overcome in order to enable the previously dispersing continents to turn inward.Introversion may begin when subduction zones are initiated along boundaries between the interior and exterior oceans and become trapped within the interior ocean.We speculate that the reversal in continental motion required for introversion may be induced by slab avalanche events that trigger the rise of superplumes from the core-mantle boundary.

True polar wander in the Earth system

True polar wander(TPW),or planetary reorientation,is the rotation of solid Earth(crust and mantle)about the liquid outer core in order to stabilize Earth’s rotation due to mass redistribution.Although TPW is well-documented on Earth presently with satellites and for multiple planets and moons in the Solar System,the prevalence of TPW in Earth history remains contentious.Despite a history of controversy,both the physical plausibility of TPW on Earth and an empirical basis for it are now undisputed.Lingering resistance to the old idea likely stems from the fact that,like plate tectonics,TPW may influence much of the Earth system,thus acknowledging its existence requires rethinking how many different datasets are interpreted.This review summarizes the development of TPW as a concept and provides a framework for future research that no longer regards TPW like a ghost process that may or may not exist,but as an integral part of the Earth system that can relate shallow and deep processes that are otherwise only mysteriously linked.Specifically,we focus on the temporal regularity of large TPW,and discuss its relationship with the supercontinent-megacontinent cycle based on previous studies.We suggest the assembly of megacontinents has a close linkage to large TPW.Meanwhile,supercontinent tenure and breakup have a close linkage to fast TPW.The effects of TPW on sea level changes,paleoclimate,biological diversity,and other facets of the Earth system are presented and require interdisciplinary tests in the future.