This book provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of one of the oldest and best-exposed Archaean cratons on this planet. There is currently a renewed interest in the early Earth, and the Kaapvaal craton has long served as a model for early crustal evolution. This unique multidisciplinary resource features information on geology, tectonics, geochemistry, and geochronology. It offers a wealth of new data on various aspects of the craton as well as contributions on the various crustal units by international specialists.
'What are we going to do with a parcel of old stones?' wrote the director of an African museum a century and a half ago, when one of my ancestors presented him with a splendid collection of fossils of mammal-like reptiles. Old stones, however intriguing, are difficult to interpret, dusty, and do not fit well in the neatly ordered contents of a house of learning. Archaean geology, which is the study of the Earth's history in the period from after 9 the end of planetary accretion (4.5-4.4 x 10 years ago) up to the beginning 9 of the Proterozoic (2.5 x 10 years ago) is much the same - a parcel of old stones seemingly impossible to understand. Yet these stones contain the history of our origins: they can tell us a story that is interesting not just to the geologist (for whom this book is primarily written) but instead addresses the human condition in general.
Archaean terrains contain a wealth of structural, stratigraphic, textural, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic features allowing insights into the nature of the early Earth. This book is based on studies during 1964-2007 of Archaean terrains in Australia and to a lesser extent in South Africa and India, as well as on visits to Archaean terrains in Canada, the US and China, as well as petrological and geochemical studies of igneous and sedimentary rock suites from a range of terrains. The book will include a range of photographic and microscopic images, geological sketch maps and diagrams illustrating the lessons derived from field and the laboratory. Also other Archaean terrains are being reviewed. The book is intended for Earth scientists as well as broader intelligent readership.
The main goal of this book is to provide a modern comprehensive statement on the Earth's Precambrian crust. It uses geographic and tectonic location, lithostratigraphy, geochronology, and petrogenesis as a basis for considering Precambrian coastal evolution--including the role of plate tectonics. Detailed consideration is given to the endogenic and exogenic processes which formed the continental crust and also to its subsequent secular evolution across Precambrian time**An essential reference volume for every Precambrian geologist.
One of today’s major geoscientific controversies centres on the origin of the Archean granite‒greenstone terranes. Is the geology of these scattered remnants of our planet’s early crust consistent with the theory that modern-style plate-tectonic processes operated from the early Archean, or does it indicate that tectonic and magmatic processes were different in the Archean? Earth has clearly evolved since its initial formation, so at what stage did its processes of crustal growth first resemble those of today? The logical place to seek answers to these intriguing and important questions is within the best-preserved early Archean crust. The Pilbara region of northwest Australia is internationally famous for its abundant and exceptionally well-preserved fossil evidence of early life. However, until recently the area has received much less recognition for the key evidence it provides on early Archean crustal evolution. This book presents and interprets this evidence through a new stage-by-stage account of the development of the Pilbara’s geological record between 3.53 and 2.63 Ga. The Archean Pilbara crust represents one fragment of Earth’s oldest known supercontinent Vaalbara, which also included the Kaapvaal Craton of southern Africa. Recognition of Vaalbara expands the background database for both these areas, allowing us to more fully understand each of them.
Principles of Precambrian Geologyis an update to the 1991 book, Precambrian Geology: The Dynamic Evolution of the Continental Crust, by the same author. The new edition covers the same topics in a more concise and accessible format and is replete with explanatory figures, tables, and illustrations. The book serves as a modern comprehensive statement on the Earth's Precambrian crust, covering the main aspects of distribution, lithiostratigraphy, age, and petrogenesis of Precambrian rocks by continent within the context of the Earth's evolving continental crust. Principles of Precambrian Geology provides a suitable framework for assessing various Earth dynamic and biospheric hypotheses, including the modern plate tectonic paradigm and the Gaian hypothesis. Despite the concise format, the new edition provides extensive updated references to support the information presented. It is designed to serve the needs of student, teacher, explorationist and general student of the continental crust. - Updated to provide more concise accessible information - Extensive illustrations, tabulations, and maps - Provides a framework for assessing recent hypothesis on Earth dynamics - Covers main aspects of distribution, lithostratigraphy, age, and protogenesis of Precambrian rocks
