Passive margins in accreting Archaean archipelagos signal continental stability promoting early atmospheric oxygen rise

Yaying Peng, Timothy Kusky (), Lu Wang (), Zhikang Luan, Chuanhai Wang, Xuanyu Liu, Yating Zhong and Noreen J. Evans
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Yaying Peng: China University of Geosciences
Timothy Kusky: China University of Geosciences
Lu Wang: China University of Geosciences
Zhikang Luan: China University of Geosciences
Chuanhai Wang: China University of Geosciences
Xuanyu Liu: China University of Geosciences
Yating Zhong: China University of Geosciences
Noreen J. Evans: John de Laeter Centre, Curtin University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Significant changes in tectonic style and climate occurred from the late Archaean to early Proterozoic when continental growth and emergence provided opportunities for photosynthetic life to proliferate by the initiation of the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). In this study, we report a Neoarchaean passive-margin-type sequence (2560–2500 million years ago) from the Precambrian basement of China that formed in an accretionary orogen. Tectonostratigraphic and detrital zircon analysis reveal that thermal subsidence on the backside of a recently amalgamated oceanic archipelago created a quiet, shallow water environment, marked by deposition of carbonates, shales, and shallow water sediments, likely hosts to early photosynthetic microbes. Distinct from the traditional understanding of passive margins generated by continental rifting, post-collisional subsidence of archipelago margins represents a novel stable niche, signalling initial continental maturity and foreshadowing great changes at the Archaean-Proterozoic boundary.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35559-w

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