Cold deep subduction recorded by remnants of a Paleoproterozoic carbonated slab

Nature Communications
Cheng XuYingwei Fei

Abstract

The absence of low-thermal gradients in old metamorphic rocks (<350 °C GPa-1) has been used to argue for a fundamental change in the style of plate tectonics during the Neoproterozoic Era. Here, we report data from an eclogite xenolith in Paleoproterozoic carbonatite in the North China craton that argues for cold subduction as early as 1.8 Ga. The carbonatite has a sediment-derived C isotope signature and enriched initial Sr-Nd isotope composition, indicative of ocean-crust components in the source. The eclogite records peak metamorphic pressures of 2.5-2.8 GPa at 650-670 °C, indicating a cold thermal gradient, 250(±15) °C GPa-1. Our data, combined with old low-temperature events in the West African and North American cratons, reveal a global pattern that modern-style subduction may have been established during the Paleoproterozoic Era. Paleoproterozoic carbonatites are closely associated with granulites and eclogites in orogens worldwide, playing a critical role in the Columbia supercontinent amalgamation and deep carbon cycle through time.

References

Jan 17, 2003·Nature·Stephen F FoleyDorrit E Jacob
Jan 8, 2016·Nature·Andrew R ThomsonRichard A Brooker
Apr 25, 2017·Science Advances·Cheng XuYingwei Fei

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Citations

Aug 22, 2020·Science Advances·Bo WanRoss N Mitchell
Apr 1, 2020·The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters·Sung Keun LeeJung-Fu Lin

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
electron microprobe
Orsay
X-ray

Software Mentioned

NCKFMASH
GLITTER
CAMECA SXFive
THERMOCALC

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