Metamorphism of the ca. 3800 Ma supracrustal rocks at Isua, West Greenland: implications for early Archaean crustal evolution

A detailed mineralogical and petrological study has been carried out on samples from two clastic metasedimentary lithologies from the ∼3800 Ma Isua Supracrustal Belt, West Greenland.Semipelitic to pelitic "garnet-biotite schist" contains the limiting AKFM assemblage: muscovite-biotite-garnet-staurolite (+quartz+plagioclase+ilmenite), whereas "muscovite-biotite gneiss", derived from felsic volcanogenic graywacke, locally contains kyanite (+quartz+plagioclase+Ca-, Mn-rich garnet). Temperatures calculated from FeMg partitioning between coexisting garnet-biotite indicate equilibration for garnet cores at T ∼550°C, and for ∼460°C for garnet rims. We interpret the higher T as a minimum estimate for prograde regional metamorphism which we argue occurred before 3600 Ma, whereas the lower T reflects later retrogression as indicated by the development of chlorite±sericite in many samples. The presence of kyanite as the stable aluminosilicate polymorph, combined with phase assemblage data, indicate P ∼5 kbar during prograde metamorphism, and a depth of burial of at least 15 km. The Isua supracrustals are the oldest comprehensively dated rocks on Earth, and the metamorphic mineral assemblages reported here constitute the earliest direct record of thermal regimes in Archaean crust. Therefore, characterization of the metamorphic history of the Isua region places an important constraint on models of early Earth history. Our data and observations indicate that prograde regional metamorphism at Isua occurred at conditions which are considered "normal" for an orogenic system, with a metamorphic thermal gradient ≈35°C/km. Moreover, our results contraindicate the universal occurrence of "thin" Archaean crust and excessively "steep" crustal thermal gradients as proposed by some investigators. Such conclusion appears at odds with estimates for higher terrestrial heat production during the early Archaean, but can be resolved by appealing to more rapid convection and generation of oceanic crust as a means of dissipating "excess" heat from the Earth's interior, as opposed to conduction through the crust.