Earth as an Evolving Planetary System

Front Cover
Earth as an Evolving Planetary System
Copyright
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Earth as a planetary system
	Structure of Earth
	Plate tectonics
	Is the Earth unique?
	Interacting Earth subsystems
	Great events in Earth history
	Further reading
Chapter 2: The crust
	Introduction
	Seismic crustal structure
		The Moho
		Crustal layers
	Crustal types
		Oceanic crust
			Seismic features
			Ocean ridges
			Ocean basins
			Volcanic islands
			Trenches
			Back-arc basins
		Transitional crust
			Oceanic plateaus
			Arcs
			Continental rifts
			Inland-sea basins
		Continental crust
			Shields and platforms
			Orogens
	Continent size
	Heat flow and heat production
		Heat flow distribution
		Heat production and heat flow in the continents
		Age dependence of heat flow
	Exhumation and cratonization
		Introduction
		Unraveling pressure-temperature-time histories
		Some typical P-T-t paths
		Cratonization
	Processes in the continental crust
		Rheology
		The role of fluids and crustal melts
	Crustal composition
		Approaches
		Seismic wave velocities
		Seismic reflections in the continental crust
		Sampling of Precambrian shields
		Fine-grained detrital sediments
		Exhumed crustal blocks
		Crustal xenoliths
		An estimate of crustal composition
			Continental crust
			Oceanic crust
			Complementary compositions of continental and oceanic crust
	Crustal provinces and terranes
	Crustal province and terrane boundaries
	The United Plates of America
	Further reading
Chapter 3: Tectonic settings
	Introduction
	Ocean ridges
		Ocean-ridge basalts
		Ophiolites
			General features
			Tectonic setting and emplacement
			Ophiolite production
			Precambrian ophiolites
	Tectonic settings related to mantle plumes
		Large igneous provinces
		Oceanic plateaus and aseismic ridges
		Rifted continental margins
		Continental flood basalts
		Hotspot volcanic islands
		Giant mafic dyke swarms
	Continental rifts
		General features
		Rock assemblages
		Rift development and evolution
	Cratons and passive margins
	Convergent margins
		Subduction-related rock assemblages
			Trenches
			Accretionary prisms
			Forearc basins
			Arcs
			Back-arc basins
			Remnant arcs
			Retroarc foreland basins
		Arc processes
		Flat slab subduction
		Convergent margin metamorphism
		Arc magmas
		Compositional variation of arc magmas
	Orogens
		Three types of orogens
			Collisional orogens
			Accretionary orogens
			Intracratonic orogens
		Temperature-magnitude classification
		Orogenic rock assemblages
		Tectonic elements of collisional orogens
		Sutures
		Foreland and hinterland basins
		The Himalayas
	Uncertain tectonic settings
		Anorogenic granites
			General features
			Massif anorthosites
			Tectonic setting
		Archean greenstones and granitoids
			General features
			Greenstone volcanics
			Greenstone sediments
			Granitoids
		Greenstone tectonic settings
	Mineral and energy deposits
		Introduction
		Mineral deposits
			Ocean ridges
			Arc systems
			Orogens
			Continental rifts and LIPs
			Cratons and passive margins
			Archean greenstones
		Energy deposits
	Further reading
Chapter 4: The mantle
	Introduction
	Seismic structure of the mantle
	Mantle tomography
	Geoid and density anomalies
	Temperature distribution in the mantle
	The lithosphere
		Introduction
		Seismic discontinuities and anisotropy
		Oceanic lithosphere
		Mantle xenoliths
		Continental lithosphere
			Chemical composition
			Thickness
			Subductability
			Delamination
			Age of subcontinental lithosphere
	The asthenosphere
	The Transition Zone
		The 410-km discontinuity
		The 520-km discontinuity
		The 660-km discontinuity
	The lower mantle
		General features
		Descending slabs
		The D″ layer
		Spin transitions
	Water in the mantle
	Plate driving forces
	Mantle plumes
		Introduction
		Hotspots
		Plume characteristics
		Tracking plume tails
		Plume sources
	Large low S-wave velocity provinces
	Mantle composition
		Introduction
		Identifying mantle components
			Summary
			Depleted mantle
			HIMU mantle
			Enriched mantle
			Helium isotopes
		Mixing regimes in the mantle
		Mantle oxidation
		Overview
	Convection in the mantle
		The nature of convection
		Passive ocean ridges
		Layered convection
		Toward a convection model for earth
	Further reading
Chapter 5: The core
	Introduction
	Core temperature
	The inner core
		Anisotropy of the inner core
		Inner-core rotation
	Composition of the core
	Age of the core
	Generation of Earth's magnetic field
		The geodynamo
		Fluid motions in the outer core
		Fueling the geodynamo
		How the geodynamo works
		What causes magnetic reversals
		A possible superchron-LIP event connection
	Origin of the core
		Segregation of iron in the mantle
		Siderophile element distribution in the mantle
		Growth and evolution of the core
	What the future holds
	Further reading
Chapter 6: Crustal and mantle evolution
	Introduction
	The Hadean
		Extinct radioactivity
		Hadean zircons
		Earth's primitive crust
		Composition of the primitive crust
		The late heavy bombardment
	Crustal origin
	Earth's oldest rocks
	Origin and growth of continents
		General features
		Growth by mafic underplating
		Oceanic plateaus and continental growth
		Oceanic arcs and continental growth
		Growth by plate collisions
		The role of TTGs
	Continental growth rates
		Introduction
	Freeboard
		Emergence of continents
		The role of recycling
			Overview
			Evidence for recycling
		Juvenile crust
			Introduction
			Oxygen isotopes
			Nd isotopes
			Hf isotopes in detrital zircons
			Model ages
		Growth or preservation
			Growth models
			Preservation models
			Continental growth in the last 200 Myr
			Continental growth in the last 4 Gyr
		Geographic distribution of juvenile continental crust
	Global changes at the end of the Archean
		Introduction
		Geochemical changes
			Major elements
			Incompatible trace elements
			Metals
			Granitoids
			Oxygen isotopes in detrital zircons and shales
			Mantle geochemical components
		The 2.4-2.2Ga crustal age gap
		In search of a cause
	Evolution of the subcontinental lithosphere
	The onset of plate tectonics
		Plate tectonic indicators
		Ophiolites in space and time
		Changing tectonic regimes at 1000Ma
		Can continental crust form without plate tectonics
		How did plate tectonics begin: Thermal constraints
		When did plate tectonics begin: The ongoing saga
			Introduction
			Constraints from the geologic record
		What came before plate tectonics
	Earth's thermal history
		Introduction
		How hot was the Archean mantle?
		Thermal models
	Further reading
Chapter 7: Earth cycles
	Introduction
		High-frequency cycles
		Mid-frequency cycles
		Low-frequency cycles
			General features
			Origin of low-frequency cycles
	Supercontinents
		Introduction
		Methods of supercontinent reconstruction
		Assembly of supercontinents
		Breakup of supercontinents
			The mantle plume model
			The mantle upwelling model
		Archean supercratons
		The story of three supercontinents
			Nuna (Columbia)
			Rodinia
			Gondwana-Pangea
			A possible future supercontinent
	The supercontinent cycle
		Introduction
		Episodic ages
		Patterns of cyclicity
		Plate speeds through time
		LIP events related to the supercontinent cycle
		Imprints of the supercontinent cycle on earth history
			Mineral deposit age patterns
			Sr isotopes in marine carbonates
			Sea level variations
			Supercontinents and evolution
	The carbon cycle
		Supercontinent formation
		Supercontinent breakup
		LIP events
	Epilogue
	Further reading
Chapter 8: The atmosphere and hydrosphere
	The modern atmosphere
	The primitive atmosphere
	The postcollision atmosphere
		Introduction
		Composition of the early atmosphere
		Growth rate of the atmosphere
		The faint young Sun paradox
		The Precambrian atmosphere
	The carbon cycle
	Oxygen makes its entrance
		Oxygen controls in the atmosphere
		Geologic indicators of ancient oxygen levels
			Banded iron formation
			Redbeds and sulfates
			Detrital uraninite deposits
			Uranium in shales
			Paleosols
			Biologic indicators
			Molybdenum in black shales
		Mass-independent sulfur isotope fractionation
		The growth of atmospheric oxygen
	The carbon isotope record
		General features
		The 2200 Ma carbon isotope excursion
	The sulfur isotope record
	Phanerozoic atmospheric history
	The hydrosphere
		Introduction
		Sea level
		The early oceans
		Changes in the composition of seawater with time
			Marine carbonates
			The dolomite-limestone problem
			Evaporites
			Banded iron formation
			The biochemical record of sulfur
			Sedimentary phosphates
		The temperature of seawater
		Ocean volume through time
		Euxinia in the Proterozoic oceans
	Paleoclimates
		Introduction
		Paleoclimatic indicators
		Long-term paleoclimate driving forces
		Glaciation
		An overview
		The snowball model
		Precambrian climatic regimes
		Phanerozoic climatic regimes
			Overview
			Glaciations
		The mid-Cretaceous LIP event
			General features
			Carbon isotopes and trace metals
			Seeking a cause
	Epilogue
	Further reading
Chapter 9: The biosphere
	Introduction
	The role of impacts
	The RNA world
	Hydrothermal vents and terrestrial hot springs
		A possible site for the origin of life
		Experimental and observational evidence
	The first life
	Evidence of early life
	Anoxygenic photosynthesis
	Oxygenic photosynthesis
	The tree of life
	The first fossils
	Possibility of extraterrestrial life
	Appearance of eukaryotes
	Origin of metazoans
	Stromatolites
	Neoproterozoic multicellular organisms
	The Cambrian Explosion
	Evolution of phanerozoic life forms
	Biological benchmarks
	Mass extinctions
		Introduction
		Episodic distributions
		Glaciation and mass extinction
		Impact-related extinctions
			Environmental changes
			Earth-crossing asteroids
			Comets
			General features
			Evidence for impact
			LIP volcanism
			Shallow-water anoxia
			Catastrophic methane release
			Summary
	The end Triassic extinction
		General features
		Evidence for impact
		LIP volcanism
		Chicxulub and the K/T impact site
		Possibility of multiple K/T impacts
		Conclusions
	Impact and a 580-Ma extinction
	Further reading
Chapter 10: Comparative planetary evolution
	Introduction
	Condensation and accretion of the planets
		The molecular cloud
		Emergence of planets
		Homogeneous accretion
		Chemical composition of Earth and Moon
		Accretion of Earth
		Magma oceans
		The first 700 million years
	Members of the solar system
		The planets
			Mercury
			Mars
				Overview
				Crustal dichotomy
				Surface features
				Martian composition
				SNC meteorites
				Martian history
			Venus
				In comparison to Earth
				Volcanism
				The Venusian core
				Tessera terrains and plateaus
				Thermal history
				An evolving stagnant lid regime
			The outer planets
		Satellites and planetary rings
			General features
			Planetary rings
			The Moon
				Overview of the Moon
				Constraints on Lunar origin
					Introduction
					The fission model
					Double planet models
					Capture models
					Giant impactor model
				Early thermal history of the Moon
				Rotational history of the Earth-Moon system
			Satellite origin
		Comets
		Asteroids
		Meteorites
			Introduction
			Chondrites
			Refractory inclusions and isotopic dichotomy
			Iron meteorites and parent body cooling rates
			Asteroid sources
			Meteorite chronology
	Volcanism in the solar system
	Planetary crusts
	Plate tectonics
	Mineral evolution
	Evolution of the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, and Mars
	The habitable zone in the solar system
	Comparative planetary evolution
	Extrasolar planets
		General features
		Distribution of extrasolar planets
		Super-Earths
	Further reading
References
Index
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