Priscoan (4.00–4.03 Ga) orthogneisses from northwestern Canada

Bowring, Samuel A.; Williams, Ian S.

doi:10.1007/s004100050465

Cited by 568Geological and Geochemical AnalysisAstro and Planetary ScienceGeochemistry and Elemental Analysis

Priscoan (4.00–4.03 Ga) orthogneisses from northwestern Canada

Bowring, Samuel A., Williams, Ian S.·1999·Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology

DOI 10.1007/s004100050465

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The oldest known coherent crust occurs within the c. 3.8 Ga Acasta gneiss complex, composed of gabbroic and granitoid gneisses.
“Currently, the oldest known coherent crust occurs within the c. 3.8 Ga Acasta gneiss complex in the Northwest Territories of Canada (Bowring and Williams, 1999), and is composed of gabbroic and granitoid gneisses (e.g.Iizuka et al., 2007).”
From Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth (2020) · cites this paper as Bowring and Williams, 1999

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Rajesh, H. M., Mukhopadhyay, J., Beukes, N. J., Gutzmer, J., Belyanin, G. A., & Armstrong, R. A. (2009) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/0016-76492008-089 · Cited by 148 · see citing works
“…wt% SiO2, the TTGs are among the oldest silica-rich igneous rocks on Earth (e.g. the 4.03 Ga Acasta trondhjemite gneiss from Slave craton, Canada (Bowring & Williams 1999)) and are different from evolved granitoids in their high Na2O and Al2O3, low K2O, and steep rare earth element (REE)…”
BackgroundInfluential
Inheritance of early Archaean Pb-isotope variability from long-lived Hadean protocrust
Kamber, B. S., Collerson, K. D., Moorbath, S. E., & Whitehouse, M. J. (2003) · Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology · doi:10.1007/s00410-002-0429-7 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Reworking of Hadean crust in the Acasta gneisses, northwestern Canada: Evidence from in-situ Lu–Hf isotope analysis of zircon
Iizuka, T., Komiya, T., Johnson, S. P., Kon, Y., Maruyama, S., & Hirata, T. (2008) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.11.007 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Lithosphere development in the Slave craton: a linked crustal and mantle perspective
Davis, W. J. (2003) · Lithos · doi:10.1016/s0024-4937(03)00131-2 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
“85 Ga (Isachsen and Bowring, 1994; Bowring and Williams, 1999; Bleeker and Davis, 1999; Ketchum and Bleeker, 2001).”
Background
The naked planet Earth: Most essential pre-requisite for the origin and evolution of life
Maruyama, S., Ikoma, M., Genda, H., Hirose, K., Yokoyama, T., & Santosh, M. (2013) · Geoscience Frontiers · doi:10.1016/j.gsf.2012.11.001 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
“Orogenic belts back to 4.0 Ga have been documented on the Earth (Bowring and Williams, 1999; Wilde et al., 2001; Whitehouse and Kamber, 2002; Iizuka et al., 2007, 2009, 2010).”
BackgroundInfluential
Grain-scale variations in trace element composition of fluid-altered zircon, Acasta Gneiss Complex, northwestern Canada
Rayner, N. M., Stern, R. A., & Carr, S. D. (2004) · Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology · doi:10.1007/s00410-004-0633-8 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Geology and zircon geochronology of the Acasta Gneiss Complex, northwestern Canada: New constraints on its tectonothermal history
Iizuka, T., Komiya, T., Ueno, Y., Katayama, I., Uehara, Y., Maruyama, S., Hirata, T., Johnson, S. P., & Dunkley, D. J. (2007) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2006.11.017 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Hf isotopes in zircon from the western Superior province, Canada: Implications for Archean crustal development and evolution of the depleted mantle reservoir
Davis, D. W., Amelin, Y. V., Nowell, G. M., & Parrish, R. R. (2005) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2005.07.005 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
“0 Ga ( Bowring and Williams, 1999; Stern and Bleeker, 1998 ). In contrast, data based on the Bizzarro et al. (2003)decay constant value imply sizeable amounts of mantle depletion during the early Archean and Hadean. A one stage linear model based on this decay constant gives a chondritic intersection age of 4.6 Ga ( F…”
Influential
Inventory and assessment of Palaeoarchaean gneiss terrains and detrital zircons in southern West Greenland
Nutman, A. P., Friend, C. R. L., Barker, S. L. L., & McGregor, V. R. (2004) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2004.09.002 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Formation and Evolution of Archean Continental Crust of the North China Craton
Wan, Y., Liu, D., Dong, C., Xie, H., Kröner, A., Ma, M., Liu, S., Xie, S., & Ren, P. (2015) · Springer geology · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-47885-1_2 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
“Rocks older than 3.8 Ga have been discovered in only a few areas worldwide such as northern Canada (Bowring and Williams 1999; O’Neil et al. 2007), eastern Antarctica (Black et al. 1986), West Greenland (Kinny 1986; Nutman et al. 1996), and around Anshan city in the NNC (Liu et al. 1992; Song et…”
BackgroundInfluential
The Lithosphere: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Artemieva, I. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Archean crust in the Rio de la Plata Craton, Uruguay — SHRIMP U–Pb zircon reconnaissance geochronology
Hartmann, L. A., Campal, N., Santos, J. O. S., et al. (2001) · Journal of South American Earth Sciences · doi:10.1016/s0895-9811(01)00055-4 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Surface wave tomography applied to the North American upper mantle
van der Lee, S., & Frederiksen, A. W. (2005) · Geophysical monograph · doi:10.1029/157gm05 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Identification of chemical sedimentary protoliths using iron isotopes in the >3750 Ma Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt, Canada
Dauphas, N., Cates, N. L., Mojzsis, S. J., & Busigny, V. (2007) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.11.042 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
The Alkaline Solution to the Emergence of Life: Energy, Entropy and Early Evolution
Russell, M. J. (2007) · Acta Biotheoretica · doi:10.1007/s10441-007-9018-5 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Hadean geodynamics and the nature of early continental crust
Korenaga, J. (2021) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2021.106178 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
“The Hadean starts from the birth of a fully grown Earth at ~4.5 billion years ago (Ga) (e.g., Barboni et al., 2017; Thiemens et al., 2019) and ends at 4 Ga, which approximately coincides with the age of the oldest dated rock (Bowring and Williams, 1999).”
BackgroundInfluential
Growth and recycling of early Archaean continental crust: geochemical evidence from the Coonterunah and Warrawoona Groups, Pilbara Craton, Australia
Green, M. G., Sylvester, P., & Buick, R. (2000) · Tectonophysics · doi:10.1016/s0040-1951(00)00058-5 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
The early Archaean Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southern West Greenland: the importance of field observations in interpreting age and isotopic constraints for early terrestrial evolution
Nutman, A. P., Bennett, V. C., Friend, C. R. L., et al. (2000) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/s0016-7037(99)00431-7 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
High sensitivity mapping of Ti distributions in Hadean zircons
Harrison, T. M., & Schmitt, A. K. (2007) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.05.016 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
“Their very existence extends the history of crust formation to ∼400 Ma earlier than that represented by the oldest known rock (Bowring and Williams, 1999).”
Background
Zircon growth in very low grade metasedimentary rocks: evidence for zirconium mobility at ~250°C
Rasmussen, B. (2005) · Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology · doi:10.1007/s00410-005-0006-y · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Coupled zircon Lu–Hf and U–Pb isotopic analyses of the oldest terrestrial crust, the >4.03 Ga Acasta Gneiss Complex
Bauer, A. M., Fisher, C. M., Vervoort, J. D., & Bowring, S. A. (2016) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.10.036 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Self-citation
Characterisation and U–Pb–Hf isotope record of the 3.55Ga felsic crust from the Bundelkhand Craton, northern India
Kaur, P., Zeh, A., & Chaudhri, N. (2014) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2014.09.019 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
A Chronostratigraphic Division of the Precambrian
Kranendonk, M. J. V., Contributors, Altermann, W., Beard, B. L., Hoffman, P. F., Johnson, C. M., Kasting, J. F., Melezhik, V. A., Nutman, A. P., Papineau, D., et al. (2012) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-59425-9.00016-0 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
New U-Pb zircon ages from Paleo-Mesoarchean TTG gneisses of the Singhbhum Craton, Eastern India
Acharyya, S. K., Gupta, A., & Orihashi, Y. (2010) · GEOCHEMICAL JOURNAL · doi:10.2343/geochemj.1.0046 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
“…Indian gneissic complex did not yield ages older than 3.3 Ga. Supracrustal rocks or enclaves within TTG like gneisses have often recorded ages older than 3.5 Ga U–Pb zircon ages of gneiss at Singbhun Craton, India 87 (Bowring and Williams, 1999; Böhm et al., 2000; Dalrymple, 2004; Condie, 2005).”
BackgroundInfluential
Late Archaean high-K granite geochronology of the northern metacratonic margin of the Archaean Congo craton, Southern Cameroon: Evidence for Pb-loss due to non-metamorphic causes
Shang, C. K., Liégeois, J.-P., Satır, M., Frisch, W., & Nsifa, E. N. (2010) · Gondwana Research · doi:10.1016/j.gr.2010.02.008 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
“The strong retentivity of radiogenic Pb in zircons at high-grade temperatures and in melts is well known (e.g. Vavra et al., 1996; Bowring and Williams, 1999; Dunn et al., 2005; Pidgeon and Nemchin, 2006; Pidgeon et al., 2007).”
Background
Detecting the oldest geodynamo and attendant shielding from the solar wind: Implications for habitability
Tarduno, J. A., Blackman, E. G., & Mamajek, E. E. (2014) · Physics of The Earth and Planetary Interiors · doi:10.1016/j.pepi.2014.05.007 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
“The interpretation is instead based on the sampling of lavas that are associated with large igneous provinces exposed in the Superior Craton of Canada (the ∼2.5 Ga Matachewan Dikes; Halls, 1991) and in the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia (the ∼2.7-2.8 Ga Fortesque Group; Strik et al., 2003).”
BackgroundInfluential
Continental growth seen through the sedimentary record
Dhuime, B., Hawkesworth, C. J., Delavault, H., & Cawood, P. A. (2017) · Sedimentary Geology · doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.06.001 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
“5 Ga (e.g., Stern and Bleeker, 1998; Bowring and Williams, 1999; Wilde et al., 2001; Kemp et al., 2010), and thus for the present study a box-model with an age of 4.”
BackgroundInfluential
Early formation of evolved asteroidal crust
Day, J. M. D., Ash, R. D., Liu, Y., Bellucci, J. J., Rumble, D., III, McDonough, W. F., Walker, R. J., & Taylor, L. A. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature07651 · Cited by 114 · see citing works

LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb age of the Halihadeshan granite-gneiss in northeastern Dulan,Qinghai,and its tectonic implications
Chen, N. (2011) · Dizhi tongbao · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Origin of quartzofeldspathic gneisses at Montauban-les-Mines, Quebec
Prabhu, M. K., & Webber, G. R. (1984) · Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences · doi:10.1139/e84-035 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Detrital zircon evidence for change in geodynamic regime of continental crust formation 3.7–3.6 billion years ago
Ranjan, S., Upadhyay, D., Pruseth, K. L., & Nanda, J. K. (2020) · Earth and Planetary Science Letters · doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116206 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Late Precambrian U-Pb Ages for the Brookville Gneiss, Southern New Brunswick
Bevier, M. L., White, C. E., & Barr, S. M. (1990) · The Journal of Geology · doi:10.1086/629464 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
HADEAN TO NEOARCHEAN CRUSTAL EVOLUTION IN A SINGLE SAMPLE OF THE CEDAR LAKE GNEISS, WESTERN SUPERIOR PROVINCE, CANADA
Strong, J. W. D., Cawood, P. A., Cruden, A. R., et al. (2020) · Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · doi:10.1130/abs/2020am-350686

Authors: Bowring, S. A., & Williams, I. S.
Affiliations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Australian National University (AU)
ORCID: Williams, Ian S.
Venue: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 1999-01-21
Volume: 134
Issue: 1
Pages: 3-16
ISSN: 0010-7999 (ISSN-L)
1432-0967
DOI: 10.1007/s004100050465
OpenAlex: W2005471856
Cited by: 568
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 17 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 26 · 2012: 18
FWCI: 10.99
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (publishedVersion)
ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Science Foundation
Topics: Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geophysics › Geological and Geochemical Analysis
Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astro and Planetary Science
Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
Keywords: Slave Province, zircon U-Th-Pb geochronology, metatonalite, metamorphic events, Precambrian crust, northwestern Canada

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Priscoan (4.00–4.03 Ga) orthogneisses from northwestern Canada

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