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Eoarchean and Early Paleoarchean Crust of the Pilbara Craton

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Archean Evolution of the Pilbara Craton and Fortescue Basin

Part of the book series: Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences ((MASE,volume 24))

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Abstract

U–Pb zircon geochronology and Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf isotope data indicate that the Pilbara Craton includes Eoarchean sialic crust formed up to 270 million years before deposition of the greenstone succession (3530–3235 Ma Pilbara Supergroup). Dates on pre-3530 Ma xenocrystic zircons in felsic igneous rocks and detrital zircons in Paleoarchean and Mesoarchean metasedimentary rocks suggest that this early crust evolved from about 3800 Ma. Zircon ages suggest episodic magmatic events at 3760–3700 Ma, c. 3650 Ma and 3590–3570 Ma. Negative ƐHf values from zircons that crystallized during these events, and Hf two-stage depleted mantle model ages, indicate derivation of melts from 4000 to 3800 Ma sources.

Zircon Lu–Hf isotope evidence indicates that 3530–3460 volcanics and granitic rocks were derived from more juvenile sources than applied to pre-3530 Ma felsic igneous rocks. This is interpreted to be evidence for an abrupt change in magma sources between 3550 and 3530 Ma, marking a major event in the early crustal evolution of the Pilbara Craton. The precise nature of this event is unclear, although one likely explanation is that uplift, crustal extension, and rifting of the 3800–3530 Ma crust was due to the arrival of the mantle plume that triggered eruption of the Pilbara Supergroup.

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    Arthur H. Hickman

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Hickman, A.H. (2023). Eoarchean and Early Paleoarchean Crust of the Pilbara Craton. In: Archean Evolution of the Pilbara Craton and Fortescue Basin. Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18007-1_2

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