Evolution of the Earth 地球的发展演化.ppt

Chap. 8 - Origin of Continental Crust Main Topics Earth cooled sufficiently to permit formation of early continental (granitic) material Isotopic age dates within continents “cluster” suggesting several periods of “orogeny” Early continents seem to represent “partial melts” of andesitic volcanics or early sediments. Most of the present-day volume of continental material had formed by ~2.5 billion yrs. ago. Chap. 8 - Origin of Continental Crust Main Topics (cont.) Archean (3800 – 2500 Bya) rocks characterized by “greenstone” belts and texturally immature sediments (graywackes), largely form oceanic arcs. Suggesting plate tectonics may have started? Proterozoic (2500 – 540 Bya) rocks are texturally and compositionally mature, include chemical sediments (carbonates and evaporites). Stromatolites are present showing life had evolved while evaporites suggest that sea water had also evolved to its present composition Fig. 8.1 Evidence of Crustal Development from Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks Importance of Granite Rock-types surviving from early Cryptozic are mainly granitic in composition and they are arrangemed in highly deformed orogenic belts. This has led to hypothesis of continential accretion of early granitic masses into protocontinents and then continents. Evidence of Crustal Development from Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks However field evidence suggests that granitic continental crust was not original and must have increased in volume through time. Original crust was thin and mainly basalt. Weathering, erosion and igneous activity converted some of the original crust to granite to form embryonic continents. Embryonic continents persisted on surface of earth and accreted slowly to form larger continents. Fig. 8.10 Fig. 8.2 Fig. 8.6 Development of a Cryptozoic Chronology Age dating of ancient rocks showed patterns of old rocks bounded by younger rocks in patterns that suggested accretion of younger material onto a core of older, mostly granitic, rock. Thus the m