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Archean Eon

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

Precambrian

Definition

The Archean (Archaean in British English) is the second major period in geological history. Preceded by the Hadean and followed by the Proterozoic, its start is usually taken as the age of the oldest preserved rocks, either the 4.0 Ga-old (Ga = 109 years = billion years) Acasta gneisses (Canada) or the 3.85–3.80 Ga-old Amitsôq gneisses (Greenland). The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS, Jan. 2013) sets its beginning at the Global Standard Stratigraphic Age of 4.0 Ga. The transition to the Proterozoic is typically taken at 2.5 Ga, which was thought to mark a major change in the Earth’s geodynamic style and corresponds roughly to the Great Oxygenation Event. The Archean thus encompasses an approximately 1.5-Ga-long period during which the oldest well-preserved rocks formed and life likely originated. Its tectonic style was different from today, with more abundant mantle plumes, greatly fragmented tectonic plates, and longer mid-oceanic ridges....

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Magmas et Volcans, Université Blaise Pascal, OPGC, CNRS, IRD, 5 rue Kessler, 63038, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Hervé Martin

  2. GEOTOP Research Center for Geochemistry and Geodynamics, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, H3C 3P8, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

Authors
  1. Hervé Martin
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  2. Daniele L. Pinti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hervé Martin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Martin, H., Pinti, D.L. (2014). Archean Eon. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_98-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_98-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Archean Eon
    Published:
    23 November 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_98-4

  2. Original

    Archean Eon
    Published:
    06 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_98-3

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