Continental crust is too Si-rich and Mg-poor to derive directly from mantle melting, which generates basaltic rather than felsic magmas. Converting basalt to more felsic compositions requires a second step involving Mg loss, which is thought to be dominated by internal igneous differentiation. However, igneous differentiation alone may not be able to generate granites, the most silicic endmembe...

The isotopic composition of the detrital sediment record harbours a valuable proxy for estimating erodible upper crust since Archaean. Refractory elements such as titanium (Ti) and zirconium (Zr) can display systematic variations in their result magmatic differentiation. Hence, sediments could potentially be used to infer average (e.g., SiO2 content) source region, even when elemental systemati...

Introduction: The results presented here are part of an investigation into the evolution of hydrothermal events associated with the Chicxulub impactites in Yu-catan, Mexico. The study focuses on alteration products in core samples recovered from the Yaxcopoil-1 drill hole, which is located some 60 kilometers from the center of the impact structure. This research contributes to the growing knowl...

Neoproterozoic gneisses at Meatiq and Hafafit in the Eastern Desert of Egypt give Rb–Sr and U–Pb zircon ages of 600–750 Ma. These gneisses are interpreted by different workers to represent deeper levels of juvenile Neoproterozoic crust or Archaean/Palaeoproterozoic crust that was remobilized during Neoproterozoic time. Geochemical and Sr–Nd isotope compositions for these gneisses reported here ...

Whether or not coarse detrital sedimentary rocks occur within the \3.7 Ga Isua Greenstone Belt (IGB), southern west Greenland, has been debated for some time. Repeated, regional metamorphic, deformational, and metasomatic events have obscured most protolith lithologies leading to misunderstandings about the stratigraphy and environments of deposition. Rocks here interpreted as meta-conglomerate...

Single detrital monazite grains from the Dharamsala and Lower Siwalik Formations (early to mid-Miocene continental foreland basin sediments in NW India) have been dated by two techniques; isotope dilution thermal ionization multicollector mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) and laser ablation plasma ionization multicollector mass spectrometry (LA-PIMMS). The results give U–Th–Pb isotopic ages of c. 400...

We analyze pervasive and discontinuous deformation associated with small faults in a quartz–syenite body in southern Israel. The analysis includes detailed mapping, measurement of in-situ mechanical rock properties and microstructural study of the faults. The mapped faults have 1–100-m-long horizontal traces, consisting of linked, curved segments; the segmented nature of the faults is also appa...