The Earth is the only known planet where plate tectonics is active, and different studies have
concluded that plate tectonics commenced at times from the early Hadean to 700 Ma. Many …

This work examines the global distribution of Archaean and modern igneous rock's
compositions, without relying on preconceptions about the link between rock compositions …

Zircon is the most useful mineral for studies in U-Pb geochronology and Hf and O isotope
geochemistry. Matrix effect is a major problem of the microbeam techniques such as SIMS …

Northeast (NE) China is characterized by immense volumes of granitic rocks, exposed over
an area of∼ 200,000 km2. Although the precise geochronological framework was not clear …

Abstract The South China Craton consists of the Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks that were
welded together along the Jiangnan Fold Belt in the Neoproterozoic. The Neoproterozoic …

Models for the growth of continental crust rely on knowing the balance between the
generation of new crust and the reworking of old crust throughout Earth's history. The …

Granitoids are a major component of the continental crust. They play a pivotal role in its
evolution, either by adding new material (continental growth), or by reworking older …

Continental crust is the archive of Earth history. The spatial and temporal distribution of
Earth's record of rock units and events is heterogeneous; for example, ages of igneous …

At low temperatures (< 750 C at moderate to high crustal pressures), the production of
sufficient melt to reach the melt connectivity transition (∼ 7 vol%), enabling melt drainage …

Metals such as Cu, Mo, Au, Sn, and W in porphyry and related epithermal mineral deposits
are derived predominantly from the associated magmas, via magmatic–hydrothermal fluids …