Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

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Gondwana Research
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gr

GR focus review

The building blocks of continental crust: Evidence for a major change in the tectonic
setting of continental growth at the end of the Archean
Kent C. Condie a,, Alfred Krner b
a
b

Department of Earth and Environmental Science, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
Institut fr Geowissenschaften, Universitt Mainz, 55099 Mainz, Germany, and Beijing SHRIMP Center, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, 100037 Beijing, China

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 8 August 2011
Received in revised form 26 September 2011
Accepted 29 September 2011
Available online 22 October 2011
Keywords:
Oceanic arcs
Continental growth
Arc accretion
Continental crust production

a b s t r a c t
Oceanic arcs are commonly cited as primary building blocks of continents, yet modern oceanic arcs are mostly subducted. Also, lithosphere buoyancy considerations show that oceanic arcs (even those with a felsic
component) should readily subduct. With the exception of the ArabianNubian orogen, terranes in postArchean accretionary orogens comprise b 10% of accreted oceanic arcs, whereas continental arcs compose
4080% of these orogens. Nd and Hf isotopic data suggest that accretionary orogens include 4065% juvenile
crustal components, with most of these (>50%) produced in continental arcs.
Felsic igneous rocks in oceanic arcs are depleted in incompatible elements compared to average continental
crust and to felsic igneous rocks from continental arcs. They have lower Th/Yb, Nb/Yb, Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios,
reecting shallow mantle sources in which garnet did not exist in the restite during melting. The bottom line
of these geochemical differences is that post-Archean continental crust does not begin life in oceanic arcs. On
the other hand, the remarkable similarity of incompatible element distributions in granitoids and felsic volcanics from continental arcs is consistent with continental crust being produced in continental arcs.
During the Archean, however, oceanic arcs may have been thicker due to higher degrees of melting in the
mantle, and oceanic lithosphere would be more buoyant. These arcs may have accreted to each other and to
oceanic plateaus, a process that eventually led to the production of Archean continental crust. After the Archean,
oceanic crust was thinner due to cooling of the mantle and less melt production at ocean ridges, hence, oceanic
lithosphere is more subductable. Widespread propagation of plate tectonics in the late Archean may have led
not only to rapid production of continental crust, but to a change in the primary site of production of continental crust, from accreted oceanic arcs and oceanic plateaus in the Archean to primarily continental
arcs thereafter.
2011 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
2.
3.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data input and uncertainties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Post-Archean (b 2.5 Ga) arcs and continental growth . . . . . .
3.1.
Subduction of oceanic arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.
Distribution of arcs in accretionary orogens . . . . . . .
3.3.
Where is juvenile crust produced in accretionary orogens?
3.4.
Felsic components in oceanic arcs . . . . . . . . . . .
4.
Discussion and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix A.
Supplementary data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kcondie@nmt.edu (K.C. Condie).
1342-937X/$ see front matter 2011 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.gr.2011.09.011

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395
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K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

40

SUNDALAND

Proterozoic
SWUS

Central Asian

60

ARABIANNUBIAN

80

Japan

To evaluate the question of how important oceanic arcs are in continental growth, it is necessary to identify the tectonic settings of terranes accreted to continents. Most terranes involve more than one
tectonic setting and tectonic settings can change with time as plate
scenarios evolve. To identify ancient tectonic settings in this study,
emphasis is given to petrotectonic assemblages including their geochemistry, and when available, to the abundances and compositions
of pre-collisional plutons. Because syn- and post-collisional plutons
almost always involve varying amounts of older sources from both
the underlying craton and older accreted terranes, they cannot be

TECTONIC SETTINGS IN
ACCRETIONARY OROGENS

100

Appalachians

2. Data input and uncertainties

Continental Arc
Oceanic Arc
Continental Rift
Micro-craton
LIP-Oceanic Island
Oceanic Crust

Cordillera

Continents are often thought to be the products of accretion of

oceanic arcs (Kusky and Polat, 1999; Stern, 2008; Xiao et al., 2010a).
Taylor (1967) was among the rst to show that the bulk composition
of continents is similar to andesite, and because andesite was assumed to represent the composition of oceanic arcs, the simplest
way to form continents is by the amalgamation of oceanic arcs. We
now know, however, that oceanic arcs are not andesitic in composition, but basaltic (or in a few cases basaltic andesite) (DeBari and
Sleep, 1991), and their composition must be changed to make felsic
continental crust. This is necessary even for the Izu-Bonin arc, which
may have a tonalitic mid-crustal layer based on seismic velocity distribution (Kodaira et al., 2007). Just how oceanic arc crust is changed has
been the subject of numerous studies, and almost always necessitates
recycling of mac and ultramac restites into the mantle by some process of delamination (DeBari and Sleep, 1991; Clift et al., 2005). In addition, it requires a signicant incompatible-element enriched mantle
source (Pearcy et al., 1990; DeBari and Sleep, 1991). This all presupposes that oceanic arcs are indeed the building blocks of continents,
an assumption which has not been adequately evaluated. A related
question is that of how continents formed in both the early and
late Archean and whether the process involved the same mechanism
as after the Archean.
It is these questions that are addressed in this study, particularly
focusing on the role of oceanic arcs in continental growth by accretion
and by production of felsic magmas in oceanic arcs. Because the contrasting roles of oceanic and continental arcs are important in continental evolution, we rst need to distinguish between these two
types of arcs. The most obvious distinction is that oceanic arcs form
on oceanic lithosphere and continental arcs form on continental lithosphere. However, in practice this distinction may not be useful since
the bottoms of arc successions are mostly not exposed at the surface.
Hence, we must rely on indirect evidence such Nd, Hf and other radiogenic isotopic ratios that are sensitive to the ages and composition
of the basement upon which arcs are constructed. Both xenoliths and
zircon xenocrysts, which are common in many continental arc igneous
rocks, are critical in applying isotopic tracers to characterize magmatic
sources. Complicating the distinction between arcs is the fact that oceanic arcs can transition into continental arcs as, for instance, occurs in
the eastern Aleutian Islands today (Fliedner and Klemperer, 2000). In
a few instances, such as the Peninsular Range batholith in southern
California (Lee et al., 2007) and two Paleozoic arcs in Ireland (Draut
et al., 2009), oceanic arcs may accrete to the continents where they
thicken and evolve into continental arcs within 1020 Ma.
The term island arc is widely used in the literature to refer to
arcs constructed on oceanic lithosphere. However, as exemplied by
continental margin arcs such as Japan and the Sunda arc in Indonesia,
both of which are island arcs, this is not always the case. Island arcs
may form on either oceanic or continental lithosphere. To avoid this
ambiguity, we use the terms oceanic and continental arc to refer to
arcs built on oceanic and continental lithosphere, respectively, and
avoid the term island arc.

considered as pristine components of accreted terranes. Rock volume

proportions are estimated from geologic maps and measured stratigraphic sections (Condie, 1993). Distinction between juvenile and
reworked crustal components uses results from Nd and Hf isotopic
studies (Condie and Chomiak, 1996; Condie, 2007; 2008; Condie et
al., 2011). One of the major uncertainties is the volume of accreted
terranes. We have used published seismic sections from the LITHOPROBE studies in Canada and the COCORP results in the United States
to constrain the shapes and sizes of accreted terranes at depth in
Laurentia (Hammer and Clowes, 2004; Cook and Erdmer, 2005;
Cawood et al., 2009). In Proterozoic terranes of the Southwest United
States, terrane volumes are estimated from surface exposure distributions and seismically determined crustal thicknesses (Levander et al.,
2011). In the ArabianNubian shield, an assumed average crustal
thickness of 38 km is used to calculate terrane volumes (Mooney et
al., 1985; Stern and Johnson, 2010). Crustal thicknesses in the Central
Asian orogen are estimated from data in Zorin (1999) and Makarov et
al. (2010) (and references therein). More details of our methods and
associated uncertainties are described in Condie and Chomiak, 1996;
Condie, 2007; 2008; and Condie et al., 2011. Over the years, numerous
investigators have shared unpublished data with us to improve the reliability of our estimates. Results for this study are compiled in Appendix
1 and are shown graphically in Fig. 1.
Chemical compositions are from published data in our continually
updated database of specic rock types, examples of which have been
published from time to time (Condie, 1993; 1994; Condie and Chomiak,
1996; Condie, 2008). Uncertainties of element concentrations used in
our terrane analysis are also given in these references. Estimating the juvenile crustal input into terranes is always a challenge. We have made
use of whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotopic databases compiled from
published data (Condie, 1998; Condie, 2007; 2008; Wang et al., 2009;
Belousova et al., 2010; Condie et al., 2011 and references cited therein).
Hf in zircons varies signicantly and reects the proportion of recycled
zircons in igneous rocks. If for instance, Hf >+5 is assumed to represent
juvenile additions, the juvenile component can range from as low as 30%
to more than 50% in continental arcs (Mueller et al., 2008; Sun et al.,
2008; Kemp et al., 2009; Miskovic and Schaltegger, 2009; Ravikant et
al., 2009; Belousova et al., 2010). We have used combined data from

Cumulative Percent

1. Introduction

395

20

Fig. 1. Estimated volume distribution of tectonic settings in accretionary orogens. Uncertainties 20%. See Appendix 1 for data.

396

K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

Nd and Hf isotopic results to estimate the juvenile fractions. From these

results we use a value of 90% for the juvenile component of oceanic tectonic settings (crust, arc, island, rifted margin and plateau); in contrast,
our estimates for continental arcs range from 40 to 50%. To assess uncertainties in these percentages, we have varied estimates from 80 to 100%
juvenile input for oceanic settings and from 30 to 60% for continental arcs
and nd relatively small changes (b 30%) in the estimated volumes of juvenile input for specic accretionary orogens. Our nal estimates for
each terrane are summarized in Appendix 1.
3. Post-Archean (b2.5 Ga) arcs and continental growth
3.1. Subduction of oceanic arcs
An obvious constraint on whether oceanic arcs are important in
continental growth is to see whether modern oceanic arcs are subducting or accreting to continental margins. Cloos (1993) was one
of the rst to evaluate the buoyancy effect on terranes colliding
with continental crust and whether such terranes should subduct or
accrete. He showed that a density contrast of 0.1 g/cm 3 between
converging plates is required for subduction of the plate with greatest
density. Furthermore, his analysis indicates that only oceanic
arcs 15 km thick resist subduction and at least partially accrete to
continental margins. Stern (2011) has argued that oceanic arcs can
entirely disappear from the geologic record by subduction. Recent
studies of Hatcher et al. (2011) show that if there is a felsic component present (as for instance in the Izu Bonin arc), some of the arc
may be underplated beneath the over-riding plate. Because many
modern oceanic arcs have thicknesses b15 km, they should readily
subduct (Fig. 2). Continental arcs, in contrast, which typically have
crustal thicknesses of >30 km should not subduct. Surprisingly,
buoyancy considerations indicate that oceanic plateaus also must be
30 km to resist subduction.
These predictions are testable by studies of modern oceanic arcs
colliding with continental crust (Hall, 2008; Yamamoto et al.,
2009a; Xiao et al., 2010a). Classic examples occur in Indonesia and
the Philippines where several oceanic arcs are colliding with continental margins. With exception of two arcs with transpressive
5
Oceanic arcs
Continental arcs
4

Subductable

Nonsubductable or
partly subductable

Count

0
12

16

20

24

28

32

36

40

44

48

Crustal Thickness (km)

Fig. 2. Crustal thickness distribution in arcs.
Chief sources including the literature cited in these sources: Miller and Christensen
(1994); Fliedner and Klemperer (2000), Holbrook et al. (1999), Tatsumi et al. (2008),
Condie (2011), and Hughes and Mahood (2011).

collisions (Celebes and Taiwan), all of these arcs appear to be subducting (Yamamoto et al., 2009b). The best documented example of
a modern subducting oceanic arc is the Izu-Bonin arc, which is
being subducted beneath Honshu in Japan (Yamamoto et al., 2009b;
Isozaki et al., 2010; Stern, 2011). This arc, which is even thicker
(2035 km) than the Cloos upper limit of 15 km, has been subducting
beneath Japan for at least the last 17 Ma. Seismic tomographic images
show that although a minor amount is being scraped off the top during collision, most of the arc is subducting into the mantle. Another
case for on-going accretion of an oceanic arc to continental crust is
recorded by the collision of the Luzon arc with Taiwan (Defant et
al., 1990; Clift et al., 2010). Two factors seem to account for the arc accretion (Dimalanta and Yumul, 2004): 1) the Luzon arc has an unusually thick crust (2630 km) and thus the oceanic lithosphere is
relatively buoyant, and 2) there is a signicant transcurrent component along the collisional boundary.
Hence, both buoyancy considerations and observed collisions of
oceanic arcs with continental crust show that oceanic arcs should
mostly subduct. If we assume that 20 km is approximately the
upper limit for an arc to completely subduct (Fig. 2), most oceanic
arcs should partly or completely subduct.
3.2. Distribution of arcs in accretionary orogens
The nal test of how important oceanic arcs are to continental
growth is that of just how abundant they are in accretionary orogens.
From the data in Appendix 1, the relative abundances of tectonic settings in post-Archean arcs are shown in Fig. 1. Although there is considerable variability in tectonic setting abundances between orogens,
it is very clear that with exception of the ArabianNubian orogen,
oceanic arcs are not an important component of accretionary orogens.
Less than 10% of the American Cordillera and Appalachian orogens
comprise remnants of oceanic arcs (Condie and Chomiak, 1996; Monger
and Nokleber, 1996; Nance et al., 2002; Condie, 2007; Murphy et al.,
2011) and in Japan the volume is b2% (Isozaki, 1996; Isozaki et al.,
2010; Jahn, 2010; Xiao et al., 2010a, 2010b). With exception of the Talkeetna arc that accreted to Alaska 150 Ma (Clift et al., 2005; Rioux et al.,
2007), most accreted oceanic arcs in the Cordillera and Appalachians
are small, highly deformed remnants scraped off and squeezed between
other terranes (Hatcher, 1987; Murphy et al., 2004; Johnston, 2008;
Murphy et al., 2011). Although Sengr et al. (1993) and Sengr and
Natal'in (1996) reported oceanic arcs in the Central Asian orogen,
later studies have not conrmed these observations. Recent studies
show that on average, the Central Asian orogen contains only about
10% of oceanic arcs (Badarch et al., 2002; Windley et al., 2007; Sun et
al., 2008; Rojas-Agramonte et al., 2011). Only in the Neoproterozoic
ArabianNubian orogen do oceanic arcs exceed 20%, averaging about
40% (Stern, 2002; Hargrove et al., 2006; Ali et al., 2009) (Fig. 1). If we include the modern Sundaland orogen in Indonesia, studies show that
most colliding oceanic arcs in this orogen do not survive, with an average of only 10% of the orogen comprising accreted (or accreting) oceanic
arcs (Hall, 2008). The Mazatzal-Yavapai orogen in the southwestern
United States is perhaps the only Paleoproterozoic accretionary orogen
where terranes and tectonic settings have been quantitatively described
(Condie, 1986; Karlstrom et al., 2001). If the outcrops of this orogen are
representative, again oceanic arcs seem to comprise b10% by volume.
The most widespread tectonic setting in all but the Sundaland orogen is that of continental arcs, which make up 4080% of accretionary
terranes. Phanerozoic orogens typically contain around 50% of continental arcs (Fig. 1). These arcs, which include large amounts of felsic
to intermediate volcanics, formed on older felsic crust or in a few instances, formed on accreted oceanic arcs (such as the Talkeetna arc in
Alaska [Clift et al., 2005]). When deeper levels of erosion expose the
root zones of these arcs, calc-alkaline batholiths are widespread
(Lee et al., 2007). In the Cordillera and Appalachians, most continental arcs erupted onto older continental crust, and in the case of the

K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

3.3. Where is juvenile crust produced in accretionary orogens?

The next question to address is just where in accretionary orogens
is juvenile continental crust produced. From our ever-increasing database of Nd and Hf isotopes in igneous rocks of accretionary and collisional orogens, it is possible to identify which tectonic settings
contribute most to the production of juvenile continental crust. As
shown by several earlier studies (Condie, 2007 and references therein), accretionary orogens are the primary sites for production of continental crust, at least since the end of the Archean. Our current
database as summarized in Fig. 3 (from data in Appendix 1) indicates
that between 40 and 65% of post-Archean accretionary orogens are
composed of juvenile continental input (Sun et al., 2008). We consider
these estimates as maxima, because post-collisional plutonic components are not included, since later plutonic phases can involve large
amounts of reworked older continental crust (Jahn, 2010). If the orogens we have studied (Figs. 1 and 3) are representative, it is clear that
in most orogens, oceanic arcs contribute 10% of the juvenile component in accretionary orogens, and this component is chiey mac in
composition. Even the Neoproterozoic ArabianNubian orogen in
Saudi Arabia is reported to have large numbers of recycled zircons in
the plutonic components (Kennedy et al., 2007; Morag et al., 2011),
and thus the orogen as a whole may contain consider volumes of
recycled continental crust.
So where is most of the juvenile continental crust produced in accretionary orogens? Again, continental arcs move to the head of the
line (Fig. 3). More than 50% of the total juvenile continental crust in
accretionary orogens resides in and was produced in continental
arcs. With exception of Japan where a signicant amount of oceanic
crust was scraped off during accretion, other tectonic settings such
as oceanic crust, islands and plateaus contribute b 10% to the total juvenile input into accretionary orogens.
3.4. Felsic components in oceanic arcs
Although felsic igneous rocks are not widespread in oceanic arcs,
they may be important if they are the rst signs of development of continental crust. Although seismic data indicate that most oceanic arcs do
not contain signicant felsic components at depth (Izu-Bonin is an exception [Yamamoto et al., 2009b]), relatively minor felsic volcanics

Juvenile other
Juvenile Cont arc
Juvenile Oceanic arc

70

65.4%

DISTRIBUTION OF
JUVENILE CRUST
63.4%

60
52.1%

50

Cumulative Percent

Appalachians, many formed on remnants of Precambrian cratons

(micro-cratons) (Nance et al., 2002; Murphy et al., 2004). Much of
the modern Sunda arc system in Indonesia also formed on older continental crust of Sundaland (Hall, 2008; Sevastjanova et al., 2011).
The widespread distribution of continental arcs in Proterozoic orogens of the southwestern United States reects closure of continental
back arc basins in which large amounts of arc volcanics and sediments were preserved (Condie, 1986). Not all continental arcs, however, are sites of continental growth as exemplied by the Andes in
South America, where subduction erosion recycles continental crust
back into the mantle (Stern, 2011).
Other tectonic settings in accretionary orogens vary considerably
in relative abundance. Micro-cratons, which represent rifted pieces
of Precambrian cratons, comprise signicant volumes of the Cordillera, Appalachian, Central Asian and Sundaland orogens. Examples include Avalonia in the Appalachian orogen and Tarim on the margin
of the Central Asian orogen. In contrast, accreted micro-cratons are
trivial in the Japan, ArabianNubian and Proterozoic Laurentia orogens (Morag et al., 2011) (Fig. 1). Oceanic LIPs and islands also comprise a small proportion of orogens, reaching an average maximum of
about 10% in Japan and the Central Asian orogens. Oceanic crust can
be accreted either as ophiolites (incl. dismembered ophiolites) or as
remnants of ocean-oor volcanics and pelagic sediments, but only
in the Japan orogen does it comprise a signicant volume of the accreted terranes (Isozaki, 1996).

397

41%

43%

44%

40

30

20

10

0
Cordillera Appalachians Japan
n = 68
n = 43
n = 19

ANS Central Asian Proterozoic

n = 13
SWNA
n = 25
n = 17

Fig. 3. Estimated volume distribution of juvenile continental crust in accretionary orogens. ANS, Arabian-Nubian orogen; SWUSA, southwestern United States.
Major sources for Nd and Hf isotopic data, including literature cited in these sources:
Eisele and Isachens (2001), Bahlburg et al. (2009), Ali et al. (2009), Condie (2007,
2011), Condie et al. (2011) Murphy and Nance (2002), Samson and Patchett (1991),
Jahn (2010), Sevastjanova et al. (2011), Morag et al. (2011).

and plutons occur in some arcs and in fact some oceanic arcs are bimodal with both mac and felsic components and very few have intermediate compositions (Ishizuka et al., 2003). However, oceanic
arcs differ dramatically in bulk composition from continental arcs,
the latter of which are dominated by intermediate to felsic components (Bryant et al., 2006; Kadioglu et al., 2006). Continental arcs
are generally unimodal in composition with a peak in SiO2 near 65%,
whereas oceanic arcs are mac or bimodal with a peak near 52% SiO2
(Korsch et al., 2011).
Could the felsic components in oceanic arcs represent the rst
stages in the development of continental crust? If so, continental
crust could actually begin to be produced in oceanic arcs before
they collide with continents. A comparison, however, of incompatible
trace element distributions shows that felsic igneous rocks formed in
oceanic arcs differ signicantly in composition from continental crust.
First of all, with exception of Rb, Ba and Th, oceanic felsic components
are not enriched in incompatible elements like continental arcs
(Fig. 4; data given in Appendix 2). On incompatible element spidergrams, they have Nb and Ta contents similar to the light REE (no
Nb-Ta anomalies) and do not show Sr anomalies, both of which are
characteristic of continental arc felsic components and upper continental crust. The most striking trend in oceanic felsic components is
the gradual depletion in incompatible elements from Hf to Nb, a
trend that is opposite to that observed in continental felsic components (alternatively this could be interpreted as unfractionated REE
with a positive ZrHf anomaly and negative NbTa anomaly). An exception to this trend has recently been reported in granodiorite from
a small knoll in the Izu-Bonin back arc basin, which has incompatible
element distributions very much like continental crust (Tani et al.,
2011a). The origin and signicance of this occurrence is not yet clear.
Both continental crust and felsic igneous rocks from continental
arcs are characterized by relatively high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios reecting
relatively deep melting at convergent margins where garnet remains in
the restite retaining Y and heavy REE (Martin, 1993; Condie, 2008). This

398

K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

PM-Normalized Value

100

10

Continental arc
UC
Oceanic arc
0.

Rb Ba Th Nb Ta La Ce Sr Nd Zr Hf Sm Eu Ti Gd Y Yb

Fig. 4. Primitive-mantle normalized incompatible element distributions in average

upper continental crust (UC) compared to average felsic igneous rocks from continental and oceanic arcs.
Sources: UC, Rudnick and Gao (2003); continental and oceanic arcs, Append. 2; primitive
mantle (PM), Sun and McDonough (1989).

is illustrated in Fig. 5 where (La/Yb)n and Sr/Y ratios each lie in the
range of 5 to100. Felsic LIPs (large igneous provinces) also typically
fall at the low end of this range. In contrast, felsic igneous components
formed in oceanic arcs have very low values of these ratios (typically b 3
for [La/Yb]n and b 10 for Sr/Y; Fig. 5), similar to ratios in plagiogranites
from ophiolites. These magmas formed at shallower depths where

100

Oceanic arcs
Continental arcs
LIP felsics
Ophiolite felsics

FELSIC IGNEOUS ROCKS

4. Discussion and conclusions

Although most post-Archean oceanic arcs appear to have been
largely subducted as discussed above, Draut et al. (2002; 2009)
have made a case for accretion of two early Paleozoic oceanic arcs
to continental crust in Ireland. The accretion resulted in production
of felsic magmas that were both intruded and extruded and may
have contributed to production of new continental crust. However,
the average composition of felsic components in these oceanic arcs
falls with continental arcs on both the La/YbSr/Y and Th/YbNb/Yb
graphs (Figs. 5 and 6), indicating that when the felsic magmas were
produced the accreted oceanic arcs had thickened and evolved into
continental arcs. Thus, the felsic input that drove the composition

10

WI

EI

10

(La/Yb)n

garnet did not remain in the restite. These differences are also evident
on the Pearce diagram showing Th/Yb vs Nb/Yb (Fig. 6). These element
ratios clearly separate the MORB-OIB mantle array from a subduction
component as recorded by enrichment in Th relative to Yb. The modern
arc array is also shown on the gure. Although most arc felsic igneous
rocks fall in or above this arc array on Fig. 6, only felsic components
from continental arcs have high values of both ratios and are similar
in composition to average upper and bulk continental crust. The relatively low Yb in these rocks again points to residual garnet in the
sources. In contrast, oceanic arc felsic components have strikingly low
values of these ratios recording thinner crust, no residual garnet in the
sources, and sources depleted in Th relative continental arcs. Felsic components from LIPs show considerable variation, depending on whether
they have a subduction component in their sources (Fig. 6). Felsic igneous rocks from ophiolites (mostly plagiogranites) fall just above the
MORB-OIB array, showing that they have a minor subduction
component.
The bottom line of these geochemical differences is that continental
crust does not begin life in oceanic arcs. Accretion of oceanic arcs to continents does not yield the correct composition for signicant felsic
input. On the other hand, the remarkable similarity of incompatible element distributions in granitoids and felsic volcanics from continental
arcs is consistent with most continental crust being produced in continental arcs.

Oceanic arcs
Continental arcs
LIP felsics
Ophiolite felsics

FELSIC IGNEOUS ROCKS

EPRB
WI

EPRB

EI
WPRB

Izu
WPRB

Izu

Whundo

ARC ARRAY

Th/Yb

Whundo

MORB-OIB
ARRAY

Upper Continental Crust

Archean Upper Continental Crust
Bulk Continental Crust

0.1
0.1

10

100

0.1

1000

Sr/Y
Fig. 5. Distribution of felsic igneous rocks from different tectonic settings on a (La/Yb)
nSr/Y diagram. Data from Condie (2008) and Appendix 2. Felsic igneous rocks include
volcanic, hypabyssal, and plutonic components (pre-collisional granitoids only). LIP, large
igneous province; WI and EI, average felsic igneous rocks from western and eastern Ireland
(Draut et al., 2002; 2009); EPRB and WPRB, eastern and western Peninsular Range batholith, California (Lee et al., 2007); Izu, Kofu granitic complex, Izu-Bonin arc (Saito et al.,
2007); Whundo arc, western Pilbara, Western Australia (Smithies et al., 2005). Each data
point is the average value from a given site and continental crust averages are from Rudnick
and Gao (2003).

Upper Continental Crust

Archean Upper Continental Crust
Bulk Continental Crust

0.01
0.1

10

100

Nb/Yb
Fig. 6. Distribution of felsic igneous rocks from different tectonic settings on a Th/YbNb/Yb
diagram (after Pearce, 2008). Data from Condie (2008) and Appendix 2. Other information
in Fig. 5.

K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

GREENSTONE BASALTS
1

0.9

78
Arc/(Arc + Non-arc)

0.8

80

0.7

45
47

0.6

0.5

0.4

20

0.3

0.2

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

Age (Ma)
Fig. 7. The ratio of arc to non-arc + arc greenstones with age. Arc and non-arc greenstone basalts are distinguished using a combination of geochemical and lithologic
data as described in Condie (1994; 2003; 2005); data are also given in these sources,
although spreadsheets are continually updated with new published results. Number
refers to the number of greenstones, vertical bars to one standard deviation of the
mean values.

andesites to total (largely mac) volcanics can serve as an approximate proxy for the ratio of continental to oceanic arcs in arc-type
greenstones. This ratio shows a dramatic change at the end of the Archean, before which the ratio is mostly b0.5 and after which it is commonly >0.5 (Fig. 8). There are only two arcs in our Archean arc
greenstone database (NorsemanWiluna in Western Australia and
Nyanzian in Kenya) that are typical continental arcs. If we use a
ratio of 0.5 as the approximate boundary between oceanic and

ARC-TYPE GREENSTONES
1.2

0.8

FV+AND/Total

of the mac arc to a composition like continental crust occurred after

the oceanic arc had accreted and evolved into a continental arc (or
perhaps in part during accretion). Whatever the processes of melting
and delamination that led to production of the felsic igneous rocks,
they clearly occurred in a continental and not an oceanic setting.
The possibility of rapid evolution of accreted oceanic arcs into continental margin arcs has been pointed out by previous investigators
(Pearcy et al., 1990; DeBari and Sleep, 1991; Lee et al., 2007). Lee et
al. (2007) proposed that two geochemically different phases of the
Pennisular Range batholith in southern California reect an accreted
oceanic arc (western phase WPRB) and a continental arc (eastern
phase EPRB), respectively. On our geochemical diagrams (Figs. 5
and 6), the average composition of both phases plots with continental
arc felsic components (WPRB perhaps overlapping with oceanic arc
felsics [Fig. 5]). Again, this suggests that both phases of the batholith
formed in a continental arc environment. Another example of a continental batholith produced during and after collision of an oceanic
arc with continental crust is the Tanzawa plutonic complex in Japan,
where the Izu-Bonin arc is being subducted beneath Honshu (Tani
et al., 2011b). Hence, it appears that calc-alkaline batholiths are produced only after accretion and thickening during and after collision
of oceanic arcs with continental crust. Such a condition is necessary
for the arc root to begin to melt and produce felsic magmas with continental rather than oceanic geochemical signatures.
Another line of evidence that has been used to support oceanic
arcs in making continents is that high-Mg andesite may be the primary magma type in most or some oceanic arcs. Because high-Mg andesite is similar in composition to average bulk continental crust
(Kelemen, 1995; Tatsumi, 2006), continental crust may be the product
of in-situ fractionation of high-Mg andesite magma giving rise to felsic
components and depleted mac/ultramac components, the latter of
which delaminate and are returned to the mantle. If this mechanism
is viable, oceanic arcs could indeed be important building blocks of continental crust. However, continental crust is complex and includes
many components of different volumes, composition and age. Some
components are exotic and have been tectonically mixed into the
crust during plate collisions. In places, such as the Archean of southern
India, even the deep crust includes large volumes of sedimentary carbonate and quartzite. Different erosion levels of the continental crust
exposed at Earth's surface and xenolith populations that sample the
lower crust show that continental crust cannot have evolved from one
type of parental magma, such as high-Mg andesite. Any model that
calls upon fractionation of a single magma type to produce continental
crust is completely unrealistic. Thus, a possible similarity in composition
of high-Mg andesite and continental crust should not be used to support
a genetic connection between the two.
Although oceanic arcs do not appear to be major components in
continental growth after the Archean, this may not have been the
case during the Archean, and especially during the late Archean
when plate tectonics was fully operational (Condie and Krner,
2008; Wyman and Kerrich, 2009). Archean cratons may be composed
of accreted terranes (Boily et al., 2009), although not all investigators
agree with this interpretation (Maurice et al., 2009). Many studies
conrm that the Superior craton in Canada comprises accreted oceanic arcs and oceanic LIPs (Kusky and Polat, 1999), but it also includes
some micro-cratons such as the Minnesota River Valley terrane.
Some investigators have interpreted early and middle Archean greenstones in SW Greenland as accreted oceanic arcs (Polat et al., 2008;
Nutman and Friend, 2009). Supporting the widespread distribution
of subduction in the late Archean is a rapid increase in the number
of arc-type greenstones, a trend which continues into the early Paleoproterozoic (Fig. 7) with the greenstones in West Africa and South
America (Condie, 2003). At these locations, the Birimian and Transamazonian greenstones and associated granitoids represent signicant
new additions of continental crust, perhaps still involving oceanic arc
collisions (Abouchami et al., 1990). The ratio of felsic volcanics and

399

Norseman-Wiluna
Nyanzian
0.6
Continental arcs
Oceanic arcs

0.4

0.2

0
500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Age (Ma)
Fig. 8. Plot showing the ratio of felsic volcanics (FV)+ andesites (AND) to total volcanics
in arc greenstones as a function of age. Each point is the average value from a given greenstone belt.
Data from Condie (1994; 2003; 2005) with continued updates.

400

K.C. Condie, A. Krner / Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 394402

Arc-Type Greenstone Basalts

In contrast, after the Archean, oceanic crust became thinner due to

cooling of the mantle and less melt production at ocean ridges, and
hence, the oceanic lithosphere should be more subductable. Oceanic
arcs would be less likely to accrete to continental margins. Widespread propagation of plate tectonics in the late Archean, thus may
have led not only to rapid production of continental crust, but also
to a change in the primary site of production of continental crust
from oceanic arcs and oceanic plateaus in the Archean to continental
arcs thereafter.

arc
arc continental
arc oceanic

UC

1
CA

Th/Yb

OA

PM

0.1

Acknowledgments
NMORB

0.01

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Age (Ma)
Fig. 9. Th/Yb ratio in arc greenstone basalts with age. Each point is the average from a
specic greenstone belt. Data from Condie (1994; 2003; 2005) with continued updates.
PM, primitive mantle and NMORB from Sun and McDonough (1989) and UC, upper
continental crust, from Rudnick and Gao (2003); CA and OA, continental and oceanic
arcs, respectively.

We appreciate two in-depth reviews of an earlier version of the

manuscript by Ali Polat and Hugh Smithies, which resulted in improving
the manuscript.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at doi:10.
1016/j.gr.2011.09.011.
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Incompatible element ratios may also serve as indices of the ratio
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Kent Condie is professor of geochemistry at New Mexico

Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM where
he has taught since 1970. Prior to that time he was at
Washington University in St. Louis, MO (19641970).
Textbook, Plate Tectonics and Crustal Evolution, which is
widely used in upper division and graduate courses in
the Earth Sciences, was rst published in 1976 and has
gone through four later editions. In addition Condie has
written a beginning historical geology textbook with
coauthor Robert Sloan, Origin and Evolution of Earth
(Prentice-Hall, 1998), an advanced textbook, Mantle Plumes
and Their Record in Earth History (Cambridge University
Press, 2001), and a research treatise, Archean Greenstone
Belts (Elsevier, 1981). His most recent book, written as an upper division/graduate textbook, is Earth as an Evolving Planetary System (Elsevier, 2005; second edition 2011).
He also has edited two books, Proterozoic Crustal Evolution (Elsevier, 1992) and Archean
Crustal Evolution (Elsevier, 1994). His CD ROM, Plate Tectonics and How the Earth Works
are widely used in upper division Earth Science courses in the United States and Europe.
Condie's research, primarily dealing with the origin and evolution of continents and the
early history of the Earth, has over the years been sponsored chiey by the U. S. National
Science Foundation. He is author or co-author of over 800 articles published scientic
journals.

Alfred Krner is Professor emeritus at the University of

Mainz (Germany) and an Honorary Visiting Professor in
the Beijing SHRIMP Center, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. He obtained a PhD from the University of
Cape Town, South Africa, in 1968 and worked as an exploration geologist in Windhok, Namibia, in 1969 before
returning to the University of Cape Town as Senior Research
Fellow of the Precambrian Research Unit (19701976). In
1977 he was appointed to the Chair of General and Regional
Geology at the University of Mainz that he occupied until
2006. He was a Visiting Scientist at Stanford University,
USA, the Australian National University in Canberra, as well
as Curtin University of Technology and the University of
Western Australia (UWA), both in Perth. He is a Honorary Fellow of the Geological Societies of America and South Africa, a Honorary Professor of Northwestern University, Xi'an,
China, and was Vice-President of the European Geoscience Union (20002003). He was
also co-editor of Precambrian Research (19842007) and is co-editor of Terra Nova and
Associate Editor of Gondwana Research. His main interest is in Precambrian crustal evolution and zircon geochronology.