Record of mid-Archaean subduction from metamorphism in the Barberton terrain, South Africa

Jean-François Moyen (), Gary Stevens () and Alexander Kisters
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Jean-François Moyen: University of Stellenbosch
Gary Stevens: University of Stellenbosch
Alexander Kisters: University of Stellenbosch

Nature, 2006, vol. 442, issue 7102, 559-562

Abstract: Early signs of plate tectonics A News Feature in Nature of 13 July aired a controversy about the 'age' of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics shaped the world we see today, but the question of when it started is one that divides geologists. In this issue Moyen et al. make a strong case for the existence of subduction processes (a key component of plate tectonics) over 3 billion years ago, at a time at which the very existence of plate tectonics has been questioned. The evidence in this case comes from signs of high pressure, low temperature metamorphism 3.2 billion years ago in an Archaean mountain-belt, the Barberton greenstone belt in South Africa. This is the first clear indication of this type of activity in the mid-Archaean.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04972

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