Letter https://doi.org/10.

1038/s41586-019-1462-2

Metamorphism and the evolution of plate tectonics

Robert M. Holder1,2*, Daniel R. Viete1, Michael Brown3 & Tim E. Johnson4,5

Earth’s mantle convection, which facilitates planetary heat loss,
is manifested at the surface as present-day plate tectonics1. When
plate tectonics emerged and how it has evolved through time are
two of the most fundamental and challenging questions in Earth
science1–4. Metamorphic rocks—rocks that have experienced solid-
state mineral transformations due to changes in pressure (P) and
temperature (T)—record periods of burial, heating, exhumation
We assess changes in the global distribution of metamorphic T/P
using a database of age and (P, T) conditions of metamorphic rocks
from 564 localities from ref. 4. The data define distinct modes centred
at about 2.6, 1.8, 1.0, 0.5 and <0.2 Gyr ago4 (Extended Data Fig. 1).
a 5.0

–1
and cooling that reflect the tectonic environments in which they Metamorphic rock

Pa
G
4.5 compilation
formed5,6. Changes in the global distribution of metamorphic

°C
0
(P, T) conditions in the continental crust through time might

15
4.0
therefore reflect the secular evolution of Earth’s tectonic processes.
On modern Earth, convergent plate margins are characterized by 3.5 KDE
metamorphic rocks that show a bimodal distribution of apparent
3.0
thermal gradients (temperature change with depth; parameterized
here as metamorphic T/P) in the form of paired metamorphic belts5, P (GPa)
2.5 °C
which is attributed to metamorphism near (low T/P) and away from 500 –1
(high T/P) subduction zones5,6. Here we show that Earth’s modern 2.0 GPa
plate tectonic regime has developed gradually with secular cooling
of the mantle since the Neoarchaean era, 2.5 billion years ago. We 1.5
evaluate the emergence of bimodal metamorphism (as a proxy for
1.0
secular change in plate tectonics) using a statistical evaluation of
the distributions of metamorphic T/P through time. We find that 0.5 1,500 °C
–1
the distribution of metamorphic T/P has gradually become wider GPa
and more distinctly bimodal from the Neoarchaean era to the 0
200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000 1,100
present day, and the average metamorphic T/P has decreased since
T (°C)
the Palaeoproterozoic era. Our results contrast with studies that
b 30
inferred an abrupt transition in tectonic style in the Neoproterozoic 500 °C GPa–1
era (about 0.7 billion years ago1,7,8) or that suggested that modern
plate tectonics has operated since the Palaeoproterozoic era (about 25
two billion years ago9–12) at the latest.
The theory of plate tectonics can explain the assembly and break-up
20
of supercontinents, how mountain ranges and major mineral deposits
form13, and perhaps even why there is life on Earth14,15. However, it
Frequency

is unclear how plate tectonics emerged and why it does not occur on 15
other planets in the Solar System. Although there is broad agreement
that plate tectonics has been dominant during the last billion years of
KDE

our planet’s history, how and when it emerged, and how it has evolved 10
through time, are disputed2,3,6,7. A diagnostic feature of plate tectonics
on modern Earth is the bimodal distribution of metamorphic tempera- 5
tures and pressures (Fig. 1), which is expressed in paired metamorphic
belts5,6 and is key to the identification of the past operation of plate
tectonics from the rock record. Here we present a statistical evaluation 0
1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6
of metamorphic T/P through Earth’s history, with the purpose of doc-
log[T/P (°C GPa–1)]
umenting the emergence and evolution of the bimodal distribution of
metamorphic T/P as a proxy for the emergence and evolution of Earth’s Fig. 1 | Metamorphism in the last 0.2 Gyr is characterized by a bimodal
plate tectonic regime. We show that the modern bimodal distribution distribution of apparent metamorphic thermal gradients, T/P. a, Kernel
density estimates (KDE) of metamorphic (P, T) conditions in rocks
of metamorphic T/P, and therefore modern plate tectonics, developed
younger than 0.2 Gyr (ref. 4). The red line (500 °C GPa−1) represents the
gradually since the end of the Neoarchaean era, about 2.5 Gyr ago. We dividing line between the two modes shown in b. b, Histogram and KDE
hypothesize that the development of modern plate tectonics is linked to of metamorphic T/P, plotted logarithmically to illustrate more clearly
secular cooling of the mantle and associated changes in the thickness, the bimodal distribution shown in a. This bimodal distribution of T/P
buoyancy and rheology of oceanic lithosphere, resulting in evolution is manifest in paired metamorphic belts and is considered a diagnostic
in the styles of both subduction and collisional orogenesis. feature of plate tectonics.

1
Morton K. Blaustein Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, MI, USA. 3Laboratory for Crustal Petrology, Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. 4School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Institute for Geoscience
Research (TIGeR), Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 5State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China
University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China. *e-mail: roholder@umich.edu

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 RESEARCH Letter
a b
0 Gyr
Cenozoic
Mesozoic
0.2
Palaeozoic
Low T/P
0.4
Neoproterozoic 0.6
0.8
1.0
1.4–0.85 Gyr
Mesoproterozoic
1.2
1.4
1.6
2.2–1.4 Gyr
1.8
Palaeoproterozoic
2.0
2.2
2.4
>2.2 Gyr
Neoarchaean
2.6
1.8
log[T/P (°C GPa–1)]
Fig. 2 | The bimodal distribution of modern metamorphism evolved
gradually since the end of the Neoarchaean era. a, Histograms and
KDEs of metamorphic T/P since the Neoarchaean era. b, Fits of the
distributions of metamorphic T/P shown in a with bimodal Gaussian
mixing models. Global metamorphism >2.2 Gyr ago can be fitted by a
unimodal Gaussian distribution (95% confidence interval, n = 72,
p value of 0.23); metamorphism ≤2.2 Gyr ago is non-Gaussian
These peaks broadly correspond to peaks in the global distribution
of igneous and detrital zircon U–Pb ages16–18 and, similarly to those
studies, we interpret the peaks to reflect cyclicity4. To provide more
statistically robust (larger number of data points per calculation) char-
acterization of secular changes in the distributions of metamorphic
T/P from one cycle to the next, we binned the data about each of these
peaks, as shown in Extended Data Fig. 1. Histograms and kernel den-
sity estimates (KDE) of each distribution are shown in Fig. 2a. With
decreasing age: (1) the KDE of >2.2-Gyr-old metamorphism is narrow
and symmetric; (2) the KDE of 2.2–1.4-Gyr-old metamorphism is
skewed towards lower T/P, with three low-T/P eclogite outliers11,12,19;
(3) the KDE of 1.4–0.85-Gyr-old metamorphism shows a distinct
low-T/P mode that is not apparent in the >1.4-Gyr-old KDEs;
(4) the KDE of 0.85–0.2-Gyr-old metamorphism is notably broader
than the older distributions, with a prominent mode at lower T/P; and
(5) the KDE of <0.2-Gyr-old (‘modern’) metamorphism is bimodal, with
distinct high-T/P and low-T/P peaks that are much more pronounced
than for the older distributions. Qualitatively, the secular evolution
in the KDEs is interpreted to represent a gradual transition from a
narrow, unimodal distribution of metamorphic T/P in the Archaean
eon, to a distinctly bimodal distribution in the modern metamorphic
rock record.
To assess this interpretation quantitatively, we fitted a Gaussian
mixing model to each distribution (Fig. 2b). First, the distributions
were assessed by whether they are non-Gaussian (that is, do not
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c
Low T/P High T/P
0.2–0
Gyr
High T/P Low T/P High T/P
0.85–0.2
Gyr
Non-Gaussian
Gaussian
Mean = 2.96
s.d. = 0.11
3.6 1.8 3.6 2.2 3.4
log[T/P (°C GPa–1)] log[T/P (°C GPa–1)]
(95% confidence intervals; 2.2–1.4 Gyr ago, n = 106, p = 5.4 × 10−5; 1.4–
0.85 Gyr ago, n = 45, p = 0.017; 0.85–0.2 Gyr ago, n = 232, p = 3.6 × 10−7;
0.2–0 Gyr ago, n = 109, p = 2.2 × 10−7), but is well described by bimodal
mixed-Gaussian distributions. c, Linear regressions of low-T/P and high-
T/P modes (from b) with 95% confidence envelopes. The best-fit bimodal
distributions of metamorphic T/P become increasingly distinct, showing
divergence and cooling of the low-T/P and high-T/P modes through time.
represent a single Gaussian distribution) at a 95% confidence inter-
val, according to the Shapiro–Wilk test20. If the data distributions were
assessed to be non-Gaussian, we fitted a bimodal mixed-Gaussian dis-
tribution (that is, two Gaussian distributions; Fig. 2b, Extended Data
Table 1) to evaluate how these compare to the bimodal distribution of
the modern metamorphic rock record (Figs. 1, 2a). The distribution
of data older than 2.2 Gyr is Gaussian with a mean and standard devi-
ation of 2.96 and 0.11 (for log[T/P (°C GPa−1)]), respectively. By con-
trast, each of the younger (<2.2 Gyr old) distributions is non-Gaussian
but is well described by a bimodal mixed-Gaussian distribution. The
difference between the two best-fit Gaussian distributions (‘low-T/P’
and ‘high-T/P’ in Fig. 2b) increases through time (Fig. 2c). Viewed
together, the KDEs and modelled mixed-Gaussian distributions show
a continuous increase in the variability of thermal gradients recorded
by metamorphic rocks, as well as a gradual emergence of a discrete
and prominent low-T/P mode of metamorphism since the end of the
Archaean eon.
The Palaeoproterozoic era (about 2 Gyr ago) is notable in that it
has three distinct outliers with low-T/P gradients comparable to
those of rocks formed in modern cold collisional environments11,12,19
(Fig. 3). These data have been used to suggest that subduction and col-
lision similar to those of modern Earth may have been operative dur-
ing the Palaeoproterozoic era11,12,19. Alternatively, the data may reflect
local, anomalous subduction–collision similar to that in modern
tectonic environments, but not representative of the dominant

Increase in diversity and overall
cooling of metamorphic environments
2,000
Metamorphic T/P (°C GPa–1)
1,200
600
300
Nordre Stromfjord,
Nagssugtoqidian orogen,
150
Greenland
1,650
Kumdy-Kol,
Mantle potential21, T (°C)
Kokchetav Massif,
Kazakhstan
1,500
1,350
1,200
0 0.5 1.0 1.5
Age (Gyr)
Fig. 3 | The range of metamorphic T/P (blue symbols) has become
increasingly varied through time, with its average value decreasing
since about 2 Gyr ago. Metamorphic rocks that fall outside this trend
(anomalously low T/P for their age) are labelled. The overall lowering of
metamorphic T/P (and increase in metamorphic diversity) through time
global tectonic regime during the Palaeoproterozoic era4. Here we
focus on the broader, continuous global trends in metamorphic T/P
outlined above.
From the statistical evaluation of the distributions of metamorphic
T/P through time presented here, it is hypothesized that the mod-
ern style of plate tectonics—characterized by a distinctly bimodal
distribution of metamorphic T/P—developed gradually (Fig. 3). This
hypothesis can be considered an alternative to: (1) hypotheses that
infer plate tectonics to have begun abruptly in the Neoproterozoic era,
based on the apparently sudden appearance of blueschist and ultrahigh-
pressure (UHP) metamorphism about 0.7 Gyr ago7; (2) hypotheses
that infer that a plate tectonic regime similar to the modern one has
been operative since the Palaeoproterozoic era (about 2 Gyr ago)10–12 at
the latest, and; (3) the hypothesis of transient (≤0.3 Gyr) modern-like
plate tectonic behaviour in the Palaeoproterozoic era, before true plate
tectonics began in the Neoproterozoic era1. The hypothesis presented
here, of a gradual but continuous transition in tectonic style since about
2.5 Gyr ago, is similar to the hypothesized gradual onset of plate tec-
tonics between 3.2 and 2.5 Gyr ago proposed in ref. 2, but extends that
gradual change in tectonic style through to the modern era. We argue
that the most plausible mechanism for the hypothesized gradual change
in plate tectonic style since the Archaean eon is secular cooling of the
upper mantle (Fig. 3).
Changes in the temperature of the upper mantle affect not only the
thermal state of the crust but also the thickness and density of oceanic
lithosphere. Under the higher upper-mantle temperatures that are
thought to have existed during the Proterozoic and Archaean eons21–23,
the degree of decompression melting at mid-ocean ridges is predicted
to have been higher, resulting in thicker oceanic lithosphere23,24 (as
much as 135 km 2.5 Gyr ago versus 60 km today)25, which could have
remained buoyant (relative to the underlying asthenosphere) for sub-
stantially longer than modern oceanic lithosphere (as much as 0.1 Gyr
to attain neutral buoyancy 2.5 Gyr ago versus 0.01–0.03 Gyr today)25.
Letter RESEARCH
Increase in diversity of
metamorphic environments
Fada N’Gourma greenstone belt,
Eburnean orogen, Burkina Faso
Kovik tectonic window, Trans-Hudson orogen, Canada
Eclogite xenolith in carbonatite,
Trans-North-China orogen, China
1,650
Mantle potential22, T (°C)
1,500
1,350
1,200
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
coincides with secular cooling of the upper mantle. Large brown symbols
are from ref. 21, with ages modified as described in ref. 30. Small brown
symbols are from ref. 22, modified for direct comparison with ref. 21, as
described in Methods. Both datasets are shown with best-fit quadratic
regressions and 95% prediction intervals.
Greater thickness and buoyancy of oceanic lithosphere before 1 Gyr
ago might have favoured more uniformly shallow (less steeply dip-
ping) subduction and overall higher thermal gradients in subduction
environments, similar to the moderate-T/P metamorphism (green-
schist–amphibolite–eclogite series) associated with modern collisional
orogenesis.
A possible young analogue for shallower, hotter subduction meta-
morphism that might have been more prevalent before 1 Gyr ago is the
greenschist–amphibolite-facies Orocopia–Pelona–Rand schist (OPRS)
of southern California, which records T/P (500–650 °C GPa−1)26 com-
parable to many eclogites, high-pressure granulites and amphibolites
in the Palaeo- and Mesoproterozoic eras (2.5–1.0 Gyr ago; Fig. 3,
Extended Data Fig. 2). The OPRS is thought to have formed in response
to a transition from steeper, colder subduction (Franciscan-type) to
shallower, hotter subduction related to the incoming of an oceanic
plateau (thicker, more buoyant oceanic lithosphere)26. Consideration
of similar >1-Gyr-old rocks as plausibly related to subduction, rather
than focusing only on blueschist and UHP metamorphism, might offer
new insights into subduction processes (oceanic and continental) on
the early Earth. Many 2.5–1.0-Gyr-old orogenic belts—including
the Grenville, Sveconorwegian, Trans-North China, Trans-Hudson,
Eburnean, Ubendian–Usagaran and Belomorian belts—preserve
bimodal distributions of metamorphic rocks, with the lowest-T/P
rocks characterized by T/P similar to that of the OPRS (about 500–
650 °C GPa−1; Extended Data Fig. 2)26. These contrast the blueschist
and UHP metamorphism that are common on modern Earth. We
hypothesize that modern-style plate tectonics might have developed as
the time to neutral buoyancy became substantially less than the average
age of oceanic lithosphere, favouring colder, steeper subduction of the
type most common in modern subduction zones.
This study focuses on metamorphic T/P—a proxy for the ther-
mal gradients of different tectonic environments—as a more reliable
indicator of the tectonic regime than either T or P. However, another
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 RESEARCH Letter
important secular change in metamorphism relates to a large increase
in the maximum pressure of metamorphism through the Proterozoic
eon (2.5–0.55 Gyr ago), resulting in the widespread occurrence of con-
tinental UHP metamorphism beginning in the Neoproterozoic era,
about 0.7 Gyr ago4. The T/P values of UHP rocks are consistent with
the gradual change proposed here (Figs. 2, 3), but the reason for their
higher maximum pressures requires additional comment. Although
many mechanisms have been invoked to explain the formation and
exhumation of continental UHP rocks27, their observation at Earth’s
surface in general requires that: (1) positively buoyant material be
carried to depth; and (2) the downward force acting on the material
subsequently ceases (for example, owing to physical separation from
the denser material driving subduction or foundering), allowing the
material to return towards Earth’s surface. The geodynamic controls
on the formation of UHP rocks have been addressed through numer-
ical experiments by ref. 28, which hypothesized that the formation
and exhumation of UHP rocks might have been precluded by shal-
lower slab breakoff associated with a hotter mantle (and rheologically
weaker plates) earlier in Earth’s history. Although further simulations
are needed to understand slab breakoff during subduction, these results
suggest that the increase in maximum metamorphic pressure, the emer-
gence of a distinct low-T/P mode of metamorphism (Fig. 2) and the
overall decrease in metamorphic T/P since the end of the Neoarchaean
era, 2.5 Gyr ago (Fig. 2), can be all linked to gradual cooling of the
upper mantle (Fig. 3).
In summary, we present a statistical evaluation of metamorphic T/P
through Earth’s history, with the purpose of documenting the gradual
emergence of the modern bimodal distribution of metamorphic T/P
as a proxy for the emergence of Earth’s modern plate tectonic regime.
This approach is rooted in the classical concept of paired metamor-
phic belts5 as a diagnostic feature of plate tectonics, while leaving open
the possibility that, owing to evolution in the style of plate tectonics29,
paired metamorphism in Earth’s past might have been characterized
by different apparent thermal gradients than today. We show that the
modern bimodal distribution of metamorphic T/P developed gradu-
ally since the end of the Neoarchaean era, about 2.5 Gyr ago, and that
globally bimodal metamorphism emerged before either blueschist or
UHP metamorphism in the geological record. We hypothesize that
both the development of bimodal metamorphism and the appearance
of blueschist and UHP metamorphism are linked to secular cooling
of the mantle and to associated changes in the thickness, buoyancy
and rheology of oceanic lithosphere, resulting in evolution in the
styles of both subduction and collisional orogenesis. Importantly, this
and other hypotheses concerning changes in tectonic style (or lack
thereof)1,4,6,7,10–12,19 through time are testable through further numer-
ical modelling and continued examination of the Precambrian meta-
morphic rock record.
Online content
Any methods, additional references, Nature Research reporting summaries,
source data, extended data, supplementary information, acknowledgements, peer
review information; details of author contributions and competing interests; and
statements of data and code availability are available at https://doi.org/10.1038/
s41586-019-1462-2.
Received: 18 January 2019; Accepted: 30 May 2019;
Published online xx xx xxxx.
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Methods
KDEs (Figs. 1, 2a) and bimodal mixed-Gaussian distributions (Fig. 2b, Extended
Data Table 1) were calculated using the ksdensity and fitgmdist functions, respectively,
of Matlab release R2018b. The linear regressions and corresponding 95% confidence
envelopes, shown in Fig. 2c, were calculated by Monte Carlo analysis (number of
regressions: 10,000). For each regression, values of T/P and age were selected at
random from each modelled Gaussian distribution (Fig. 2b, Extended Data Table 1)
and the age ranges used to bin the data for the mixed-Gaussian fitting (0–0.2 Gyr,
0.2–0.85 Gyr, 0.85–1.4 Gyr and 1.4–2.2 Gyr). To plot mantle potential temperatures
(temperature corrected adiabatically for pressure) from ref. 22 in Fig. 3, the reported
‘magma-generation’ (P, T) conditions for ‘depleted mantle’ compositions were used
and corrected for pressure assuming a liquid adiabat of 30 °C GPa−1. Quadratic
regressions and 95% prediction envelopes of the mantle potential temperature
(Fig. 3) were calculated using the curve-fitting toolbox of Matlab release R2018b.
Data availability
The metamorphic pressure and temperature data used in this study are avail-
able online with their original publication (ref. 4) and in the EarthChem
community data repository (http://www.earthchem.org/library; doi:10.1594/
IEDA/111316).
Letter RESEARCH
Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Morton K. Blaustein
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. T.E.J.
acknowledges support from the State Key Laboratory for Geological Processes
and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan (Open
Fund GPMR210704). R. Rudnick and B. Hacker provided helpful discussion
in the project’s infancy. The authors thank P. Cawood and R. Stern for their
constructive reviews of this work.
Author contributions R.M.H.: conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology,
visualization and writing (original draft, review and editing). D.R.V.: funding
acquisition, visualization and writing (original draft, review and editing). M.B.:
data curation, investigation, visualization and writing (original draft, review and
editing). T.E.J.: data curation, investigation, visualization and writing (original
draft, review and editing).
Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to R.M.H.
Peer review information Nature thanks Peter Cawood and Robert Stern for their
contribution to the peer review of this work.
Reprints and permissions information is available at http://www.nature.com/
reprints.
 RESEARCH Letter

0.2–0 Gyr, modern

50
0.85–0.2 Gyr,
40 Pangea
Frequency

30 1.4–0.85 Gyr, 2.2–1.4 Gyr, >2.2 Gyr,

Rodinia Columbia Super Cratons
20

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Age (billions of years before present: Gyr)
Extended Data Fig. 1 | Distribution of ages of metamorphism. The metamorphic data presented in this paper, the data were binned about
distribution of ages of metamorphism is characterized by peaks at each of these discrete peaks to provide more statistically robust (with
about 2.6, 1.9, 1.0, 0.5 and <0.2 Gyr ago. For the statistical evaluation of higher number of data points) interpretations.
 Letter RESEARCH

2,000 2,000
High T/P
Intermediate T/P
Low T/P
1,500 1,500

T/P (°C/GPa)
T/P of OPRS

1,000 1,000

500 500

a
0 1 2 3 4

2,000 2,000

1,500 1,500
T/P (°C/GPa)

1,000 1,000

500 500

0 1 2 3 4
Age (billions of years before present)
Extended Data Fig. 2 | Comparison between T/P values for the  to the incoming of an oceanic plateau (thicker, more buoyant oceanic
Orocopia–Pelona–Rand schist and for the entire dataset used in this lithosphere)26. Many Mesoproterozoic and Palaeoproterozoic orogenic
study. a, All data are divided into low-, intermediate- and high-T/P after belts preserve bimodal distributions of metamorphism, with the lower-T/P
ref. 4. b, Moving averages (300-Myr window) and one-standard-deviation rocks (‘intermediate-T/P’ in this figure) being characterized by average
envelopes of the data shown in a. The OPRS is thought to have formed T/P similar to that of the OPRS (about 500–650 °C GPa−1)26, including the
in response to a transition from steeper, colder subduction (‘Franciscan- Grenville, Sveconorwegian, Trans-North China, Trans-Hudson, Eburnean,
type’) to shallower (more gently dipping), hotter subduction related Ubendian–Usagaran and Belomorian belts.
 RESEARCH Letter

Extended Data Table 1 | Results of mixed-Gaussian models

High T/P Low T/P

Age Mean Component Mean Component
s.d. s.d.
(Gyr) (log10 °C/GPa) Proportion (%) (log10 °C/GPa) Proportion (%)
0.2–0 2.92 0.11 32 2.42 0.10 68

0.85–0.2 2.81 0.19 59 2.36 0.09 41

1.4–0.85 3.08 0.11 78 2.68 0.08 22

2.2–1.4 3.05 0.05 30 2.86 0.23 70

>2.2 2.96 0.11 100 — — —

Mean and standard deviation (s.d.) of the bimodal mixed-Gaussian models shown in Fig. 2b. The distribution of data older than 2.2 Gyr could not be distinguished from a Gaussian distribution at the
95% confidence interval by the Shapiro–Wilk test (n = 72, p = 0.23); for these data the mean and standard deviation of the best-fit single Gaussian distribution are shown. Each distribution <2.2 Gyr
old is distinguishable from a single Gaussian distribution at the 95% confidence interval (2.2–1.4 Gyr old, n = 106, p =5.4 × 10−5; 1.4–0.85 Gyr old, n = 45, p = 0.017; 0.85–0.2 Gyr old, n = 232,
p = 3.6 × 10−7; 0.2–0 Gyr ago, n = 109, p = 2.2 × 10−7).