Early Neoarchean alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling

Early Neoarchean alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Early Neoarchean alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling Shuwen Liu, Peter Cawood, Jiachen Yao, Lei Gao, Rongrong Guo, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract How Earth switched from any earlier regimes such as plume-lid tectonics to plate tectonics remains an unresolved issue in Earth sciences. We report early Neoarchean (~ 2.77–2.68 Ga) metavolcanic rocks, including older calc-alkaline basaltic-andesitic rocks in the southwest but younger tholeiitic rocks in the northeast, from Jiaobei terrane, North China Craton. Genetic studies and thermodynamic and trace element modeling demonstrate that the tholeiitic magmas originated from deeper and unmodified mantle sources (~ 1600 ℃ and ~ 3.5 GPa), relative to the shallower and metasomatized mantle sources (~ 1450 ℃ and ~ 2.2 GPa) of calc-alkaline magmas. Geochemical changes indicate that the mantle sources became isotopically enriched but less metasomatized from southwest to northeast. These data suggest an early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime. We further depict a potential geodynamic framework for the early Neoarchean Earth involving active interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling, which possibly changed the thermal evolutionary trajectory of the Earth and accelerated the arrival of global plate tectonics. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geology/Precambrian geology Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geochemistry Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Introduction Archean thermodynamic regimes are crucial but unresolved issues in understanding the evolution of Earth 1 – 3 . Cooling of the mantle has been envisaged to result in increasing lithospheric strength that led to a transition to a regime involving horizontal motion of rigid plates (i.e., plate tectonics) from an earlier regime involving variably deformable lithosphere (i.e., squishy lid) into which plumes were emplaced and lithosphere was recycled, the latter possibly via drips 1,4−7 . The late Archean (~ 3.0-2.5 Ga) is often invoked as a time for this key transitional period of the Earth based on fundamental changes recognized in the rock archive, such as diversification of granitoid magmatism, appearance of paired metamorphic belts and passive margins, and emplacement of craton-wide mafic dykes indicating rigid lithosphere 3,8−10 . However, mantle plumes were still active through this period based on the occurrence of inferred plume-derived rocks such as komatiites, whose frequency peaked at ~ 2.7 Ga 11 . Therefore, the early Neoarchean geological records of the Earth may present overlapping and mixed signals involving both plate subduction and plume regimes. This paper documents the temporal and spatial distribution of these signals within the early Neoarchean (~ 2.77–2.68 Ga) metamorphosed basaltic to andesitic rock assemblages from the Jiaobei terrane of North China Craton (Fig. 1 ). Integrating the record of lateral evolution of lithological assemblages, chemical compositions, and thermal structure of their mantle sources, we provide the geological evidence for an interacting plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime. Then, through compilation of chemical data of coeval metavolcanic rocks from other parts of North China Craton and other cratons in the world, we find that such interaction operated globally, and outline how this impacted the thermal evolution of early Earth, accelerating the establishment of plate tectonics as the dominant regime by the late Neoarchean. Results Early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the Jiaobei terrane The Jiaobei terrane is located in the eastern part of the North China Craton (Fig. 1 a) 12 . It preserves a succession of late Archean (~ 2.9–2.5 Ga) basement rocks that were subjected to amphibolite and locally granulite facies metamorphism (Fig. 1 b and Supplementary Text 1) 13 – 15 . Dioritic and TTG gneisses are the main rock types 14 , 16 , and two episodes of metavolcanic rocks are also recognized in the terrane. The early metavolcanic rock assemblage, the Huangyandi Group, formed at ~ 2.9 Ga and consists mainly of amphibolites and biotite leptites 17 . A younger phase of metavolcanic rocks, the Jiaodong Group, are distributed widely through the terrane, formed at ~ 2.6–2.5 Ga, and consist of amphibolites, hornblende or biotite plagioclase gneisses, and locally mafic granulites 18 . A further suite of early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks are identified in the Jiaobei terrane and herein termed the Qixia Group (Fig. 1 b, Supplementary Figs. 1–2, and Supplementary Text 2). They are mainly interlayered sequences and extend from tens to hundred meters in width (Supplementary Fig. 1). They reveal a consistent north to south progression in lithological assemblages and chemical compositions (bulk rock geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf isotopic data are provided in Supplementary Tables 1–4). In the north Qixia area, the upper sequences of the metavolcanic rock suite consist chiefly of interlayered amphibolites and garnet amphibolites, and are locally transitional to hornblende granulites (Fig. 1 b and Supplementary Fig. 1a). The metavolcanic rocks in the south and southwest Qixia areas are dominated by biotite plagioclase gneisses with interlayered pyroxene plagioclase gneisses and amphibolites, which are the lower stratigraphic sequences relative to the upper sequences in the north Qixia area (Supplementary Fig. 1a-b). The amphibolites expose mainly in the southwest Qixia area (Fig. 1 b). Samples from the upper, northern sequences of the Qixia Group exhibit low SiO 2 (46.98–51.68 wt.%) and moderate to high MgO (4.65–9.46 wt.%), with Mg# (100*Mg/(Mg + Fe total ) in atomic ratio) of 41.00-58.04 (Supplementary Fig. 3a-b), which are attributed to tholeiitic basalt series of Group #1 (Fig. 2 a-b) 19 – 20 . They are characterized by generally flat chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns 21 with low (La/Sm) N (0.97–1.90) and (Sm/Yb) N (0.84–1.22) and weakly negative to positive Eu anomalies (Eu N /Eu N * = 0.79–1.06; Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3c). The primitive mantle-normalized trace element plot shows enrichment in Ba, Rb, and K, but mild depletion in Th, Nb, Ta, Ti, and P, with moderate (Nb/La) PM of 0.28–0.71 and (Hf/Sm) N of 0.70–0.99 (Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3d). The Zr/Nb ratios (14.91–28.21) are intervening between those of N- and E-MORBs (31.76 and 8.80, respectively) 21 . Zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses of samples 17YT06-3, 18QX72-1, and 18QX33-1 in this northern succession of the Qixia Group yield crystallization ages of ~ 2703 − 2677 Ma and εHf(t) values of -1.9 to + 3.6 (Fig. 2 d and Supplementary Figs. 4–6, Supplementary Texts 3–4). The older ~ 2700 Ma rocks show overall higher Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratios (11.92–20.13 versus 12.78–13.41) and less fractionated heavy REEs than the ~ 2680 Ma rocks. Amphibolites in the south and southwest Qixia areas have low SiO 2 (47.01–51.94 wt.%), and high MgO (7.91–11.35 wt.%) and Mg# (62.47–66.67) (Supplementary Fig. 3a-b). Compared with the tholeiitic rocks of Group #1, these rocks belong to the calc-alkaline basalt series (Group #2; Fig. 2 a-b), and have higher Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 of 11.99–32.93. Moreover, they show fractionated chondrite-normalized REE patterns 21 , with higher (La/Sm) N (1.62–2.56) and (Sm/Yb) N (1.57–4.31), and negative to weakly positive Eu anomalies (Eu N /Eu N * = 0.68–1.08, Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3e). On the primitive mantle-normalized trace element plot, they display enrichment in Ba, Rb, and K, and depletion in Th, Nb, Ta, Ti, and P, with lower (Nb/La) PM (0.12–0.16) and (Hf/Sm) N (0.40–0.62) but higher Zr/Nb (17.48–31.65) than those of Group #1 rocks (Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3f). Two amphibolite samples (18QX64-1 and 18QX68-1) of the Group #2 give older crystallization ages of ~ 2731 − 2716 Ma and higher zircon εHf(t) values of + 0.3 to + 6.9 (Fig. 2 d and Supplementary Figs. 4–6, and Supplementary Texts 3–4). In comparison, the biotite and pyroxene plagioclase gneisses show chemical affinities to the calc-alkaline andesitic rocks 19 – 20 , which are classified as the Group #3 (Fig. 2 a-b). The Group #3 samples have higher SiO 2 (52.99–66.73 wt.%) but lower MgO (1.64–5.42 wt.%) and Mg# (33.59–59.83) (Supplementary Fig. 3a-b), with similar Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratios (12.48–27.93) to those of Group #2 samples. These andesitic rocks are also characterized by fractionated chondrite-normalized REE patterns 21 , with the highest (La/Sm) N (2.23–5.06) and (Sm/Yb) N (2.72–6.42) and negative to slightly positive Eu anomalies (Eu N /Eu N * = 0.46–1.06, Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3g). They are also depleted in Nb, Ta, Ti, Sr, and P, but enriched in Ba, Rb, K, Zr, and Hf, with lower (Nb/La) PM of 0.08–0.50 but variable (Hf/Sm) N of 0.52–2.36 (Fig. 2 c and Supplementary Fig. 3h). One two-pyroxene plagioclase gneiss (19JB74-3) and six biotite plagioclase gneisses (17QX29-1/95 − 1, 18QX05-1/14 − 1/65 − 1, and 19JB33-1) of the Group #3 give older crystallization ages of ~ 2773 − 2700 Ma, with high zircon εHf(t) values ranging of + 0.8 to + 7.7 that are comparable with those of calc-alkaline basalts of Group #2 (Fig. 2 d and Supplementary Figs. 4–6, and Supplementary Texts 3–4). Thermodynamic and trace element modeling of the mantle sources Most major elements (e.g., MgO, FeO T , CaO, and Al 2 O 3 ) are correlated with SiO 2 for each group of samples (Supplementary Figs. 3 and 7a-c). Except for Na 2 O and K 2 O, other major oxides of the metabasaltic rocks fall on a 1:1 compositional line with representative Archean low grade metamorphosed basalts 4 , indicating that most major element compositions were not affected by metamorphic or alteration events (Supplementary Fig. 7d and Supplementary Text 5). The rare earth and high field strength elements are almost immobile, as attested by their linear correlations with element Zr (Supplementary Fig. 8). Therefore, the following discussions rely on these immobile major and trace elements. The tholeiitic rocks of Group #1 define a constant-Th/Nb trend on the Th/Yb-Nb/Yb plot, and no positive correlation exists between (Nb/La) PM and MgO (Fig. 3 a-b), suggesting negligible crustal contamination of the parental magmas 22 . The CaO and Eu N /Eu N * decrease with MgO, indicating some clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionation during magma evolution (Fig. 3 c-d) 23 . The (Nb/La) N , (Hf/Sm) N and Zr/Nb ratios of basaltic magmas are insensitive to fractional crystallization due to comparable partition coefficients of these elements 24 . Therefore, a combination of these trace element ratios and isotopic data of basaltic rocks are useful to unravel the nature of mantle sources. The tholeiitic rocks show variable (Nb/La) N (0.28–0.71) that are positively correlated with (Hf/Sm) N , which may be ascribed to either variable fluid-related metasomatism of the same mantle source or mixing between different mantle sources (Fig. 3 e). The latter is favored because the tholeiitic rocks have (1) variable zircon εHf(t) values of -1.9 to + 3.6 (Fig. 3 d); and (2) variable Zr/Nb ratios (14.91–28.21) that intervene between those of N- and E-MORBs (more depleted mantle will produce basaltic magmas with higher Zr/Nb ratios due to more incompatibility of Nb relative to Zr; Fig. 3 f) 24 – 25 . Trace element modeling in the (Nb/La) PM versus Zr/Nb plot also suggests that the tholeiitic magma of Group #1 was derived mainly from unmodified chondritic to slightly depleted mantle sources with ~ 10–30% of fluid-metasomatized depleted mantle materials (Fig. 3 f). The calc-alkaline basalts of Group #2 have higher Th/Yb ratios than that of the MORB-OIB array (Fig. 3 a). This feature could be resulted from mantle metasomatism, since crustal contamination may be essentially precluded by their high MgO (7.91–11.35 wt.%), constant (Nb/La) PM ratios, and positive zircon εHf(t) values (Figs. 2 d and 3 a-b). The decreasing CaO and Eu N /Eu N * with decreasing MgO indicate some clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionation (Fig. 3 c-d) 23 . Compared with the tholeiitic rock samples of Group #1, these calc-alkaline basalts show lower (Nb/La) N and (Hf/Sm) N (Fig. 3 e), indicating that the magma was most likely derived from a more extensive fluid-metasomatized mantle source 26 . They have higher Zr/Nb ratios of 17.48–31.61, close to that of N-MORB (Fig. 3 f) 25 . Together with the high zircon εHf(t) values (Fig. 2 d and Supplementary Table 4), the calc-alkaline magma of Group #2 samples was mainly derived from a depleted mantle source that experienced strongly fluid-related metasomatism before partial melting. The calc-alkaline andesites of Group #3 have comparable zircon εHf(t) values with those of calc-alkaline basalts, and they are divided into a high-Mg subgroup (MgO of 4.63–5.42 wt.%) and a low-Mg subgroup (MgO of 1.64–2.81 wt.%; Supplementary Table 1). The high-Mg subgroup samples show chemical affinities to Archean or Phanerozoic magnesian andesites (Supplementary Fig. 9a) 27 . They were derived from differentiation of the calc-alkaline basaltic magmas based on their comparable zircon εHf(t) values and (Nb/La) PM ratios (0.08–0.20, with a positive correlation of CaO and MgO; Supplementary Fig. 9b-c). In comparison, the low-Mg subgroup samples show higher (Nb/La) PM (0.18–0.50), which deviate from the differentiation trend of the calc-alkaline basaltic magmas (Supplementary Fig. 9b-c). In the (La/Yb) N versus La N plot (Supplementary Fig. 9d), their (La/Yb) N ratios are lower than those of Phanerozoic high-Mg andesites (Eastern China) and adakites (Aleutians), but higher than those of Paleoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the Pilbara 28 – 29 . Since these rocks are considered to be generated from delaminated, subducted, or dripped crustal materials 28 – 29 , the low-Mg andesitic rocks cannot be ascribed to these genetic models. Considering the intermediate silica compositions, high MgO + FeO T (5.46–10.42 wt.%), and positive zircon εHf(t) values (Fig. 2 d and Supplementary Fig. 3a), the low-Mg andesitic rocks were most likely derived from a depleted mantle source. The high (Hf/Sm) N (mostly 1.12–1.45) and low (Nb/La) N (0.18–0.50) ratios (Supplementary Table 1) further suggest that their mantle source was subjected to melt-related metasomatism before partial melting 26 . For thermodynamic modeling of the mantle sources, it is critical to select basaltic samples that can reflect chemical compositions of the parental magmas (those derived from a peridotite source with only olivine fractionation) 23 , 30 . The tholeiitic rock samples 19JB48-1 and 19JB88-3 and calc-alkaline rock sample 19JB74-2 were used since they have high MgO (> 8.5 wt.%) and follow the olivine fractionation trend of peridotite-derived melts 23 (Fig. 3 c). The low FeO T /MnO ratios (54–77) also suggest a peridotite source 31 . Though there are some K 2 O and Na 2 O mobilization, they have limited effects on the modeled thermal condition of the mantle (Supplementary Fig. 7d and Supplementary Text 5). Primary basaltic magmas and melting P-T conditions of the mantle sources were calculated using the FractionatePT software (Supplementary Table 5) 30 . Considering that the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basalts were mainly derived from unmodified and fluid-metasomatized mantle sources, respectively (Fig. 3 f), initial water contents of ~ 0.2 and ~ 2.0 wt.% (as those of mantle sources for modern MORBs and island arc basalts, respectively) were assumed for them 8,32−33 . Accordingly, while the calc-alkaline basalt yields a melting P-T condition of 1432 ± 43 ℃ and 2.2 ± 0.4 GPa, the tholeiitic rocks give much higher P-T conditions of 1587 ± 48 ℃ to 1624 ± 49 ℃ and 3.4 ± 0.3 GPa to 3.9 ± 0.3 GPa (Fig. 4 a). Mantle potential temperatures (Tp) were also calculated using the PRIMELT3 MEGA software 34 , and the tholeiitic rocks yield higher Tp than that of calc-alkaline basalt (~ 1623 ± 55 ℃ to 1646 ± 52 ℃ versus ~ 1497 ± 52 ℃; Fig. 4 b and Supplementary Table 5). Notably, the (Nb/La) PM ratios of the tholeiitic rocks are comparable with those of samples previously used by Herzberg et al. (2010) 4 (Fig. 3 b). Despite lower (Nb/La) PM of the calc-alkaline basalt, the calculated temperature is within error of the temperature revealed by the method of Lee et al. (2009) 30 . To further test the modeled P-T conditions, forward trace element modeling was carried out (Supplementary Table 6 and Supplementary Text 6). While the calc-alkaline basalts may be modeled by ~ 5–20% melting of assumed lithospheric mantle sources at spinel lherzolite facies, the tholeiitic rocks formed by ~ 10–30% melting of enriched MORB mantle with ~ 20% volume of lithospheric mantle materials at garnet lherzolite facies (Supplementary Fig. 10). In summary, while the calc-alkaline basalt magma was derived from a shallow and metasomatized mantle source (~ 2.2 GPa and ~ 1450 ℃), the tholeiitic magma was mostly from a deeper and unmodified mantle source (~ 3.5 GPa and ~ 1600 ℃). Discussion Lateral evolution in the composition and thermal structure of mantle sources Early Neoarchean (~ 2773 − 2677 Ma) basaltic to andesitic magmatism of the Jiaobei terrane migrated regularly over time, forming older calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic rocks in the southwest and younger tholeiitic rocks in the northeast (Fig. 1 b). The two magmatic series were derived from distinct mantle sources with variable involvement of metasomatized and unmodified mantle materials at variable depths (Figs. 3 e-f and 4 ). Nonetheless, the nature of their mantle sources changed continuously as illustrated in Supplementary Fig. 11. For example, the zircon εHf(t) values and Zr/Nb ratios of these mantle-derived rocks decrease, but the (Hf/Sm) N and (Nb/La) N ratios increase from southwest to northeast (Supplementary Fig. 11a-d). These chemical features indicate that the mantle sources became isotopically enriched but less fluid-metasomatized from southwest to northeast 25 – 26 . The higher (Hf/Sm) N ratios of some low-Mg andesitic rocks suggest locally melt-related mantle metasomatism (Supplementary Fig. 11c). Meanwhile, the (Sm/Yb) N and TiO 2 /Yb ratios of these mantle-derived rocks decrease from southwest to northeast (Supplementary Fig. 11e-f), indicating variable melting pressures of the mantle sources 35 . Thermodynamic and trace element modeling suggests that the tholeiitic magma in the northeast originated from a much deeper and hotter mantle source (~ 3.5 GPa and ~ 1600 ℃) than that of calc-alkaline basalts (~ 2.2 GPa and ~ 1450 ℃) in the southwest (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 10). Taken together, while shallow, depleted, and variably metasomatized mantle sources were sampled by the early calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmatism in the southwest, a much deeper, more enriched, and unmodified mantle source was taped by the younger tholeiitic magmatism in the northeast. Accordingly, the Jiaobei terrane records an early Neoarchean regular evolution of mantle-derived rock assemblages, chemical compositions, and mantle sources, which could have evolved in a coherent geodynamic system as discussed below. Early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling The mantle sources of early Neoarchean calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic rocks experienced mainly fluid- but locally melt-related metasomatism (Fig. 3 e), which indicates extensive lithosphere recycling and mantle metasomatism. Three dynamic regimes may be invoked for lithosphere recycling in a hotter early Earth, including (1) oceanic plate subduction ( 5 ); (2) lithosphere dripping 7 , 36 ; and (3) delamination of mafic lower crust in peel-back tectonics 1 , 37 . If vertical lithosphere dripping coupled with lid tectonics is the dominant regime, the underlying mantle should be metasomatized in a symmetric mode 36 , which is distinct from that in the Jiaobei terrane (Supplementary Fig. 11). Asymmetric drips may be operated when two plates with different thickness interact 38 . However, it remains unclear whether the dripped crustal materials have the capacity to release enough fluids or melts after traversing the lower crust and the lithospheric mantle. While peel-back tectonics shows extensive lower crust recycling, this regime is preceded by continent-continent collision with the magmatic locations retreating relative to the initial collision site 37 , both of which are not observed from the geological records of Jiaobei terrane (Fig. 1 b). In contrast, the lateral evolution of basaltic to andesitic rock assemblages, chemical compositions, and mantle sources resemble those developed in subduction zones 39 . Integrating the mildly higher mantle melting temperature of calc-alkaline basalts (~ 1450 ℃, relative to ~ 1350 ℃ of modern ambient mantle) 4 and moderate Moho geothermal gradients (11–17 ℃/km) 9 , an early Neoarchean warm subduction zone is reconstructed in the Jiaobei terrane (Fig. 5 a). The calc-alkaline magmatism in the southwest of the Jiaobei terrane was followed by younger tholeiitic magmatism in the northeast (Supplementary Fig. 11). Thermodynamic and trace element modeling suggests that the tholeiitic magmas originated from a much deeper and hotter mantle source than that of calc-alkaline basalts (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 10). In particular, the melting temperature and Tp of their mantle sources (~ 1600 ℃) are comparable with those of Archean komatiites (≥ 1600 ℃) 4 . In addition, the trace element compositions (Zr/Nb, Nb/Yb, and (La/Sm) N ) of the tholeiitic rocks resemble those of oceanic plateau basalts 40 , but are distinct from those of back arc basin basalts (Supplementary Fig. 12). Accordingly, all above lines of evidence converge to indicate that the Jiaobei terrane records an early Neoarchean tectonic setting involving both plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling (Fig. 5 a and Supplementary Table 7). As depicted by the numerical modeling results 5 , 41 , the descending and possibly dripping of subducted slabs may perturb the mantle convection mode and induce deep mantle materials to flow upward. Notably, the tholeiitic rocks produced by a subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime may not be associated with komatiites due to the disturbance of mantle sources by cold crustal materials from subducted oceanic slabs. This also explains the moderately depleted HFSE signatures of tholeiitic rocks from the Jiaobei terrane (Fig. 3 e) and elsewhere 42 – 43 . A critical transition of geodynamic regime Similar to the Jiaobei terrane, metavolcanic rock sequences from > 2.84 Ga calc-alkaline to ~ 2.80–2.73 Ga tholeiitic rocks are preserved in the southern margin of North China Craton 44 , which may also suggest the operation of early Neoarchean plate subduction and induced deep mantle upwelling (Fig. 1 a). In contrast, the Western Shandong Province records an evolution from komatiitic and tholeiitic to calc-alkaline magmatism and a transition from structural extension to asymmetric compression during ~ 2.80–2.75 Ga, and an early Neoarchean plume-induced subduction event was inferred (Fig. 1 a) 45 . In the southern Jilin and Zanhuang areas, ~ 2.68 Ga calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmatism is developed, which is argued to be derived from a fluid-metasomatized mantle source 46 – 47 . These calc-alkaline rocks generally surround pre-Neoarchean continental nuclei, which could have been formed in an intra-oceanic plate subduction regime and subsequently accreted onto the continental nuclei 48 . Integrated with the subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling events, all above data suggest that the North China Craton witnessed early Neoarchean active alternation and interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling. Notably, ~ 3.0-2.9 Ga or earlier geological records of the North China Craton are dominated by crust-derived TTGs and K-rich granites 14 , 49 , which were interpreted to be produced by either a lid tectonics or a crustal buckling regime under higher geothermal gradients (18–31°C/km) 49 . During the late Neoarchean (~ 2.6–2.5 Ga), however, the craton records extensive crust-mantle interactions forming calc-alkaline basaltic-andesitic and sanukitoid intrusive rocks, large-scale tectonic thrusting, and arc-continent accretion, indicating the arrival of modern-style plate tectonics 39,47,50−51 . This is further supported by the low Moho geothermal gradients (8–22°C/km), similar to that of modern crust 9 . Therefore, an early Neoarchean critical geodynamic transition from vertical mantle convection to lateral plate tectonics was realized in the North China Craton, as reflected by the active alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling processes. Global implications of alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling A compilation of global data of metavolcanic rocks reveal that ~ 2.87–2.60 Ga komatiite-tholeiite magmatism was preceded by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline magmatism in the Belingwe 52 , Suomussalmi 53 , Abitibi 54 , Kurnalpi and Kalgoorlie 55 – 56 , and Sandur and Veligallu 57 – 58 belts (Fig. 5 b- 1 and Supplementary Table 8). The komatiite-associated basalts in the Kalgoorlie belt were produced by higher melting P-T condition (~ 1517–1599 ℃ versus 1368 ℃, ~ 2.0-3.4 GPa versus 1.7 GPa) and mantle potential temperature (~ 1528–1615 ℃ versus 1391 ℃) than those of the older subduction-related basalts in the nearby Kurnalpi belt (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Table 5). Similarly, the komatiite-associated basalts at northern Veligallu belt yield higher melting P-T condition (~ 1532–1617 ℃ versus 1442 ℃, ~ 2.6–3.7 GPa versus 2.1 GPa) and mantle potential temperature (~ 1601–1675 ℃ versus 1472 ℃) than the older arc-like basalts at the southern segment (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Table 5). These data indicate that these belts may have also evolved by an early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime, corresponding to the global substitution of Al-depleted komatiites by Al-undepleted ones (derived from a shallower upper mantle) after ~ 3.0 Ga 10 , 59 . Distinct from the above cases, ~ 2.92–2.72 Ga komatiite-tholeiitic rocks were overlain by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basaltic to dacitic rocks in the Sumozero-Kenozero 60 , Western Shandong 45 , Mauranipur-Babina 61 , and Wawa 62 greenstone belts (Fig. 5 b- 2 and Supplementary Table 8). These magmatic sequences, when combined with both geological observation 45 and thermo-mechanical modeling 63 , suggest that a mantle plume-triggered plate subduction regime could be a suitable tectonic interpretation for these belts. In summary, our results establish a potential geodynamic framework for the early Neoarchean Earth, i.e., direct interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling, which includes both plume-triggered subduction initiation and plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling processes (Fig. 5 ). This unifying dynamic regime may be exclusive to the early Neoarchean Earth, which not only stimulated the global peak continental growth 64 , but also exerted profound influence on the thermal evolution history of the Earth 4 . As evidenced by the high mantle potential temperature, high Moho thermal gradients (~ 18–31 ℃/km), and thermo-mechanical modeling data 2 , 4 , 9 , a squishy lid tectonics may dominate the > 3.0 Ga Earth 66 . Intermittent lithosphere recycling or subduction may occur during this period 1 , 63 , though the lack of paired metamorphic belts 65 and the development of magmatic rocks with bimodal distribution of SiO 2 67 imply that these later tectonic processes are subordinate. Numerical mantle convection modeling data indicate that the lid tectonics was not an effective heat transfer mechanism, with the surface heat flux much lower than those of episodic or active lid regimes 68 . In comparison, the early Neoarchean active alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling might be much more effective in expelling internal heat of the Earth 68 , leading to rapid mantle cooling 4 and lithosphere thickening and strengthening 1 . In response, the interaction regime of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling gradually diminished. A cold and regular crust-mantle system was formed, leading to the operation of modern plate tectonic regime, as demonstrated by the low Moho thermal gradients (~ 8–22 ℃/km), extensive paired metamorphic belts, and large scale plate subduction and super-craton assembly at the terminal Archean 9 , 39 , 65 , 69 . Methods Whole-rock major and trace element analysis Before chemical analysis, weathered surfaces of collected samples were removed, and the fresh portions were powdered to 200 mesh in an agate mill. First, the loss on ignition (LOI) values were calculated after heating the samples at 980°C for 30 mins. Then, the blended powders of rock sample (0.4 g) and lithium metaborate (4 g) were fused in a Pt-Au crucible at 1100°C for 20–40 mins, and cooled to vitric disks. Major elements were analyzed on the disks using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF, Thermo Arl Advant XP+) at the Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, Peking University. The analyzed data were calibrated against the standards of GSR-2 (andesite) and GSR-15 (amphibolite). The analytical precision is better than 0.5%. Whole-rock trace element analysis was conducted at the Key Laboratory of Crustal dynamics in the National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China (MEMC). First, 25 mg of powders and a 1:1 mixture of HF and HNO 3 were placed into the Savillex Teflon beakers, and heated for 24 h at 80°C. Then, 1.5 ml HNO 3 , 1.5 ml HF, and 0.5 ml HClO 4 were added to the evaporated beakers, and subsequently placed in a high temperature oven (180°C, 48 hours or longer) for complete dissolution. Finally, the residue was diluted to 50 ml with 1% HNO 3 . The trace elements were measured using an ELEMENT-I plasma mass spectrometer (Finnigan-MAT Ltd.). The standards of GSR-2 and GSR-15 were used for quality control, and the measurement precision was better than 5%. Zircon U-Pb isotopic dating Zircon grains of representative metavolcanic rock samples were separated by standard density and magnetic techniques, and then handpicked under a binocular microscope. The grains were mounted on epoxy resin discs, and polished to half the thickness. Before analysis, cathodoluminescence (CL) images were obtained at the SEM Laboratory of Peking University. In-situ zircon U-Pb isotopes and trace elements were analyzed on representative zircon domains using an Agilent-7500a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry coupled with a New Wave SS UP193 laser sampler (LA-ICP-MS) at the Elemental Geochemistry Lab of Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing. The spot diameter and frequency of laser were 36 µm and 10 Hz, respectively. Zircon 91500 and NIST610 were used as the external standards. Data reduction was performed using the software GLITTER (version 4.4, Macquarie University), and common Pb was corrected using the method of Andersen (2002) 70 . The Isoplot program (ver. 4.15) was applied for the age calculation 71 . Zircon Lu-Hf isotopic analysis In-situ zircon Lu-Hf isotopes were analyzed at the Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, Peking University, using a NU plasma II MC-ICP-MS. An ArF excimer laser ablation system of Geolas HD (193 nm) was used with a spot size of 44 µm. Data reduction is conducted via the software IOLITE 72 . Zircon 91500 was used as internal standard with a reference value of 176 Hf/ 177 Hf = 0.282307 ± 31 73 . Plešovice zircon was used as the monitor standard and the analyzed value of 176 Hf/ 177 Hf = 0.282495 ± 54 (2SD) is consistent with the suggested value of 0.282482 ± 13 (2SD) 74 . Thermodynamic and trace element modeling Primary magmas of the filtered basaltic rocks were calculated by adding olivine (equilibrium with instantaneous melts) reversely to the magmas till the compositions reach equilibrium with assumed mantle residues (Supplementary Table 5) 30 . Then, melting P-T conditions of the mantle sources were calculated from the primary magmas using the FractionatePT software. Given the inferred diverse mantle sources (Fig. 3 d), initial water contents of ~ 0.2 wt.% and ~ 2.0 wt.% were assumed as those of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basaltic rocks, respectively 8,32−33 . The Mg# (molar ratios of Mg/(Mg + Fe)) of residual mantle compositions were generally assumed as 0.91 (Supplementary Table 5). While the choice of different Mg# values (0.91 or 0.92) would indeed influence the modeled absolute P-T conditions, the relative P-T differences between the komatiite-associated basalts and arc-like basalts were generally constant (see the Yilgarn case; Supplementary Table 5). The Fe 3+ /Fe T values were set at 0.1. The uncertainties of temperatures and pressures raise from both the software uncertainty (less than ± 3% in the temperature and ± 0.2 GPa in the pressure) 30 and K 2 O and Na 2 O mobility (Supplementary Fig. 7d). Mantle potential temperatures (Tp) were also calculated for the filtered samples using the PRIMELT3 MEGA software 34 . Primary magmas were modeled by adding olivine to the magmas until an agreement exists between the inverse- and forward-modeled melting fractions. The Fe 2 O 3 contents were calculated using Fe 2+ /Fe T = 0.9. The uncertainties of mantle potential temperature are arisen from software uncertainty (less than ± 44 ℃) 4 and element mobility of K 2 O and Na 2 O. In order to confirm the P-T conditions, forward trace element modeling of partial melting was conducted using the equation of batch partial melting 75 : C melt /C source = 1/[D + F*(1-D)] Where C source and C melt represent the trace element concentrations of source rock and the resultant melt, respectively; D is the bulk partition coefficient, and F is the degree of partial melting. The assumed mantle source compositions for different groups of metamorphosed basaltic rocks and related partition coefficients are listed in Supplementary Table 6. Declarations Data availability All the data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are provided in the Supplementary Information and Supplementary Tables. Additional data related to this paper can be requested from the authors. Acknowledgments We would like to appreciate L. Su, H. Y. Zhang and G. B. Zhang for zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope analyses, and B. Yang and L. S. Guo for bulk rock major and trace element analyses. This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41872196 and 42272231), the Australian Research Council (FL160100168), and the Central University Basic Scientific Research Business Expenses (2-9-2019-055). Author contributions W.W., S.W.L. and P.A.C. conceived and designed the project, and wrote the manuscript. W.W., R.R.G, J.C.Y, D.G.L. and X.H. carried out field mapping, sampling and laboratory studies. L.G. and F.Y.H contributed to the thermodynamic and trace element modeling and data interpretation. Competing interests The authors declare that there are no competing interests that appear to have an influence on the work reported in this paper. References Cawood, P. A., Chowdhury, P., Mulder, J. A., Hawkesworth, C. J., Capitanio, F. A., Gunawardana, P. M. & Nebel, O. 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He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xin","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":199199874,"identity":"46704ef3-3fc6-4936-8615-dbc1a89c60c6","order_by":8,"name":"Wei Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACAxs5fvYGBgZGIGY4QJSWgjRjyZ4DJGn5cDhxw40EIrUYHD97+DWPwWFjyZmPn0l+3cEgx3cjgfFzAT4tZ/LSrHkM0uX4pdPMpGXPMBhL3khglp6BR4vZgRwz4xwDa2PJ2Tls0pJtDCAXsjHz4NNy/g1IC3PihptnwFrqCWu5kWP8OMfAGWg4D5vkxzaGBANCWuxvvDFj/mMACuQ0Y2vGMxKGM888bJbGp0WyP8f444w/oKg8/PDmzx028nzHkw9+xqcFCNgkYCyge0BscOzgBcwfYCzGH4TUjoJRMApGwYgEAACCTo9gRtsbAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wei","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-05-01 07:45:49","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":37106904,"identity":"44b621d8-42c3-4bb9-9932-ba7c5e900be0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:10:45","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":185555,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation and geological background of early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the Jiaobei terrane, North China Craton.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ea\u003c/strong\u003e The distribution of early Neoarchean (~2.80-2.65 Ga) metavolcanic rocks in the North China Craton\u003csup\u003e12-13\u003c/sup\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003eb\u003c/strong\u003e Geological map and sample locations of early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks in the Jiaobei terrane\u003csup\u003e16\u003c/sup\u003e, with the formation ages of these rocks marked.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig.1Wangetal..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/ae1ffc5df1e265170d22e4ef.png"},{"id":37107598,"identity":"9c5df7cd-9997-45a6-90fb-5c9d98cbfbd2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:18:45","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":498907,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeochemical characters of the early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ea\u003c/strong\u003e Zr/TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e*0.0001 versus Nb/Y classification plot\u003csup\u003e19\u003c/sup\u003e, showing the basaltic to andesitic compositions of the studied metavolcanic rock samples. \u003cstrong\u003eb\u003c/strong\u003e La versus Yb plot\u003csup\u003e20\u003c/sup\u003e, dividing the samples into tholeiitic and calc-alkaline rock series, respectively. \u003cstrong\u003ec\u003c/strong\u003e (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e versus (La/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e plot\u003csup\u003e21\u003c/sup\u003e. The compositions of average N- or E-MORB, OIB, and continental crust are illustrated. \u003cstrong\u003ed\u003c/strong\u003e Plot of zircon εHf(t) values versus crystallization ages for representative metavolcanic rock samples.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig.2Wangetal..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/e0e422ee6154de24407b58f7.png"},{"id":37106902,"identity":"6974ab5b-4680-4553-a912-dd317bcf007c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:10:45","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":581104,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePetrogenesis of the early Neoarchean metamorphosed tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basalts.\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ea\u003c/strong\u003e Th/Yb versus Nb/Yb plot\u003csup\u003e35\u003c/sup\u003e; \u003cstrong\u003eb\u003c/strong\u003e (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e versus MgO plot, with the basaltic rocks filtered by Herzberg et al. (2010) for thermodynamic modeling\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e and modern non-arc basalts\u003csup\u003e8\u003c/sup\u003e shown for comparison; \u003cstrong\u003ec\u003c/strong\u003e-\u003cstrong\u003ed\u003c/strong\u003e CaO versus MgO and Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* versus MgO plots, which were applied to filter appropriate basaltic samples for thermodynamic modeling, i.e., those derived from a peridotite source with only olivine (Ol) fractionation. The fields of peridotite- and pyroxenite-derived melts, and fractionation trends of olivine (Ol) and clinopyroxene ± plagioclase (Cpx ± Pl)\u003csup\u003e23-24\u003c/sup\u003e are illustrated; \u003cstrong\u003ee\u003c/strong\u003e (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e versus (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN \u003c/sub\u003eplot\u003csup\u003e26\u003c/sup\u003e. Data of the Paleoarchean metavolcanic rocks from Eastern Pilbara and the Mesozoic high Mg andesites from Eastern China are shown\u003csup\u003e28-29\u003c/sup\u003e; and \u003cstrong\u003ef\u003c/strong\u003e (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM \u003c/sub\u003eversus Zr/Nb plot. Chemical trend of mantle enrichment is delineated. The modeling results indicate that the tholeiitic rocks were sourced dominantly from an unmodified enriched MORB mantle source with ~10-30 % of fluid-metasomatized depleted mantle materials (see the main text for assumed mantle endmembers).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig.3Wangetal..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/b36e7b53bc06f9a550e1641d.png"},{"id":37107599,"identity":"29177f93-fe6d-46cc-b493-0b8c5db5e25e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:18:45","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":662749,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThermodynamic modeling of mantle sources. a\u003c/strong\u003e Modeled melting P-T condition and \u003cstrong\u003eb\u003c/strong\u003e mantle potential temperature (Tp) for the filtered basaltic samples from Jiaobei terrane (North China), Kalgoorlie and Kurnalpi greenstone belts (Yilgarn)\u003csup\u003e55-56\u003c/sup\u003e, and Veligallu greenstone belt (Dharwar)\u003csup\u003e57-58\u003c/sup\u003e. The FractionatePT\u003csup\u003e30\u003c/sup\u003e and PRIMELT3 MEGA\u003csup\u003e34\u003c/sup\u003e softwares were applied (see the main text and Supplementary Table 5 for the criteria of sample filtering, the modeling results, and the origin of uncertainties). Tp of modern ambient mantle, and Archean and Phanerozoic plume mantle are shown\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig.4Wangetal..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/f763ddc5b528a5b5f6985163.png"},{"id":37106905,"identity":"59952bfb-36a1-4c7b-beff-3d829573596d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:10:45","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":713609,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA critical geodynamic transition regime of early Neoarchean Earth. a\u003c/strong\u003e Early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling processes in the Jiaobei terrane. Featured chemical parameters of the magmatic products from different tectonic domains are marked. \u003cstrong\u003eb\u003c/strong\u003e Lithological assemblages and ages of major Mesoarchean to early Neoarchean greenstone belts globally. Arc-like calc-alkaline mafic to felsic metavolcanic rocks either preceded (b-1) or followed (b-2) deep mantle upwelling-related komatiite and/or tholeiite rocks in the different belts. A globally critical geodynamic transition regime involving active alternation and interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling is put forward (the data and related references are provided in the Supplementary Table 8).\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig.5Wangetal..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/d3683ae24bba70ec880e42fd.png"},{"id":37900961,"identity":"fda31f47-0dbb-44dc-91d5-bbf2bc8e24b4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-06-02 09:56:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2112358,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/21674d70-350b-445d-832f-2ffa608dbc79.pdf"},{"id":37106908,"identity":"0905f948-678f-457c-a1dc-38ea8c791e99","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:10:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":7260513,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryInformationWangetal..pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/a2762f59e332291d6aa937a2.pdf"},{"id":37106906,"identity":"64a219b8-5bee-4308-88c5-8abd2001744e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-05-16 19:10:45","extension":"doc","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1510400,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryTablesWangetal..doc","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2881098/v1/0d629c2470ec46c663fbd5b2.doc"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Early Neoarchean alternation of plate subduction\r\nand deep mantle upwelling","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eArchean thermodynamic regimes are crucial but unresolved issues in understanding the evolution of Earth\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Cooling of the mantle has been envisaged to result in increasing lithospheric strength that led to a transition to a regime involving horizontal motion of rigid plates (i.e., plate tectonics) from an earlier regime involving variably deformable lithosphere (i.e., squishy lid) into which plumes were emplaced and lithosphere was recycled, the latter possibly via drips\u003csup\u003e1,4\u0026minus;7\u003c/sup\u003e. The late Archean (~\u0026thinsp;3.0-2.5 Ga) is often invoked as a time for this key transitional period of the Earth based on fundamental changes recognized in the rock archive, such as diversification of granitoid magmatism, appearance of paired metamorphic belts and passive margins, and emplacement of craton-wide mafic dykes indicating rigid lithosphere\u003csup\u003e3,8\u0026minus;10\u003c/sup\u003e. However, mantle plumes were still active through this period based on the occurrence of inferred plume-derived rocks such as komatiites, whose frequency peaked at ~\u0026thinsp;2.7 Ga\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Therefore, the early Neoarchean geological records of the Earth may present overlapping and mixed signals involving both plate subduction and plume regimes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis paper documents the temporal and spatial distribution of these signals within the early Neoarchean (~\u0026thinsp;2.77\u0026ndash;2.68 Ga) metamorphosed basaltic to andesitic rock assemblages from the Jiaobei terrane of North China Craton (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Integrating the record of lateral evolution of lithological assemblages, chemical compositions, and thermal structure of their mantle sources, we provide the geological evidence for an interacting plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime. Then, through compilation of chemical data of coeval metavolcanic rocks from other parts of North China Craton and other cratons in the world, we find that such interaction operated globally, and outline how this impacted the thermal evolution of early Earth, accelerating the establishment of plate tectonics as the dominant regime by the late Neoarchean.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEarly Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the Jiaobei terrane\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Jiaobei terrane is located in the eastern part of the North China Craton (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003ea)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. It preserves a succession of late Archean (~\u0026thinsp;2.9\u0026ndash;2.5 Ga) basement rocks that were subjected to amphibolite and locally granulite facies metamorphism (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb and Supplementary Text 1)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR14\" citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Dioritic and TTG gneisses are the main rock types\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, and two episodes of metavolcanic rocks are also recognized in the terrane. The early metavolcanic rock assemblage, the Huangyandi Group, formed at ~\u0026thinsp;2.9 Ga and consists mainly of amphibolites and biotite leptites\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. A younger phase of metavolcanic rocks, the Jiaodong Group, are distributed widely through the terrane, formed at ~\u0026thinsp;2.6\u0026ndash;2.5 Ga, and consist of amphibolites, hornblende or biotite plagioclase gneisses, and locally mafic granulites\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA further suite of early Neoarchean metavolcanic rocks are identified in the Jiaobei terrane and herein termed the Qixia Group (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb, Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;1\u0026ndash;2, and Supplementary Text 2). They are mainly interlayered sequences and extend from tens to hundred meters in width (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;1). They reveal a consistent north to south progression in lithological assemblages and chemical compositions (bulk rock geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf isotopic data are provided in Supplementary Tables\u0026nbsp;1\u0026ndash;4). In the north Qixia area, the upper sequences of the metavolcanic rock suite consist chiefly of interlayered amphibolites and garnet amphibolites, and are locally transitional to hornblende granulites (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;1a). The metavolcanic rocks in the south and southwest Qixia areas are dominated by biotite plagioclase gneisses with interlayered pyroxene plagioclase gneisses and amphibolites, which are the lower stratigraphic sequences relative to the upper sequences in the north Qixia area (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;1a-b). The amphibolites expose mainly in the southwest Qixia area (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSamples from the upper, northern sequences of the Qixia Group exhibit low SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e (46.98\u0026ndash;51.68 wt.%) and moderate to high MgO (4.65\u0026ndash;9.46 wt.%), with Mg# (100*Mg/(Mg\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Fe\u003csub\u003etotal\u003c/sub\u003e) in atomic ratio) of 41.00-58.04 (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3a-b), which are attributed to tholeiitic basalt series of Group #1 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea-b)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. They are characterized by generally flat chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e with low (La/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (0.97\u0026ndash;1.90) and (Sm/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (0.84\u0026ndash;1.22) and weakly negative to positive Eu anomalies (Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* = 0.79\u0026ndash;1.06; Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3c). The primitive mantle-normalized trace element plot shows enrichment in Ba, Rb, and K, but mild depletion in Th, Nb, Ta, Ti, and P, with moderate (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e of 0.28\u0026ndash;0.71 and (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e of 0.70\u0026ndash;0.99 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3d). The Zr/Nb ratios (14.91\u0026ndash;28.21) are intervening between those of N- and E-MORBs (31.76 and 8.80, respectively)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic analyses of samples 17YT06-3, 18QX72-1, and 18QX33-1 in this northern succession of the Qixia Group yield crystallization ages of ~\u0026thinsp;2703\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2677 Ma and εHf(t) values of -1.9 to +\u0026thinsp;3.6 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;4\u0026ndash;6, Supplementary Texts 3\u0026ndash;4). The older\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;2700 Ma rocks show overall higher Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e/TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e ratios (11.92\u0026ndash;20.13 versus 12.78\u0026ndash;13.41) and less fractionated heavy REEs than the ~\u0026thinsp;2680 Ma rocks.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmphibolites in the south and southwest Qixia areas have low SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e (47.01\u0026ndash;51.94 wt.%), and high MgO (7.91\u0026ndash;11.35 wt.%) and Mg# (62.47\u0026ndash;66.67) (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3a-b). Compared with the tholeiitic rocks of Group #1, these rocks belong to the calc-alkaline basalt series (Group #2; Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea-b), and have higher Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e/TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e of 11.99\u0026ndash;32.93. Moreover, they show fractionated chondrite-normalized REE patterns\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, with higher (La/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (1.62\u0026ndash;2.56) and (Sm/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (1.57\u0026ndash;4.31), and negative to weakly positive Eu anomalies (Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* = 0.68\u0026ndash;1.08, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3e). On the primitive mantle-normalized trace element plot, they display enrichment in Ba, Rb, and K, and depletion in Th, Nb, Ta, Ti, and P, with lower (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e (0.12\u0026ndash;0.16) and (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (0.40\u0026ndash;0.62) but higher Zr/Nb (17.48\u0026ndash;31.65) than those of Group #1 rocks (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3f). Two amphibolite samples (18QX64-1 and 18QX68-1) of the Group #2 give older crystallization ages of ~\u0026thinsp;2731\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2716 Ma and higher zircon εHf(t) values of +\u0026thinsp;0.3 to +\u0026thinsp;6.9 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;4\u0026ndash;6, and Supplementary Texts 3\u0026ndash;4). In comparison, the biotite and pyroxene plagioclase gneisses show chemical affinities to the calc-alkaline andesitic rocks\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, which are classified as the Group #3 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ea-b). The Group #3 samples have higher SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e (52.99\u0026ndash;66.73 wt.%) but lower MgO (1.64\u0026ndash;5.42 wt.%) and Mg# (33.59\u0026ndash;59.83) (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3a-b), with similar Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e/TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e ratios (12.48\u0026ndash;27.93) to those of Group #2 samples. These andesitic rocks are also characterized by fractionated chondrite-normalized REE patterns\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, with the highest (La/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (2.23\u0026ndash;5.06) and (Sm/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (2.72\u0026ndash;6.42) and negative to slightly positive Eu anomalies (Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* = 0.46\u0026ndash;1.06, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3g). They are also depleted in Nb, Ta, Ti, Sr, and P, but enriched in Ba, Rb, K, Zr, and Hf, with lower (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e of 0.08\u0026ndash;0.50 but variable (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e of 0.52\u0026ndash;2.36 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ec and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3h). One two-pyroxene plagioclase gneiss (19JB74-3) and six biotite plagioclase gneisses (17QX29-1/95\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, 18QX05-1/14\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1/65\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1, and 19JB33-1) of the Group #3 give older crystallization ages of ~\u0026thinsp;2773\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2700 Ma, with high zircon εHf(t) values ranging of +\u0026thinsp;0.8 to +\u0026thinsp;7.7 that are comparable with those of calc-alkaline basalts of Group #2 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;4\u0026ndash;6, and Supplementary Texts 3\u0026ndash;4).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThermodynamic and trace element modeling of the mantle sources\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMost major elements (e.g., MgO, FeO\u003csub\u003eT\u003c/sub\u003e, CaO, and Al\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e) are correlated with SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e for each group of samples (Supplementary Figs.\u0026nbsp;3 and 7a-c). Except for Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO and K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO, other major oxides of the metabasaltic rocks fall on a 1:1 compositional line with representative Archean low grade metamorphosed basalts\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, indicating that most major element compositions were not affected by metamorphic or alteration events (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;7d and Supplementary Text 5). The rare earth and high field strength elements are almost immobile, as attested by their linear correlations with element Zr (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;8). Therefore, the following discussions rely on these immobile major and trace elements.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe tholeiitic rocks of Group #1 define a constant-Th/Nb trend on the Th/Yb-Nb/Yb plot, and no positive correlation exists between (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e and MgO (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea-b), suggesting negligible crustal contamination of the parental magmas\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The CaO and Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* decrease with MgO, indicating some clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionation during magma evolution (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ec-d)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e, (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e and Zr/Nb ratios of basaltic magmas are insensitive to fractional crystallization due to comparable partition coefficients of these elements\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Therefore, a combination of these trace element ratios and isotopic data of basaltic rocks are useful to unravel the nature of mantle sources. The tholeiitic rocks show variable (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (0.28\u0026ndash;0.71) that are positively correlated with (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e, which may be ascribed to either variable fluid-related metasomatism of the same mantle source or mixing between different mantle sources (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ee). The latter is favored because the tholeiitic rocks have (1) variable zircon εHf(t) values of -1.9 to +\u0026thinsp;3.6 (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ed); and (2) variable Zr/Nb ratios (14.91\u0026ndash;28.21) that intervene between those of N- and E-MORBs (more depleted mantle will produce basaltic magmas with higher Zr/Nb ratios due to more incompatibility of Nb relative to Zr; Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ef)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Trace element modeling in the (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e versus Zr/Nb plot also suggests that the tholeiitic magma of Group #1 was derived mainly from unmodified chondritic to slightly depleted mantle sources with ~\u0026thinsp;10\u0026ndash;30% of fluid-metasomatized depleted mantle materials (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ef).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe calc-alkaline basalts of Group #2 have higher Th/Yb ratios than that of the MORB-OIB array (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea). This feature could be resulted from mantle metasomatism, since crustal contamination may be essentially precluded by their high MgO (7.91\u0026ndash;11.35 wt.%), constant (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e ratios, and positive zircon εHf(t) values (Figs.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and \u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea-b). The decreasing CaO and Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e/Eu\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e* with decreasing MgO indicate some clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionation (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ec-d)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Compared with the tholeiitic rock samples of Group #1, these calc-alkaline basalts show lower (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e and (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ee), indicating that the magma was most likely derived from a more extensive fluid-metasomatized mantle source\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. They have higher Zr/Nb ratios of 17.48\u0026ndash;31.61, close to that of N-MORB (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ef)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Together with the high zircon εHf(t) values (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;4), the calc-alkaline magma of Group #2 samples was mainly derived from a depleted mantle source that experienced strongly fluid-related metasomatism before partial melting. The calc-alkaline andesites of Group #3 have comparable zircon εHf(t) values with those of calc-alkaline basalts, and they are divided into a high-Mg subgroup (MgO of 4.63\u0026ndash;5.42 wt.%) and a low-Mg subgroup (MgO of 1.64\u0026ndash;2.81 wt.%; Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;1). The high-Mg subgroup samples show chemical affinities to Archean or Phanerozoic magnesian andesites (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;9a)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. They were derived from differentiation of the calc-alkaline basaltic magmas based on their comparable zircon εHf(t) values and (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e ratios (0.08\u0026ndash;0.20, with a positive correlation of CaO and MgO; Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;9b-c). In comparison, the low-Mg subgroup samples show higher (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e (0.18\u0026ndash;0.50), which deviate from the differentiation trend of the calc-alkaline basaltic magmas (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;9b-c). In the (La/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e versus La\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e plot (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;9d), their (La/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e ratios are lower than those of Phanerozoic high-Mg andesites (Eastern China) and adakites (Aleutians), but higher than those of Paleoarchean metavolcanic rocks from the Pilbara\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Since these rocks are considered to be generated from delaminated, subducted, or dripped crustal materials\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, the low-Mg andesitic rocks cannot be ascribed to these genetic models. Considering the intermediate silica compositions, high MgO\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;FeO\u003csub\u003eT\u003c/sub\u003e (5.46\u0026ndash;10.42 wt.%), and positive zircon εHf(t) values (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003ed and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;3a), the low-Mg andesitic rocks were most likely derived from a depleted mantle source. The high (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (mostly 1.12\u0026ndash;1.45) and low (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e (0.18\u0026ndash;0.50) ratios (Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;1) further suggest that their mantle source was subjected to melt-related metasomatism before partial melting\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor thermodynamic modeling of the mantle sources, it is critical to select basaltic samples that can reflect chemical compositions of the parental magmas (those derived from a peridotite source with only olivine fractionation)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The tholeiitic rock samples 19JB48-1 and 19JB88-3 and calc-alkaline rock sample 19JB74-2 were used since they have high MgO (\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;8.5 wt.%) and follow the olivine fractionation trend of peridotite-derived melts\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ec). The low FeO\u003csub\u003eT\u003c/sub\u003e/MnO ratios (54\u0026ndash;77) also suggest a peridotite source\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Though there are some K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO and Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO mobilization, they have limited effects on the modeled thermal condition of the mantle (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;7d and Supplementary Text 5). Primary basaltic magmas and melting P-T conditions of the mantle sources were calculated using the FractionatePT software (Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Considering that the tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basalts were mainly derived from unmodified and fluid-metasomatized mantle sources, respectively (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ef), initial water contents of ~\u0026thinsp;0.2 and ~\u0026thinsp;2.0 wt.% (as those of mantle sources for modern MORBs and island arc basalts, respectively) were assumed for them\u003csup\u003e8,32\u0026minus;33\u003c/sup\u003e. Accordingly, while the calc-alkaline basalt yields a melting P-T condition of 1432\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;43 ℃ and 2.2\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.4 GPa, the tholeiitic rocks give much higher P-T conditions of 1587\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;48 ℃ to 1624\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;49 ℃ and 3.4\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3 GPa to 3.9\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.3 GPa (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003ea). Mantle potential temperatures (Tp) were also calculated using the PRIMELT3 MEGA software\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, and the tholeiitic rocks yield higher Tp than that of calc-alkaline basalt (~\u0026thinsp;1623\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;55 ℃ to 1646\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;52 ℃ versus ~\u0026thinsp;1497\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;52 ℃; Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003eb and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5). Notably, the (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e ratios of the tholeiitic rocks are comparable with those of samples previously used by Herzberg et al. (2010)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb). Despite lower (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003ePM\u003c/sub\u003e of the calc-alkaline basalt, the calculated temperature is within error of the temperature revealed by the method of Lee et al. (2009)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. To further test the modeled P-T conditions, forward trace element modeling was carried out (Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;6 and Supplementary Text 6). While the calc-alkaline basalts may be modeled by ~\u0026thinsp;5\u0026ndash;20% melting of assumed lithospheric mantle sources at spinel lherzolite facies, the tholeiitic rocks formed by ~\u0026thinsp;10\u0026ndash;30% melting of enriched MORB mantle with ~\u0026thinsp;20% volume of lithospheric mantle materials at garnet lherzolite facies (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;10).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, while the calc-alkaline basalt magma was derived from a shallow and metasomatized mantle source (~\u0026thinsp;2.2 GPa and ~\u0026thinsp;1450 ℃), the tholeiitic magma was mostly from a deeper and unmodified mantle source (~\u0026thinsp;3.5 GPa and ~\u0026thinsp;1600 ℃).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLateral evolution in the composition and thermal structure of mantle sources\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEarly Neoarchean (~\u0026thinsp;2773\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2677 Ma) basaltic to andesitic magmatism of the Jiaobei terrane migrated regularly over time, forming older calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic rocks in the southwest and younger tholeiitic rocks in the northeast (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb). The two magmatic series were derived from distinct mantle sources with variable involvement of metasomatized and unmodified mantle materials at variable depths (Figs.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ee-f and \u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Nonetheless, the nature of their mantle sources changed continuously as illustrated in Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11. For example, the zircon εHf(t) values and Zr/Nb ratios of these mantle-derived rocks decrease, but the (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e and (Nb/La)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e ratios increase from southwest to northeast (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11a-d). These chemical features indicate that the mantle sources became isotopically enriched but less fluid-metasomatized from southwest to northeast\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The higher (Hf/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e ratios of some low-Mg andesitic rocks suggest locally melt-related mantle metasomatism (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11c). Meanwhile, the (Sm/Yb)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e and TiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e/Yb ratios of these mantle-derived rocks decrease from southwest to northeast (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11e-f), indicating variable melting pressures of the mantle sources\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Thermodynamic and trace element modeling suggests that the tholeiitic magma in the northeast originated from a much deeper and hotter mantle source (~\u0026thinsp;3.5 GPa and ~\u0026thinsp;1600 ℃) than that of calc-alkaline basalts (~\u0026thinsp;2.2 GPa and ~\u0026thinsp;1450 ℃) in the southwest (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;10). Taken together, while shallow, depleted, and variably metasomatized mantle sources were sampled by the early calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmatism in the southwest, a much deeper, more enriched, and unmodified mantle source was taped by the younger tholeiitic magmatism in the northeast. Accordingly, the Jiaobei terrane records an early Neoarchean regular evolution of mantle-derived rock assemblages, chemical compositions, and mantle sources, which could have evolved in a coherent geodynamic system as discussed below.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEarly Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mantle sources of early Neoarchean calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic rocks experienced mainly fluid- but locally melt-related metasomatism (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ee), which indicates extensive lithosphere recycling and mantle metasomatism. Three dynamic regimes may be invoked for lithosphere recycling in a hotter early Earth, including (1) oceanic plate subduction (\u003cem\u003e5\u003c/em\u003e); (2) lithosphere dripping\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e; and (3) delamination of mafic lower crust in peel-back tectonics\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. If vertical lithosphere dripping coupled with lid tectonics is the dominant regime, the underlying mantle should be metasomatized in a symmetric mode\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, which is distinct from that in the Jiaobei terrane (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11). Asymmetric drips may be operated when two plates with different thickness interact\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. However, it remains unclear whether the dripped crustal materials have the capacity to release enough fluids or melts after traversing the lower crust and the lithospheric mantle. While peel-back tectonics shows extensive lower crust recycling, this regime is preceded by continent-continent collision with the magmatic locations retreating relative to the initial collision site\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, both of which are not observed from the geological records of Jiaobei terrane (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003eb). In contrast, the lateral evolution of basaltic to andesitic rock assemblages, chemical compositions, and mantle sources resemble those developed in subduction zones\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Integrating the mildly higher mantle melting temperature of calc-alkaline basalts (~\u0026thinsp;1450 ℃, relative to ~\u0026thinsp;1350 ℃ of modern ambient mantle)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and moderate Moho geothermal gradients (11\u0026ndash;17 ℃/km)\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e, an early Neoarchean warm subduction zone is reconstructed in the Jiaobei terrane (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003ea).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe calc-alkaline magmatism in the southwest of the Jiaobei terrane was followed by younger tholeiitic magmatism in the northeast (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;11). Thermodynamic and trace element modeling suggests that the tholeiitic magmas originated from a much deeper and hotter mantle source than that of calc-alkaline basalts (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;10). In particular, the melting temperature and Tp of their mantle sources (~\u0026thinsp;1600 ℃) are comparable with those of Archean komatiites (\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;1600 ℃)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In addition, the trace element compositions (Zr/Nb, Nb/Yb, and (La/Sm)\u003csub\u003eN\u003c/sub\u003e) of the tholeiitic rocks resemble those of oceanic plateau basalts\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, but are distinct from those of back arc basin basalts (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;12). Accordingly, all above lines of evidence converge to indicate that the Jiaobei terrane records an early Neoarchean tectonic setting involving both plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003ea and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;7). As depicted by the numerical modeling results\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, the descending and possibly dripping of subducted slabs may perturb the mantle convection mode and induce deep mantle materials to flow upward. Notably, the tholeiitic rocks produced by a subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime may not be associated with komatiites due to the disturbance of mantle sources by cold crustal materials from subducted oceanic slabs. This also explains the moderately depleted HFSE signatures of tholeiitic rocks from the Jiaobei terrane (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ee) and elsewhere\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eA critical transition of geodynamic regime\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSimilar to the Jiaobei terrane, metavolcanic rock sequences from \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2.84 Ga calc-alkaline to ~\u0026thinsp;2.80\u0026ndash;2.73 Ga tholeiitic rocks are preserved in the southern margin of North China Craton\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, which may also suggest the operation of early Neoarchean plate subduction and induced deep mantle upwelling (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003ea). In contrast, the Western Shandong Province records an evolution from komatiitic and tholeiitic to calc-alkaline magmatism and a transition from structural extension to asymmetric compression during ~\u0026thinsp;2.80\u0026ndash;2.75 Ga, and an early Neoarchean plume-induced subduction event was inferred (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003ea)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In the southern Jilin and Zanhuang areas, ~\u0026thinsp;2.68 Ga calc-alkaline basaltic to andesitic magmatism is developed, which is argued to be derived from a fluid-metasomatized mantle source\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. These calc-alkaline rocks generally surround pre-Neoarchean continental nuclei, which could have been formed in an intra-oceanic plate subduction regime and subsequently accreted onto the continental nuclei\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Integrated with the subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling events, all above data suggest that the North China Craton witnessed early Neoarchean active alternation and interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotably, ~\u0026thinsp;3.0-2.9 Ga or earlier geological records of the North China Craton are dominated by crust-derived TTGs and K-rich granites\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, which were interpreted to be produced by either a lid tectonics or a crustal buckling regime under higher geothermal gradients (18\u0026ndash;31\u0026deg;C/km)\u003csup\u003e49\u003c/sup\u003e. During the late Neoarchean (~\u0026thinsp;2.6\u0026ndash;2.5 Ga), however, the craton records extensive crust-mantle interactions forming calc-alkaline basaltic-andesitic and sanukitoid intrusive rocks, large-scale tectonic thrusting, and arc-continent accretion, indicating the arrival of modern-style plate tectonics\u003csup\u003e39,47,50\u0026minus;51\u003c/sup\u003e. This is further supported by the low Moho geothermal gradients (8\u0026ndash;22\u0026deg;C/km), similar to that of modern crust\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Therefore, an early Neoarchean critical geodynamic transition from vertical mantle convection to lateral plate tectonics was realized in the North China Craton, as reflected by the active alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eGlobal implications of alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA compilation of global data of metavolcanic rocks reveal that ~\u0026thinsp;2.87\u0026ndash;2.60 Ga komatiite-tholeiite magmatism was preceded by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline magmatism in the Belingwe\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, Suomussalmi\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, Abitibi\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, Kurnalpi and Kalgoorlie\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, and Sandur and Veligallu\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e belts (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003eb-\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;8). The komatiite-associated basalts in the Kalgoorlie belt were produced by higher melting P-T condition (~\u0026thinsp;1517\u0026ndash;1599 ℃ versus 1368 ℃, ~\u0026thinsp;2.0-3.4 GPa versus 1.7 GPa) and mantle potential temperature (~\u0026thinsp;1528\u0026ndash;1615 ℃ versus 1391 ℃) than those of the older subduction-related basalts in the nearby Kurnalpi belt (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5). Similarly, the komatiite-associated basalts at northern Veligallu belt yield higher melting P-T condition (~\u0026thinsp;1532\u0026ndash;1617 ℃ versus 1442 ℃, ~\u0026thinsp;2.6\u0026ndash;3.7 GPa versus 2.1 GPa) and mantle potential temperature (~\u0026thinsp;1601\u0026ndash;1675 ℃ versus 1472 ℃) than the older arc-like basalts at the southern segment (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5). These data indicate that these belts may have also evolved by an early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime, corresponding to the global substitution of Al-depleted komatiites by Al-undepleted ones (derived from a shallower upper mantle) after ~\u0026thinsp;3.0 Ga\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Distinct from the above cases, ~\u0026thinsp;2.92\u0026ndash;2.72 Ga komatiite-tholeiitic rocks were overlain by tholeiitic to calc-alkaline basaltic to dacitic rocks in the Sumozero-Kenozero\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e60\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, Western Shandong\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, Mauranipur-Babina\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e61\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, and Wawa\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e62\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e greenstone belts (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003eb-\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;8). These magmatic sequences, when combined with both geological observation\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and thermo-mechanical modeling\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e63\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, suggest that a mantle plume-triggered plate subduction regime could be a suitable tectonic interpretation for these belts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, our results establish a potential geodynamic framework for the early Neoarchean Earth, i.e., direct interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling, which includes both plume-triggered subduction initiation and plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling processes (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). This unifying dynamic regime may be exclusive to the early Neoarchean Earth, which not only stimulated the global peak continental growth\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e64\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, but also exerted profound influence on the thermal evolution history of the Earth\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. As evidenced by the high mantle potential temperature, high Moho thermal gradients (~\u0026thinsp;18\u0026ndash;31 ℃/km), and thermo-mechanical modeling data\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, a squishy lid tectonics may dominate the \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;3.0 Ga Earth\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e66\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Intermittent lithosphere recycling or subduction may occur during this period\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e63\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, though the lack of paired metamorphic belts\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and the development of magmatic rocks with bimodal distribution of SiO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003csup\u003e67\u003c/sup\u003e imply that these later tectonic processes are subordinate. Numerical mantle convection modeling data indicate that the lid tectonics was not an effective heat transfer mechanism, with the surface heat flux much lower than those of episodic or active lid regimes\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In comparison, the early Neoarchean active alternation of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling might be much more effective in expelling internal heat of the Earth\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e, leading to rapid mantle cooling\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and lithosphere thickening and strengthening\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. In response, the interaction regime of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling gradually diminished. A cold and regular crust-mantle system was formed, leading to the operation of modern plate tectonic regime, as demonstrated by the low Moho thermal gradients (~\u0026thinsp;8\u0026ndash;22 ℃/km), extensive paired metamorphic belts, and large scale plate subduction and super-craton assembly at the terminal Archean\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e69\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eWhole-rock major and trace element analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBefore chemical analysis, weathered surfaces of collected samples were removed, and the fresh portions were powdered to 200 mesh in an agate mill. First, the loss on ignition (LOI) values were calculated after heating the samples at 980\u0026deg;C for 30 mins. Then, the blended powders of rock sample (0.4 g) and lithium metaborate (4 g) were fused in a Pt-Au crucible at 1100\u0026deg;C for 20\u0026ndash;40 mins, and cooled to vitric disks. Major elements were analyzed on the disks using X-ray Fluorescence (XRF, Thermo Arl Advant XP+) at the Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, Peking University. The analyzed data were calibrated against the standards of GSR-2 (andesite) and GSR-15 (amphibolite). The analytical precision is better than 0.5%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhole-rock trace element analysis was conducted at the Key Laboratory of Crustal dynamics in the National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China (MEMC). First, 25 mg of powders and a 1:1 mixture of HF and HNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e were placed into the Savillex Teflon beakers, and heated for 24 h at 80\u0026deg;C. Then, 1.5 ml HNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e, 1.5 ml HF, and 0.5 ml HClO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e were added to the evaporated beakers, and subsequently placed in a high temperature oven (180\u0026deg;C, 48 hours or longer) for complete dissolution. Finally, the residue was diluted to 50 ml with 1% HNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. The trace elements were measured using an ELEMENT-I plasma mass spectrometer (Finnigan-MAT Ltd.). The standards of GSR-2 and GSR-15 were used for quality control, and the measurement precision was better than 5%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eZircon U-Pb isotopic dating\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eZircon grains of representative metavolcanic rock samples were separated by standard density and magnetic techniques, and then handpicked under a binocular microscope. The grains were mounted on epoxy resin discs, and polished to half the thickness. Before analysis, cathodoluminescence (CL) images were obtained at the SEM Laboratory of Peking University. In-situ zircon U-Pb isotopes and trace elements were analyzed on representative zircon domains using an Agilent-7500a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry coupled with a New Wave SS UP193 laser sampler (LA-ICP-MS) at the Elemental Geochemistry Lab of Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing. The spot diameter and frequency of laser were 36 \u0026micro;m and 10 Hz, respectively. Zircon 91500 and NIST610 were used as the external standards. Data reduction was performed using the software GLITTER (version 4.4, Macquarie University), and common Pb was corrected using the method of Andersen (2002)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e70\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. The Isoplot program (ver. 4.15) was applied for the age calculation\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e71\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eZircon Lu-Hf isotopic analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn-situ zircon Lu-Hf isotopes were analyzed at the Key Laboratory of Orogenic Belts and Crustal Evolution, Peking University, using a NU plasma II MC-ICP-MS. An ArF excimer laser ablation system of Geolas HD (193 nm) was used with a spot size of 44 \u0026micro;m. Data reduction is conducted via the software IOLITE\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e72\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Zircon 91500 was used as internal standard with a reference value of \u003csup\u003e176\u003c/sup\u003eHf/\u003csup\u003e177\u003c/sup\u003eHf = 0.282307\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;31\u003csup\u003e73\u003c/sup\u003e. Plešovice zircon was used as the monitor standard and the analyzed value of \u003csup\u003e176\u003c/sup\u003eHf/\u003csup\u003e177\u003c/sup\u003eHf = 0.282495\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;54 (2SD) is consistent with the suggested value of 0.282482\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;13 (2SD)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e74\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eThermodynamic and trace element modeling\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimary magmas of the filtered basaltic rocks were calculated by adding olivine (equilibrium with instantaneous melts) reversely to the magmas till the compositions reach equilibrium with assumed mantle residues (Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Then, melting P-T conditions of the mantle sources were calculated from the primary magmas using the FractionatePT software. Given the inferred diverse mantle sources (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ed), initial water contents of ~\u0026thinsp;0.2 wt.% and ~\u0026thinsp;2.0 wt.% were assumed as those of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline basaltic rocks, respectively\u003csup\u003e8,32\u0026minus;33\u003c/sup\u003e. The Mg# (molar ratios of Mg/(Mg\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Fe)) of residual mantle compositions were generally assumed as 0.91 (Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5). While the choice of different Mg# values (0.91 or 0.92) would indeed influence the modeled absolute P-T conditions, the relative P-T differences between the komatiite-associated basalts and arc-like basalts were generally constant (see the Yilgarn case; Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;5). The Fe\u003csup\u003e3+\u003c/sup\u003e/Fe\u003csup\u003eT\u003c/sup\u003e values were set at 0.1. The uncertainties of temperatures and pressures raise from both the software uncertainty (less than \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3% in the temperature and \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.2 GPa in the pressure)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO and Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO mobility (Supplementary Fig.\u0026nbsp;7d).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMantle potential temperatures (Tp) were also calculated for the filtered samples using the PRIMELT3 MEGA software\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. Primary magmas were modeled by adding olivine to the magmas until an agreement exists between the inverse- and forward-modeled melting fractions. The Fe\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e contents were calculated using Fe\u003csup\u003e2+\u003c/sup\u003e/Fe\u003csub\u003eT\u003c/sub\u003e = 0.9. The uncertainties of mantle potential temperature are arisen from software uncertainty (less than \u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;44 ℃)\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e and element mobility of K\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO and Na\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eO.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn order to confirm the P-T conditions, forward trace element modeling of partial melting was conducted using the equation of batch partial melting\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e75\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eC\u003csub\u003emelt\u003c/sub\u003e/C\u003csub\u003esource\u003c/sub\u003e = 1/[D\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;F*(1-D)]\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhere C\u003csub\u003esource\u003c/sub\u003e and C\u003csub\u003emelt\u003c/sub\u003e represent the trace element concentrations of source rock and the resultant melt, respectively; D is the bulk partition coefficient, and F is the degree of partial melting. The assumed mantle source compositions for different groups of metamorphosed basaltic rocks and related partition coefficients are listed in Supplementary Table\u0026nbsp;6.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData availability\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll the data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are provided in the Supplementary Information and Supplementary Tables. Additional data related to this paper can be requested from the authors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to appreciate L. Su, H. Y. Zhang and G. B. Zhang for zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotope analyses, and B. Yang and L. S. Guo for bulk rock major and trace element analyses. This study is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41872196 and 42272231), the Australian Research Council (FL160100168), and the Central University Basic Scientific Research Business Expenses (2-9-2019-055).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eW.W., S.W.L. and P.A.C. conceived and designed the project, and wrote the manuscript. W.W., R.R.G, J.C.Y, D.G.L. and X.H. carried out field mapping, sampling and laboratory studies. L.G. and F.Y.H contributed to the thermodynamic and trace element modeling and data interpretation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that there are no competing interests that appear to have an influence on the work reported in this paper.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCawood, P. 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Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 34, 237\u0026ndash;243 (1970).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eHow Earth switched from any earlier regimes such as plume-lid tectonics to plate tectonics remains an unresolved issue in Earth sciences. We report early Neoarchean (~\u0026thinsp;2.77\u0026ndash;2.68 Ga) metavolcanic rocks, including older calc-alkaline basaltic-andesitic rocks in the southwest but younger tholeiitic rocks in the northeast, from Jiaobei terrane, North China Craton. Genetic studies and thermodynamic and trace element modeling demonstrate that the tholeiitic magmas originated from deeper and unmodified mantle sources (~\u0026thinsp;1600 ℃ and ~\u0026thinsp;3.5 GPa), relative to the shallower and metasomatized mantle sources (~\u0026thinsp;1450 ℃ and ~\u0026thinsp;2.2 GPa) of calc-alkaline magmas. Geochemical changes indicate that the mantle sources became isotopically enriched but less metasomatized from southwest to northeast. These data suggest an early Neoarchean plate subduction-induced deep mantle upwelling regime. We further depict a potential geodynamic framework for the early Neoarchean Earth involving active interaction of plate subduction and deep mantle upwelling, which possibly changed the thermal evolutionary trajectory of the Earth and accelerated the arrival of global plate tectonics.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Early Neoarchean alternation of plate subduction\nand deep mantle upwelling","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2023-05-16 19:10:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2881098/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cdb9ee92-5617-4a42-a0fa-4d5d94fa495b","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 16th, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":21317021,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geology/Precambrian geology"},{"id":21317022,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geochemistry"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2023-06-02T09:55:56+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2023-05-16 19:10:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-2881098","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-2881098","identity":"rs-2881098","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"7rjqhiLT3MXkJMwkYKINL","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}