Evolution of Archean Crust and Early Life presents an integrated approach to the study of the evolution of the Archean lithosphere, biosphere and atmosphere, and as such it is a unique contribution to our understanding of the early Earth and life. The structural and geochemical make-up of both the oceanic and continental crust of the Archean Earth is documented in some case studies of various cratons, and the implications of the Phanerozoic plate and plume tectonic processes for the Archean geology are discussed in several chapters in Evolution of Archean Crust and Early Life. All chapters are process-oriented and data-rich, and reflect the most recent knowledge and information on the Archean Earth.
The interdisciplinary approach of examining the evolution of the Archean crust, oceans, and life that we adopt in Evolution of Archean Crust and Early Life sets it apart from previous publications on Precambrian geology. Evolution of Archean Crust and Early Life will be attractive to researchers in academia and in industry, and to senior undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty in earth and natural sciences.
- Preface; Y. Dilek and H. Furnes
- Precambrian Greenstone Belts Host Different Ophiolite Types; H. Furnes; M. de Wit & Y. Dilek
- The Plume to Plate Transition: Hadean and Archean Crustal Evolution in the Northern Wyoming Province, U.S.A.; P. A. Mueller et al.
- The Archaean Karelia and Belomorian Provinces, Fennoscandian Shield; P. Hölttä et al.
- Archaean elements of the basement outliers west of the Scandinavian Caledonides in Northern Norway: architecture, evolution and possible correlation with Fennoscandia; S.G. Bergh et al.
- A review of the geodynamic significance of hornblende-bearing ultramafic rocks in the Mesoarchean Fiskenasset Complex, SW Greenland; Ali Polat
- The Precambrian Geology of the North China Craton: A review and update of the key issues; S. A. Wilde
- How to Make a Continent: Thirty-five Years of TTG Research Kent; C. Condie
- Recycling of lead at Neoarchean continental margins; J. Halla
- Crustal evolution and deformation in a non-plate-tectonic Archaean Earth: Comparisons with Venus; L. Harris & Jean H Bedard
- Accreted turbidite fans and remnant ocean basins in Phanerozoic orogens: A template for a significant Precambrian crustal growth and recycling process; D. A. Foster et al.
- Biogenicity of Earth's Earliest Fossils; J. William Schopf et al.
- In situ morphologic, elemental and isotopic analysis of Archean life; D. Wacey
- Archaean soils, lakes and springs: looking for signs of life; A. T. Brasier
- Rare earth elements in stromatolites - Evidence that modern terrestrial stromatolites fractionate rare earth elements during incorporation from ambient waters; K. H. Johannesson et al.