Heat-pipe Earth

Moore, William B.; Webb, A. Alexander G.

doi:10.1038/nature12473

Cited by 374Geological and Geochemical AnalysisAstro and Planetary ScienceGeological and Geophysical Studies

Heat-pipe Earth

Moore, William B., Webb, A. Alexander G.·2013·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature12473

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Abstract

The heat transport and lithospheric dynamics of early Earth are currently explained by plate tectonic and vertical tectonic models, but these do not offer a global synthesis consistent with the geologic record. Here we use numerical simulations and comparison with the geologic record to explore a heat-pipe model in which volcanism dominates surface heat transport. These simulations indicate that a cold and thick lithosphere developed as a result of frequent volcanic eruptions that advected surface materials downwards. Declining heat sources over time led to an abrupt transition to plate tectonics. Consistent with model predictions, the geologic record shows rapid volcanic resurfacing, contractional deformation, a low geothermal gradient across the bulk of the lithosphere and a rapid decrease in heat-pipe volcanism after initiation of plate tectonics. The heat-pipe Earth model therefore offers a coherent geodynamic framework in which to explore the evolution of our planet before the onset of plate tectonics.

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Heat-pipe tectonics is suggested to have occurred on Earth during the Hadean Eon and implies that volcanism dominates over intrusive magmatism, although this is not the case for subsequent stagnant-lid modes.
“Such a regime is suggested to have occurred on Earth during the Hadean Eon (Fig. 1: Moore and Webb, 2013) and implies that volcanism dominates over intrusive magmatism, although this is not the case for subsequent stagnant-lid modes (Rozel et al., 2017).”
From Secular change and the onset of plate tectonics on Earth (2020) · cites this paper as Moore and Webb, 2013

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“…et al. [2007], many convection studies with the pseudoplastic rheology have found that high rates of internal heating, leading to high interior mantle temperatures, can cause a transition to episodic or stagnant lid convection [e.g., Stein et al., 2004; Stein et al., 2013; Moore and Webb, 2013].”
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“Alternatively, the early crust could have been a more uniform lithosphere with a single density (e.g., Moore & Webb, 2013), which would have inhibited the positive topography in isostatic equilibrium, hence requiring a smaller ocean volume to achieve the same flooded fraction of the early Earth's…”
Background
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Self-citation
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Self-citation
Lithological, structural, and geochemical characteristics of the Mesoarchean Târtoq greenstone belt, southern West Greenland, and the Chugach – Prince William accretionary complex, southern Alaska: evidence for uniformitarian plate-tectonic processes
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Authors: Moore, W. B., & Webb, A. A. G.
Affiliations: National Institute of Aerospace (US)
Louisiana State University (US)
Corresponding author: Moore, William B.
ORCID: Moore, William B.
Webb, A. Alexander G.
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2013-09
Volume: 501
Issue: 7468
Pages: 501-505
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature12473
OpenAlex: W1999892058
Cited by: 374
References: 46
Citations by year: 2026: 27 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 52 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 5
FWCI: 18.91
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
Funders: NASA Astrobiology Institute
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 › Geology › Geological and Geophysical Studies
Keywords: early Earth, plate tectonics origin, lithosphere dynamics, heat transport, volcanic resurfacing, Hadean Earth, magma ocean, geothermal gradient, detrital zircon, cratons

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