Titanium isotope constraints on the mafic sources and geodynamic origins of Archean crust

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  • L. Hoare
  • L. J. A. Rzehak
  • S. Kommescher
  • M. Jansen
  • Rosing, Minik Thorleif
  • T. Nagel
  • M.-A. Millet
  • J. E. Hoffmann
  • R. O. C. Fonseca

The timing and formation of Earth’s first continents during the Archean are subjects of significant debate. By examining titanium isotope variations in Archean Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite (TTG) rocks and using advanced thermodynamic modelling, we can narrow down the processes involved and emphasise the role of mafic precursor compositions. In our study of Eoarchean Isua metabasalts and Itsaq tonalites in southern West Greenland, we observed a pattern of increasing Ti isotope enrichment with higher SiO2 content, resembling the compositions found in modern subduction zone rocks. Our modelling suggests that the Ti isotope variations in TTGs can be best explained by a combination of partial melting of low TiO2 metabasalts and subsequent crystallisation of tonalitic magmas, resulting in heavier Ti isotopes. This means that Ti isotopes help us distinguish the contributions of various mafic sources and fractional crystallisation during TTG formation. In the case of Itsaq tonalites and many other Eoarchean TTGs, low TiO2 tholeiitic metabasalts with arc-like characteristics likely represent the mafic source rocks, suggesting the formation of some of Earth’s earliest continental crust within a proto-subduction zone setting.

Original languageEnglish
JournalGeochemical Perspectives Letters
Volume28
Pages (from-to)37-42
Number of pages6
ISSN2410-339X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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© 2023 The Authors Published by the European Association of Geochemistry.

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