Ramírez-Salazar,, A, Zuo, J, Müller, T et al. (8 more authors) (2022) Reply to Comment by A.P. Nutman et al. on “Tectonics of the Isua Supracrustal Belt 1: P-T-X-d Constraints of a Poly-Metamorphic Terrane” by A. Ramírez-Salazar et al. and “Tectonics of the Isua Supracrustal Belt 2: Microstructures Reveal Distributed Strain in the Absence of Major Fault Structures” by J. Zuo et al. Tectonics, 41 (5). e2021TC007148. ISSN 1944-9194
Abstract
Structural and metamorphic analyses from the works under discussion (Ramírez-Salazar et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006516; Zuo et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006514) show that the Isua supracrustal rocks can be interpreted to record one single deformation and metamorphic event featuring quasi-homogeneous deformation and amphibolite facies metamorphism, followed by late static retrogression or thermal event(s). Observed deformation and metamorphic records are consistent with three hypotheses: (a) they represent Neoarchean plate tectonic overprints following Eoarchean plate tectonic evolution (e.g., Nutman et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021TC007036); (b) they represent Eoarchean heat-pipe and/or plate tectonic deformation that survived later tectonic event(s) (e.g., Ramírez-Salazar et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006516; Zuo et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006514), and; (c) they represent one major Neoarchean tectonic event, such that the Isua supracrustal belt (ISB) records Eoarchean protolith-related processes but does not record Eoarchean metamorphism nor deformation. While a heat-pipe model for crustal formation is central to hypothesis 2, it is also a viable crustal formation mechanism for hypothesis 3 where the ISB would still form in a heat-pipe setting in Eoarchean time, but the major deformation of the heat-pipe lithosphere happened during Neoarchean time, probably by (proto-)plate tectonic processes. If the data presented in Zuo et al. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006514 and Ramírez-Salazar et al. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020tc006516 only reflect Neoarchean histories, then these cannot be used to refute or support any Eoarchean geodynamic background for the formation of the ISB.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Wiley Periodicals LLC. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Archean tectonics; Isua supracrustal belt; Heat-Pipe tectonics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Inst of Geophysics and Tectonics (IGT) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Apr 2022 10:35 |
Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2024 10:26 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
Identification Number: | 10.1029/2021tc007148 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:186067 |