Are Wilson Cycles preserved in Archean cratons? A comparison of the North China and Slave cratons

Abstract

A review and comparison of the tectonic history of the North China and Slave cratons reveal that the two cratons have many similarities and some significant differences. The similarities rest in the conclusion that both cratons have a history of a Wilson Cycle, having experienced rifting of an old continent in the late Archean, development of a rift to passive margin sequence, collision of this passive margin with arcs within 100-200 Ma of the formation of the passive margin, reversal of subduction polarity, then eventual climactic collision with another arc terrane, microcontinental fragment, or continent. This cycle demonstrates the operation of Paleozoic-style plate tectonics in the late Archean. The main differences lie in the later tectonic evolution. The Slave's post-cratonization history is dominated by subduction dipping away from the interior of the craton, and later incorporation into the interior of a larger continent, whereas the North China Craton has had a long history of subduction beneath the craton, including presently being located above the flat-lying Pacific slab resting in the mantle transition zone, placing it in a broad back-arc setting, with multiple mantle hydration events and collisions along its borders. The hydration enhances melting in the overlying mantle, and leads to melts migrating upwards to thermochemically erode the lithospheric root. This major difference may explain why the relatively small Slave craton preserves its thick Archean lithospheric root, whereas the eastern North China Craton has lost it.Résumé : Une étude comparative de l'historique tectonique des cratons de Chine septentrionale et des Esclaves révèle qu'ils ont plusieurs points en commun mais aussi des différences significatives. Pour ce qui est des similitudes, les deux cratons ont connu un cycle de Wilson, ayant en effet subi la distension d'un ancien continent à l'Archéen tardif, le développement d'une séquence de distension à bordure passive, la collision de cette bordure passive avec des arcs, moins de 100-200 Ma après sa formation, le renversement de la polarité de subduction, puis l'éventuelle collision climacique avec un autre terrane d'arc, un fragment de microcontinent ou un continent. Cela démontre le fonctionnement de la tectonique des plaques, de style Paléozoïque, à l'Archéen tardif. Les différences principales se trouvent dans la suite de l'évolution tectonique. L'historique post-cratonisation du craton des Esclaves est dominé par une subduction dont le pendage s'éloigne de l'intérieur du craton, puis par son incorporation à l'intérieur d'un grand continent. Par contre, le craton de Chine septentrionale a un long historique de subduction sous le craton, incluant le fait qu'il est actuellement situé au-dessus de la dalle couchée à plat du Pacifique, dans la zone de transition du manteau, le plaçant dans un vaste environnement d'arrière-arc, avec de nombreux épisodes d'hydratation et de collisions le long de ses bordures. L'hydratation contribue à la fusion dans le manteau sus-jacent et soutient la ...

Geological Evidence for the Operation of Plate Tectonics throughout the Archean: Records from Archean Paleo-Plate Boundaries

“…Similar integration of geophysical and geological data has revealed fossil, or paleo-subduction zones in the Archean Yilgarn (Fig. 4d), North China, and Slave cratons (Kusky et al, 2014a;Kusky, 2011;Cook et al, 1999).…”

Origin, Accretion, and Reworking of Continents

“…172,500 km 2 . Its history spans the interval from 3.48 Ga to 2.6-2.5 Ga, with most of the volcanic and sedimentary rocks formed between 2.7 and 2.65 Ga through oceanic subduction and arc accretion (Kusky, 1989;Kusky et al, 2013).…”

“…This led researchers to speculate a cause-and-result relationship between plate tectonics and felsic continental crust (e.g., Hastie et al, 2016;Tang et al, 2016), but controversy has surrounded the issue of whether plate tectonics or continents first appeared on the Earth. Researchers regarding continents as a result of plate tectonics argue that plate tectonics began on Earth probably during the Hadean or Eoarchean time, before the generation of felsic continental crust from island arcs under the plate tectonics regime (Arndt, 2013;de Wit, 1998;Furnes et al, 2009;Greber et al, 2017;Grosch & Slama, 2017;Harrison, 2009;Hastie et al, 2016;Jackson & Fyon, 1991;Kerrich & Polat, 2006;Kusky et al, 2013;Langford & Morin, 1976;Leat & Larter, 2003;Martin, 1999;Martin & Moyeno, 2002;Martin et al, 2009Martin et al, , 2014Nutman et al, 2015;Turner et al, 2014;Wyman, 2013). In contrast, another school of thought believes that the felsic continental crust formed long before the start of plate tectonics.…”

“…172,500 km 2 . Its history spans the interval from 3.48 to 2.6-2.5 Ga, with most of the volcanic and sedimentary rocks formed between 2.7 and 2.65 Ga through oceanic subduction and arc accretion (Kusky, 1989;Kusky et al, 2013). Although initially described as a uniform granite-greenstone terrane, the Slave province is more recently viewed as a tectonic collage consisting of a Mesoarchean micro-continental nucleus enlarged by the addition of Neoarchean juvenile terranes.…”

Dynamic cause of marginal lithospheric thinning and implications for craton destruction: a comparison of the North China, Superior, and Yilgarn cratons

“…This subduction caused the magmatism, deformation and mantle hydration in the eastern NCC during 200-100 Ma (Niu 2005;Kusky et al 2007). Significant tectonic regime change of the eastern NCC happened in the late Jurassic to early Cretaceous, when the convergence dominated regime switched to an extensional regime (Menzies and Xu 1998;Kusky et al 2014a). In the early Tertiary, the collision between India and Eurasia together with the rollback of the Izanagi plate may have caused the deformation of Shanxi-Shaanxi Rift and Yinchuan-Hetao Rift in the western NCC (Xu 2007).…”