AbstractThe dominant tectonic mode operating on early Earth (before ca. 2.5 Ga) remains elusive, with an increasing body of evidence suggesting that non-plate tectonic modes were likely more prevalent at that time. Thus, how plate tectonics evolved aft…
AbstractWhere, when, and why large-scale shear zones nucleate and propagate into the continental lithosphere are critical issues that challenge the research in tectonics. The East Variscan shear zone is one of the crustal-scale strike-slip faults that …
AbstractOne of the major advances in mineral physics and seismology is the realization that different olivine fabric types are functions of temperature, shear stress, and water content in oceanic subducting systems. The distribution of different olivin…
AbstractOne of the major advances in mineral physics and seismology is the realization that different olivine fabric types are functions of temperature, shear stress, and water content in oceanic subducting systems. The distribution of different olivin…
AbstractThe Southwestern Laurentia large igneous province (SWLLIP) comprises voluminous, widespread ca 1.1 Ga magmatism in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The timing and tempo of SWLLIP magmatism and its relationship to other late M…
AbstractThe first occurrence of trilobites at ca. 520 Ma is an iconic feature of the Cambrian Explosion. Developing a robust evolutionary view on early Cambrian life is generally hindered by large uncertainties in the ages of fossil finds and their glo…
AbstractThe greenhouse gas methane (CH4) contributed to a warm climate that maintained liquid water and sustained Earth’s habitability in the Precambrian despite the faint young sun. The viability of methanogenesis (ME) in ferruginous environments, how…
AbstractThe biological nitrogen (N) cycle on early Earth is enigmatic because of limited data from Archean (meta-)sediments and the potential alteration of primary biotic signatures. Here we further investigate unusual 15N enrichments reported in 2.7 G…
AbstractAge-progressive seamount tracks generated by lithospheric motion over a stationary mantle plume have long been used to reconstruct absolute plate motion (APM) models. However, the basis of these models requires the plumes to move significantly …