Earth's early crust evolved from a mafic to a more felsic composition.
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 92/100
Geological evidence indicates that Earth's upper continental crust transitioned from a predominantly mafic composition to a more felsic composition following the Archean era.
Evidence for · 3
Archean upper crust transition from mafic to felsic marks the onset of plate tectonics
2016 · cited by 440
Tang et al. demonstrate that a shift from mafic to contemporary crust composition occurred after the Archean era.
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More for · 2
Phanerozoic emergence of global continental collision and onset of massive crustal eclogitization
2024 · cited by 2
The study documents a transition in bulk crustal composition and tectonic styles across the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic boundary.
Dominance of felsic continental crust on Earth after 3 billion years ago is recorded by vanadium isotopes.
2023 · cited by 0
Vanadium isotope data from glacial diamictites indicate that the upper continental crust was dominantly mafic at ~3 Ga and became dominated by felsic rocks thereafter.