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Archean Tectonics

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

Crustal deformation; Early earth

Keywords

Archean, continents, crust, lithosphere, non-uniformitarian, plate tectonics, tectonics, thermal evolution of the Earth, TTG

Definition

Archean tectonics is the study of the formation, interaction, and deformation of the Earth’s continental and oceanic crust during early Earth history (the Archean Eon; ca. 4.0–2.5 Ga) and the driving forces behind these processes, including mantle plumes, subduction, and accretion/collision. This topic remains highly controversial due, in part, to a fragmentary rock record, but also to nonunique interpretations of complex geological datasets in the absence of actualistic plate configurations. Historically, Archean tectonics has been polarized into uniformitarian (i.e., analogous with modern, or Phanerozoic Earth) and non-uniformitarian views, but recent studies have favored modern Earth processes in the Archean, complicated by problems arising mainly from greater heat production and higher mantle...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mines and Petroleum, Geological Survey of Western Australia, 100 Plain St., East Perth, WA, 6004, Australia

    Dr. Martin Julian Van Kranendonk

Authors
  1. Dr. Martin Julian Van Kranendonk
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Correspondence to Martin Julian Van Kranendonk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Astrophysicist, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, BP 89, 33270, Floirac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Departamento de Planetología y Habitabilidad Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Campus Cantoblanco, Torrejón de Ardoz, 28049, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  3. Department of Astrophysics, Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) Ctra de Ajalvir km 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd. NW, Washington, DC, 20015, USA

    Henderson James (Jim) Cleaves II

  5. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Lederle Graduate Research, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9305, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. GEOTOP & Départment des Sciences de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

  7. Astrobiology, CNES/DSP/EU, 2 place Maurice-Quentin, 75039, Paris, France

    Michel Viso

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Van Kranendonk, M.J. (2011). Archean Tectonics. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_100

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