Evolution of the Lithosphere

It is known at present that the solar system has developed from a rotating discoid nebula (stellisk). Temperature and pressure in the inner region were about 1,400 K 

Element Symbol Half-life Emission Original name 

The way to study the crustal evolution is related to the appearance of the oldest terrestrial rocks of about 3.8 billion years old (see Box 1 and Degens, 1989, for further details). 

Element Atomic number Relative abundance(atoms/10 atoms of Si) 

CAR0ONATION COOLING magrnas COOLING ultrabasic magmas 

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The equilibrium model allows certain inferences to be drawn concerning the geochemical environment which might have existed when sediments were formed, from knowledge of the thermodynamic properties of these sediments today. Thus, one can speculate about the evolution of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere, by assuming that equilibrium states were approached at various stages in geological history. 

Schulze D. J. (1995) Low-Ca garnet harzburgites from Kimberley, South Africa abundance and bearing on the structure and evolution of the lithosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 100(12), 513-526. 

Hirth G. and Kohlstedt D. L. (1996) Water in the oceanic upper mantle implications for rheology, melt extraction and the evolution of the lithosphere. Earth Planet. Set Lett. 144, 93-108. 

Kempton P. D., Fitton J. G., Hawkesworth C. J., and Ormerod D. S. (1991) Isotopic and trace element constraints on the composition and evolution of the lithosphere beneath the southwestern United States. J. Geophys. Res. 96, 13713-13735. 

The co-ordinated Kaapvaal Project geochron-ological studies of crustal and mantle xenoliths reveal that both crust and mantle have experienced a multi-stage history, and that a simple view of cratonization as a discrete event is not a viable model for craton formation (Schmitz et al. 1998 Schmitz Bowring 2000 Moser et al. 2001). The lower crust in particular retains a comprehensive record of the tectonothermal evolution of the lithosphere. The study of lower-crustal samples has shown that much of the deep craton experienced a dynamic and protracted history of tectonothermal activity that is temporally associated with events seen in the surface record, including late Archaean magmatism (Ventersdorp) and even Proterozoic deformation (Namaqua-Natal) (Schmitz et al. 1998). Thermal events are... 

Huang, Y., van Calsteren, P. Hawkesworth, C. 1995. The evolution of the lithosphere in southern Africa a perspective on the basic granulite xeno-liths from the kimberlites in South Africa. Geo-chimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 4905-4920. 

Fig. 5. Thermal evolution of the lithosphere along a cross-section of Africa through 34°E. Arrow shows the location of the plume relative to the northward-moving African plate since 45 Ma. It should be noted that lithosphere cools as y/t south of plume, as we have placed no restriction on maximum thickness of the continental lithosphere. The long-term effect of the plume heating can be crudely estimated, if we assume that a 40 km equivalent thickness of material that is 200 K hotter than normal mantle, and with specific heat 4 x 106 JK m", ponds beneath a craton every 300 Ma. The mantle heat flow is increased by 3.4 mWm, or 20-25% of typical mantle heat flow from cratonal areas (e.g. Jaupart et al. 1998). (b) Thickness of plume material ponded beneath lithosphere 45 Ma after plume onset.

Sen, G., Frey, F.A., Schimizu, N., and Leeman, W.P., 1993. Evolution of the lithosphere beneath Oahu, Hawaii rare earth element abundances in mantle xenoliths. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 119, 53-69. 

Kaneoka I, Takaoka N (1991) Evolution of the lithosphere and its interaction with the underlying mantle as inferred from noble gas isotopes. Austraian J Earth Sci 38 559-567... 

Baer AJ (1981) Geotherms - evolution of the lithosphere and plate tectonics. Tectonophysics 72 203-227 Bailey SW (1963) Polymorphism of kaolin minerals. Am Mineralogist 48 1196-1209 Bailey SW, Brown BE (1962) Chlorite polytypism. I. Regular and semirandom one-layer structures. Am Mineralogist 47 819-850... 

As discussed in the seminal paper by England and Molnar (1990) paleoelevation reflects the combined chemical and physical state of the lithosphere, including thicknesses, thermal structure and bulk chemistry. Tectonic processes such as lithospheric delamination and growth of mountain ranges through either collisional orogenesis or arc evolution may gradually or abruptly... 

Schildgen TF, Hodges KV, Whipple KX, Reiners PW, Pringle MS (2007) Uplift of the Altiplano and Western Cordillera revealed through canyon incision history, Southern Peru. Geology 35 523-537 Schmitz MD, Bowring SA (2003) Constraints on the thermal evolution of continental lithosphere from U-Pb accessory mineral thermochronometry of lower crustal xenoliths, southern Africa. Contrib Mineral Petrol... 

Beccaluva L, Bianchini G, Coltorti M, Perkins WT, Siena F, Vaccaro C, Wilson M (2001) Multistage evolution of the European lithospheric mantle new evidence from Sardinian peridotite xenoliths. Contrib Mineral Petrol 142 284-297... 

Lanzafame G, Bousquet JC (1997) The Maltese escarpment and its extension from Etna to the Aeolian Islands (Sicily) importance and evolution of a lithospheric discontinuity. Acta Vulcanol 9 113-120 Lardini D, Nappi G (1987) I cicli eruttivi del complesso vulcanico Cimino. Rend Soc It Mineral Petrol 42 141-153... 

Synopsis of the origin and evolution of the hydrosphere-atmosphere-sedimentary lithosphere... 

SYNOPSIS OF THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF THE HYDROSPHERE-ATMOSPHERE-SEDIMENTARY LITHOSPHERE... 

McDonough W. F. et al. (1985) Isotopic and geochemical systematics in Tertiary-Recent basalts from southeastern Australia and implications for the evolution of the subcontinental lithosphere. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49, 2051-2067. 

Peters T. J., Nicolas A., and Coleman R. G. (eds.) (1991) Ophiolite Genesis and Evolution of the Oceanic Lithosphere Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, Boston, London, 903pp. 

Pearson D. G. (1999b) Evolution of cratonic lithospheric mantle an isotopic perspective. In Mantle Petrology Field Observations and High Pressure Experimentation (eds. Y. Fei, C. M. Bertka, and B. O. Mysen). The Geochemical Society, Houston, vol. 6, pp. 57—78. 

Stosch H. G. and Lugmair G. W. (1986) Trace element and Sr and Nd isotope geochemistry of peridotite xenoliths from the Eifel (West Germany) and their bearing on the evolution of the sub-continental lithosphere. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 80, 281-298. 

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