Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35

www.elsevier.nl/locate/sedgeo

An introduction to Precambrian basins: their characteristics

and genesis
P.G. Eriksson a,*, M.A. Martins-Neto b, D.R. Nelson c, L.B. Aspler d, J.R. Chiarenzelli e,
O. Catuneanu f, S. Sarkar g, W. Altermann h, C.J. de W. Rautenbach a
a
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
b
Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Caixa Postal 173, 35400-000 Ouro Preto/MG, Brazil
c
Geological Survey of Western Australia, Mineral House, 100 Plain Street, East Perth, WA, 6004, Australia
d
23 Newton Street, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 2S6
e
Environmental Research Center, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, USA
f
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada T6G 2E3
g
Department of Geological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Calcutta 700-032, India
h
Institut fuÈr Allgemeine und Angewandte Geologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitaÈt, Luisenstrasse 37, D-80333 MuÈnchen, Germany
Accepted 19 January 2001

Abstract
Precambrian and younger basins re¯ect the interaction of sediment supply and subsidence; the latter is generally ascribed to
tectonic, magmatic and related thermal processes. The interplay of supply and subsidence is further modi®ed by eustasy and
palaeoclimate. Problems and enigmas inherent in analysis of Precambrian basin-®lls include: a spectrum of ideas on the
maximum age of Phanerozoic-style plate tectonics in the rock record; Archaean heat ¯ow up to two to three times present
values; changes in magmatism over time (including global magmatic events); the evolution of atmospheric composition and of
life and their in¯uence on weathering, erosion and sediment supply rates; degree of preservation, deformation and metamorph-
ism, and preservational bias (especially of intracratonic basins which would lack evidence for early plate tectonics); a limited
rock record; poor age constraints, inherent errors in geochronological techniques and dif®culty in dating the time of deposition
of sedimentary rocks.
Major in¯uences on Precambrian basin formation are assumed to include magmatism, plate tectonics, eustasy and palaeo-
climate, all of which interacted. Models for greenstone belt evolution include plate tectonic intra-oceanic generation, plume-
generated oceanic plateau, and global catastrophic magmatic events that may have been transitional to a plate tectonic regime
over several hundred million years. The latter transition may have included the onset of the supercontinent cycle. Insigni®cant
preservation of Precambrian ocean ¯oor makes evaluation of these models problematic. Eustasy was intrinsically related to
continental crustal growth rates, continental freeboard and the hypsometric curves of emerging cratons. Possible maximum
crustal growth rates near the Archaean±Proterozoic boundary led to globally elevated sea levels, and the formation of enormous
carbonate-banded iron formation platforms where cyanobacterial mats, which produced oxygen, ¯ourished. The combination of
changes in cratonic growth rates, thermal elevation of cratons, eustasy, weathering and palaeo-atmosphere composition may
have combined to produce the ®rst global glaciation at ca. 2.4±2.2 Ga.
Examples of basins discussed here emphasise the interaction of tectonism, magmatism, eustasy and palaeoclimate in their
evolution. For the Neoarchaean Witwatersrand basin (Kaapvaal craton, South Africa), evidence for all these factors is preserved

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 127-12-4202238; fax: 127-12-3625219.

E-mail addresses: pat@scienta.up.ac.za (P.G. Eriksson), perikssn@nsnper1.up.ac.za (P.G. Eriksson).

0037-0738/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0037-073 8(01)00066-5
2 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35

in the basin-®ll, whereas for the Neoproterozoic MacauÂbas basin (SaÄo Francisco craton, Brazil), clear evidence for eustasy is
more limited. The ca. ,2.45± , 1.9 Ga preserved Hurwitz basin (Hearne domain, Canada) suggests a predominant tectonic
control, but with signi®cant in¯uences from magmatic processes, eustasy and palaeoclimate. For the ca. 2.7 Ga Ventersdorp
Supergroup, which succeeded the Witwatersrand Supergroup, a strong case can be made for magmatism as a prime in¯uence,
with an inferred mantle plume having caused lithospheric stretching and thermal subsidence. The Ventersdorp formed part of an
inferred global magmatic event, succeeded on the Pilbara and Kaapvaal cratons by the NeoArchaean±Palaeoproterozoic
Hamersley and Lower Transvaal carbonate-banded iron formation platform successions, ascribed largely to globally high
sea levels, allied to an aggressive weathering regime. Evidence for both eustasy and weathering are limited in the preserved
basin-®ll of the Palaeoproterozoic Timeball Hill (upper Transvaal Supergroup, Kaapvaal) depository, formed during the ca.
2.4±2.2 Ga global glaciation, probably due to tectonic subsidence. For the ca. 1.7±1.5 Ga EspinhacËo basin (SaÄo Francisco
craton, Brazil) evidence supports lithospheric stretching and thermal subsidence as prime in¯uences.
The origin of greenstone basins remains contentious. That magmatism was a major factor in their evolution is accepted by
most, but whether this was plate-independent or plate-driven is less certain; the role of mantle plumes and the possibility of
greenstones having been ridge-generated are also discussed by some workers. Episodic magmatism on a global scale may have
played a role in the evolution of early basins such as the greenstones, Witwatersrand and Ventersdorp, and with a possible
transition to plate tectonics into the Palaeoproterozoic, mid-ocean ridge growth related to either supercontinent break-up or to
continental crustal growth rates probably in¯uenced the eustatically controlled Hamersley and Lower Transvaal basin sedi-
mentation. The possibility that early plate tectonics was characterised by variable spreading and subduction rates is discussed in
the light of evidence from the Witwatersrand basin, the North American, Baltic and Siberian cratons, and the Transvaal
Supergroup. In conclusion, Precambrian basin evolution probably re¯ects the variable interaction of tectonism, magmatism,
eustasy and palaeoclimate (as also found for Phanerozoic basins), with the most signi®cant difference compared to younger
basins lying in the relative rates of processes such as ridge-spreading, subduction, crustal growth, weathering and atmospheric
compositional change. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Precambrian basins; Tectonism; Magmatism; Eustasy and palaeoclimate; Rates of change

1. Introduction con®dence (Miall, 1990) in establishing its time of

Analysis of Phanerozoic basins is a highly devel-
oped science, premised largely on the accumulated
wisdom of the petroleum industry. Modern treatises
on basin analysis (e.g. Miall, 1990; Allen and Allen,
1990) emphasise that the approach to the subject
should be made within the plate tectonic paradigm.
The Glossary of Geology (Bates and Jackson, 1980)
de®nes a basin as a `low area in the Earth's crust, of
tectonic origin' and then de®nes several examples.
This de®nition also embraces the geosyncline
concept, introduced by Hall (1859); for him, and
others like Suess (1875), a geosyncline represented a
large downwarped area, which was almost axiomati-
cally a centre of deposition. This concept predomi-
nated in sedimentary basin analysis for over a
century and was replaced by plate tectonics in the
early 1970s; some geologists, however, still ®nd
value in the outdated geosyncline concept for ancient
basin-®lls. Although there is little doubt that plate
tectonics was operative during the Mesoproterozoic
to Neoproterozoic (e.g. Windley, 1995), there is less
initiation, although a strong school of thought
supports Archaean plate tectonics in recognisable
form (e.g. De Wit et al., 1992; Krapez, 1993; Wind-
ley, 1995; De Wit and Hynes, 1995; Kusky, 1997;
Kusky and Vearncombe, 1997; Brandl and De Wit,
1997; Mueller and Corcoran, 1998, 2001).
Basins are commonly considered to be the products
of isostatic compensation due to tectono-thermal
processes operating at the lithospheric scale (Allen
and Allen, 1990). From a sedimentological perspec-
tive, the formation of a basin involves interplay
between sediment supply and basin ¯oor subsidence.
Such interplay may be in¯uenced by eustatic and
palaeoclimatic variation over geological time scales;
this is the essence of basin analysis (Miall, 1990,
1996; Allen and Allen, 1990). Subsidence generally
leads to continuous basin evolution, whereas basin
¯oor rise normally results in uplift and cannibalisation
of basin-®ll deposits (e.g. Ojakangas et al., 2001c).
This special issue aims to examine the evolution of
Precambrian basins over time, and to evaluate the
roles of four factors: tectonics, magmatism, eustasy
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
and palaeoclimate. We use the term `tectonics' to
include both plate and non-plate mechanical and ther-
mal models, and emphasise that we use the term
`magmatism' to include both plate-boundary (spread-
ing centre, subduction zone, major transform) and
plume-related magmatic and thermal processes. To
provide a background for the remaining papers in
this special volume, we have selected several Precam-
brian basins to illustrate the variable degree to which
each of these four factors may interact during basin
evolution.
2. Problems and enigmas inherent in Precambrian
basin analysis
2.1. De®nition
A Precambrian basin may be de®ned as: the repo-
sitory for the accumulation of a succession of sedi-
mentary and/or volcanic rocks, whose ®ll has a
signi®cant preserved surface area and total thickness.
Obviously, this de®nition is debatable, and adjudging
each case on its dimensional merits is probably prefer-
able to constraints such as several thousand square
kilometres area and in excess of 1 km thickness,
even if such ®gures seem reasonable. Martins-Neto
et al. (2001) emphasise the signi®cance of de®ning
®rst-order basin-®ll cycles (based largely on
tectono-stratigraphy). Mueller and Corcoran (2001)
emphasise that even thin Archaean supracrustal
sequences can provide important evidence for
tectono-sedimentary processes operating in the early
Precambrian.
2.2. Secular changes in heat ¯ow and tectonics
It is widely accepted that Archaean heat ¯ow was
two to three times greater than at present, and that it
has decreased exponentially since the early Archaean.
Smaller plates and faster recycling of oceanic crust is
generally suggested for enhanced Archaean heat loss
(Burke et al., 1976; Windley, 1995). Presumably,
magmatism would have been more in¯uential in
basin formation, and faster subduction and smaller
plates would most likely have promoted pervasive
crustal shortening across small, emerging cratons.
Inferred secular changes such as these should be
re¯ected in the evolution of Precambrian basins, and
3
such ideas need to be tested against the rock record.
For example, Catuneanu (2001) discusses the possibi-
lity of slower, or at least variable, subduction rates in
the Archaean. Care must be taken when trying to
discriminate between secular changes related to
evolution in global conditions and the intrinsic varia-
tion of individual basin-level magmatic, tectonic,
palaeoclimatic and eustatic processes. Furthermore,
secular changes may well have been diachronous.
For example, cratonisation appears to have taken
place in parts of Australia (e.g. Smithies et al.,
2001) and southern Africa in the Mesoarchaean,
whereas most of North America was not stabilised
until the end of the Neoarchaean (`Zuluan Wedge'
of Cloud, 1976; Young, 1979; Mueller and Corcoran,
2001).
2.3. Secular changes in atmosphere and biosphere
Secular changes in magmatism (e.g. Nelson, 1998)
and atmospheric composition (e.g. Kasting, 1993),
allied to evolution of source rock compositions as
continental crust evolved over Precambrian time
(Eriksson, 1995), as well as the concomitant evolution
of life would have combined to in¯uence weathering
and erosion processes and consequently, sediment
supply rates. Sedimentation rates possibly were
greater compared to the Phanerozoic (Corcoran et
al., 1998), and basin-®ll architecture should be inter-
preted with such processes in mind. However, because
the evidence for abundant over-®lled basins in the
early Precambrian is lacking, average subsidence
rates probably kept pace with enhanced sedimentation
rates. With a generally humid (ocean-dominated)
palaeoclimate inferred for the early Precambrian
when emergent cratonic areas were limited, modern
deserts provide a poor analogue to pre-2.0 Ga
erosional landscapes; their low weathering rates also
compare poorly with the aggressive weathering
regimes of the CO2-rich atmospheric regime prior to
ca. 2.0 Ga (Corcoran et al., 1998; Eriksson et al.,
1998; Mueller and Corcoran, 2001).
2.4. Degree of preservation
Although Phanerozoic geologists commonly view
Precambrian successions as `high-grade crystalline
basement', many Precambrian basins are remarkably
well preserved, relatively undeformed and at low
4 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
Fig. 1. Simpli®ed geological map of the Pilbara craton, Western Australia, showing greenstone belts, the Mallina basin, the Hamersley Group
(basin), and the outcrop area of the Fortescue Group.
metamorphic grade. Furthermore, many Precambrian
deposits display exquisite preservation of primary
sedimentary structures that would otherwise have
been destroyed by bioturbation, as is commonly the
case in younger basins (e.g. Pratt, 2001). Some parti-
cularly good examples of well-preserved early
Precambrian basins include: the 3074±2714 Ma
Witwatersrand (Robb and Meyer, 1995; Els, 1998;
Karpeta and Els, 1999) and the ca. 2.7±2.05 Ga
Transvaal basins, Kaapvaal craton, South Africa
(Fig. 3) (Eriksson et al., 1995a), and the ca. 3.1 Ga
Mallina and Neoarchaean Hamersley basins of the
Pilbara craton, Australia (Fig. 1) (e.g. Nelson et al.,
1999; Smithies et al., 1999, 2001).
This is not to say that tectonothermal processes
have not all but obliterated primary sedimentary struc-
tures and textures in many Precambrian successions,
and in some cases (e.g. Woodburn Lake Group, Rae
domain, northern Canada; Donaldson and de Kemp,
1998) specifying a sedimentary origin is a challenge.
But even in regions where supracrustal sequences are
deformed, metamorphosed and lack physical continu-
ity, valuable palaeogeographic information can be
derived (see examples in Eriksson et al., 1988;
Walker, 1988), detailed sedimentology and sequence
stratigraphy can be undertaken (e.g. Catuneanu and
Biddulph, 2001), and reconstructions of plate tectonic
settings for basin evolution may be inferred. For
example, the ca. 1730±1500 Ma EspinhacËo basin in
southeastern Brazil (Fig. 4) was deformed during the
Late Neoproterozoic Brasiliano-Pan African orogeny,
but slices of the basin are well preserved between
shear zones, allowing accurate palaeogeographic
reconstructions and basin analysis (Martins-Neto,
1996, 2000; Martins-Neto et al., 2001). Similarly,
although the Palaeoproterozoic Hurwitz Basin of
northern Canada (Fig. 5) is preserved in a discontin-
uous series of outliers that represent the synformal
keels of doubly plunging basement-cover infolds,
basin reconstructions have been made (Aspler and
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
Chiarenzelli, 1997; Aspler et al., 2001). Although
broadly coeval Palaeoproterozoic Karelian succes-
sions of the Fennoscandian shield experienced poly-
phase deformation and metamorphism and are
preserved in discontinuous belts separated by
Archaean crust (e.g. Ojakangas et al., 2001a), Strand
and Laajoki (1999) have been able to successfully
apply sequence stratigraphic modelling, allowing
them to correlate transgressive systems tracts between
isolated belts. One potential advantage to the study of
polydeformed basins is that high amplitude cross-
folds may produce signi®cant structural relief. As
stated by Hoffman et al. (1988, p. 27) ªthere is no
reason for shield geologists to suffer mountain
envyº. Not only can the lowest strata of such basins
be studied without recourse to deep drilling or
geophysical studies, but the basement can be exam-
ined directly, and thus substrate control of basin subsi-
dence may be easier to evaluate than in most deeply
buried Phanerozoic basins (e.g. Stel et al., 1993;
Martins-Neto and Hercos, 2001).
Because the present-day limits of Precambrian
basins rarely coincide with original basin margins,
evaluating the degree to which isolated exposures
represent primary repositories rather than `accidents
of preservation' (Fraser et al., 1970) remains a chal-
lenge. Preservation bias is a related problem, and
whether preserved fragments fully represent a basin's
®ll or constitute small parts of complex depositional
systems needs to be addressed. For example, the
Transvaal basin comprises almost exclusively distal
facies associations (Eriksson et al., 1995b) and so the
original extent of the basin can only be speculated
upon. Only two fragments remain of the greater
Witwatersrand depository, which represents only
about 30% of an epeiric embayment that once may
have measured at least 240,000 km 2 (Eriksson et al.,
1998; cf. Catuneanu, 2001, who infers greater preser-
vation). The primary extent of Archaean greenstone
belts is an historical problem (see Pettijohn, 1970) of
particular importance for evaluating tectonic models.
Do isolated remnants represent relatively continuous
depocentres that were structurally dismembered, or do
they re¯ect multiple depocentres that were tectoni-
cally accreted? Although accretionary-type models
have gained ascendancy in recent years (e.g. Taira
et al., 1992; Myers, 1995), physical continuity of
depositional basins over large areas has been inferred
5
in many granite±greenstone terrains (e.g. Goodwin,
1973; Hickman, 1983; Hamilton, 1998; Mueller and
Corcoran, 2001), and ®eld and geochronologic data
call into question interpretations that structural breaks
within some greenstone belts are sutures marking
terrane boundaries (Slave Province: Padgham, 1992;
Superior Province: Heather et al., 1995; Yilgarn
craton, Australia: Nelson, 1997; Belingwe greenstone
belt, Zimbabwe: Blenkinsop et al., 1993; see,
however, Hofmann et al., 2001).
The oldest undeformed oceanic crust in present-day
oceans is Jurassic (Allen and Allen, 1990) and well-
documented examples of Precambrian ophiolites are
sparse. Notable inferred exceptions are in the
Mesoarchaean Barberton belt, South Africa (de Wit
et al., 1987), the Neoarchaean Kam Group, Slave
Province, Canada (Helmstaedt et al., 1986), the ca.
2.0 Ga Purtuniq ophiolite in the Ungava Orogen of
northern Quebec, Canada (Scott et al., 1992), the ca.
1.9 Ga Jormua ophiolite complex of Finland (Ojakan-
gas et al., 2001a) and the Neoproterozoic RibeiraÄo da
Folha ophiolites of eastern Brazil (Pedrosa-Soares et
al., 1998; Martins-Neto et al., 2001). Lithologies
preserved in the .3.7 Ga Isua greenstone belt in
Greenland are interpreted as re¯ecting at least some
of the components of ocean crust (Fedo et al., 2001).
Thus, not only is the rock record available for the
study of intrinsic Precambrian problems limited, but
it appears to be heavily biased in favour of basins
¯oored by continental crust. However, this bias may
be more apparent than real, and many Archaean
greenstone belts may represent obducted oceanic frag-
ments that originated at the back-arc or ocean ridge
spreading centres (Tarney et al., 1976; Helmstaedt et
al., 1986; Fyson and Helmstaedt, 1988; Hoffman and
Ranalli, 1988; Nelson, 1997) or accreted oceanic
plateaus related to plumes, and/or spreading ridges
(e.g. Desrochers et al., 1993; Abbott, 1996; Saunders
et al., 1996; Puchtel et al., 1998) that lack the full
characteristics of classical ophiolites (for opposing
views see Bickle et al., 1994; Hamilton, 1998).
2.5. Importance of geochronologic data
Of additional serious concern, and possibly greater
import than partial preservation, is the level of age
constraint available for many older Precambrian
basins, in the absence of usable fossils for this
6 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
purpose. However, the maximum known age of multi-
cellular heterotrophic eukaryotes is increasing; mole-
cular geneticists' claim for the appearance of the
common ancestor of metazoans at least 1 billion
years back has recently been borne out by trace fossil
discoveries from the Vindhyan Supergroup, India
(Sarkar et al., 1996), and by the existence of coelo-
mate metazoans by at least 1.1 Ga (Seilacher et al.,
1998). Any attempt to apply modern concepts of basin
analysis and sequence stratigraphy to Precambrian
successions is likely to be frustrated without precise
geochronologic data, and dramatic reappraisals of
basin evolution are commonly required as new chron-
ological data become available (e.g. Aspler et al.,
2001). However, when geochronological data are
unavoidably sparse, successful basin analysis is possi-
ble in certain cases, by de®ning inter-regional, ®rst-
order unconformities and applying models for the
inferred tectonic evolution of the ®rst-order basin-
®ll cycles (Martins-Neto et al., 2001; Ojakangas et
al., 2001a).
The radiometric dating of the time of deposition of
sedimentary rocks is notoriously dif®cult (Nelson,
2001). U±Pb dating of zircon in volcanic beds
provides the most reliable depositional ages within a
largely sedimentary succession. Dates on cross-
cutting intrusive rocks, or on so-called `diagenetic'
(for example, U±Pb dating of xenotime or apatite)
or metamorphic minerals (monazite and other phos-
phates, or by Rb±Sr dating of micas) may provide
useful minimum ages for sediment deposition. Alter-
natively, U±Pb dating of detrital zircons may provide
maximum deposition ages (e.g. Smithies et al., 2001).
These approaches require considerable effort and
access to substantial resources if they are to provide
reliable constraints of the time of sediment deposition
(Nelson, 2001). Even in basins where volcanic inter-
calations or radiogenic cements provide more direct
age estimates, limited stratigraphic ranges generally
result in levels of chronologic resolution that fall short
of those realised in fossil-rich Phanerozoic basins.
Furthermore, even the most precise single crystal
zircon chronology has inherent errors of at least
^1 Ma, thus making use of higher frequency
sequences, with durations of 10 0 2 10 1 Ma, impracti-
cal (Catuneanu and Eriksson, 1999).
As a consequence of inadequate geochronologic
control, the apparent longevity of some Precambrian
basins appears to be inconsistent with postulates of
rapid crustal movements promoted by signi®cantly
higher heat ¯ow in the early Precambrian. For exam-
ple, Catuneanu and Eriksson (1999) speculated that
the ca. 700 Ma duration of the Transvaal basin (Fig.
3) might re¯ect slower tectonic processes. However,
in an alternate hypothesis, Eriksson et al. (2001)
consider that the Transvaal basin comprises at least
four major basin-®ll cycles that are separated by three
unconformities. Although reliable geochronologic
data are sparse, and the time gaps represented by the
unconformities are of uncertain duration, the basin-®ll
cycles may re¯ect ®rst-order tectonic events of dura-
tion shorter than 700 Ma, thus negating the implica-
tion of slower rates of tectonism. In addition,
geochronologic data may point to major time breaks
in apparently conformable successions, such as in the
Hurwitz Basin (Fig. 5), where new data demonstrate a
previously unrecognised lacuna at least 200 Ma long
(Aspler et al., 2001).
3. Major in¯uences on the formation and evolution
of Precambrian basins
It must be emphasised that the four genetic in¯u-
ences considered in this paper to be the most pertinent
to Precambrian basin evolution (magmatism, plate
tectonics, eustasy and palaeoclimate) are interdepen-
dent processes. In our view, shared by many, the inter-
play of magmatic and tectonic processes may be
considered as primary, and their combined effects
on the sedimentation cycle are modi®ed by related
and secondary processes such as eustasy and palaeo-
climate (e.g. Bose et al., 2001). For this reason we
discuss below two groups of major genetic in¯uences
on Precambrian basin-®ll successions, but in no way
wish to imply that they operate separately from each
other.
3.1. Magmatism and plate tectonics
A plate tectonic approach to basin analysis is
emphasised in modern sources (e.g. Miall, 1990,
2000; Allen and Allen, 1990; Ingersoll and Busby,
1995). However, the long-standing (see Hunter and
Stowe, 1997) debate on plate tectonics during the
Precambrian, particularly the Archaean, is far from
resolved. Many consider Phanerozoic-style plate
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
tectonics to have been operative (e.g. De Wit et al.,
1992; Sleep, 1992; Krapez, 1993; Windley, 1995; De
Wit and Hynes, 1995; Kusky, 1997; Kusky and
Vearncombe, 1997; Brandl and De Wit, 1997; De
Wit, 1998; Mueller and Corcoran, 1998, 2001),
whereas others maintain that plate-independent
magmatic models are more appropriate (e.g. Camp-
bell and Hill, 1988; Hill et al., 1992; Goodwin, 1996;
Hamilton, 1998). The interaction of plate tectonics
and mantle plume in¯uences on basin formation are
well illustrated by the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent
Rift System in the USA (Ojakangas et al., 2001c).
Many recent studies invoke initiation of Archaean
greenstones as plume-generated oceanic plateaus that
were subsequently accreted to continental nuclei (e.g.
Desrochers et al., 1993; Abbott, 1996; Kent et al.,
1996; Saunders et al., 1996; Polat et al., 1998; Puchtel
et al., 1998), although the existence of plumes has
been called into question by other researchers (e.g.
Anderson et al., 1992; Anderson, 1994; King and
Anderson, 1995; Hamilton, 1998; Sheth, 1999;
Smith and Lewis, 1999). Some workers consider
that layered mantle convection gave way to whole-
mantle convection during short-lived episodes, and
that the Archaean witnessed global catastrophic
magmatic events that may have been superimposed
on plate tectonic processes (Nelson, 1998; Condie,
1998; Nelson et al., 1999). On the scale of individual
basins, the interaction of tectonism with thermal
processes can be more important than a direct rela-
tionship to magmas (see, however, Ojakangas et al.,
2001c).
Examining the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons,
Nelson et al. (1999) recognised global magmatic
events of 60±200 Ma duration, which affected the
style of crustal growth, volcanism, subaerial erosion
and eustasy. These authors detailed evidence for a
2760±2680 Ma global event, characterised by the
eruption of thick volcanic sequences onto the Pilbara,
Amazon, SaÄo Francisco, Kaapvaal and Karnatka
cratons, coeval with signi®cant crustal growth of the
Superior and Yilgarn cratons. In addition, similar ages
(2700±2670 Ma) have been reported from felsic
volcanic rocks of the Ennadai-Rankin greenstone
belt in the Hearne domain of northern Canada, and
in the adjacent Rae Province (Aspler and Chiarenzelli,
1996; Davis and Peterson, 1998; Davis and Zaleski,
1998). Earlier workers have also proposed global
7
magmatic events, such as that suggested for Karelia
and North America at ca. 2.45 Ga (Ojakangas et al.,
2001a).
Nelson (1998) postulated that a transition may have
taken place from Neoarchaean to Palaeoproterozoic
time, during which the in¯uence on crust formation
by large-scale, catastrophic mantle overturn events,
gave way to plate tectonic processes similar to those
from Phanerozoic and modern periods. The inferred
2760±2680 Ma global peak in volcanism was
succeeded by the well-known peak in banded iron
formation (BIF) deposition, marked by particularly
well-preserved carbonate-BIF basins in Australia
and South Africa, possibly re¯ecting the high eustatic
sea levels, due to rapid mid-ocean ridge growth,
accompanied by hydrothermal ferruginisation of the
world ocean ¯oored by widespread ultrama®c lava
plains (Simonson and Hassler, 1996; Isley and Abbott,
1999; Nelson et al., 1999).
As an illustration of inferring a signi®cant plate
tectonic in¯uence on early Precambrian basin forma-
tion, Aspler and Chiarenzelli (1998) have recognised
the importance of intracratonic and passive margin
basins in characterising the interiors and margins of
components of `Kenorland', a postulated Neoarch-
aean North American-Baltic supercontinent (see also
Ojakangas et al., 2001a,b). This is inferred to have
undergone protracted attenuation in the Palaeoproter-
ozoic, before breaking up and dispersing at ca. 2.1±
2.0 Ga. This postulated break-up close to 2.0 Ga is
approximately coeval with the probable plate tectonic
assembly of the Eburnean-Transamazonian supercon-
tinent, which comprises many of the present-day
cratons and cratonic elements of Africa and South
America (Alkmim and Marshak, 1998; Eriksson et
al., 1999; Martins-Neto et al., 2001). Even such an
outspoken critic of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic
plate tectonics as Hamilton (1998) accepts that it had
become pertinent and, indeed important, by ca.
2.0 Ga. In the Mesoproterozoic Belt basin, North
America, evidence for shallow and deep water
tsunami deposits suggests an important role for synse-
dimentary tectonism (Pratt, 2001). When direct
evidence of tectonic in¯uences on basin evolution is
limited, small-scale sedimentary features and detailed
sequence stratigraphic analysis may still enable the
importance of tectonic control on basin evolution to
be determined (e.g. Bose et al., 2001; Pratt, 2001).
8 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
The tectonic setting of preserved Precambrian basins
may also be inferred from geochemical and isotopic
data, which additionally, can provide insights into
palaeoclimate and possible palaeolatitudes (Condie
et al., 2001).
It is commonly accepted that structural-strati-
graphic basin models based on the plate tectonic para-
digm have a wide application to the sedimentary
geological record (e.g. Miall, 1984, 1990, 2000). Irre-
spective of whether plate tectonic or plate-indepen-
dent magmatic models are applied to pre-2.0 Ga
crustal evolution, preserved basins of this age are
heavily biased in favour of those ¯oored by continen-
tal rather than oceanic crust (cf. the paucity of
Precambrian ophiolites, Section 2.4 above). This
makes comparison of Precambrian basin types with
some of their Phanerozoic-modern equivalents
problematic. Using extensional basins as an illustra-
tion, Phanerozoic-modern examples ascribed to litho-
spheric stretching comprise a continuum beginning
with intracratonic rifts, and passing through proto-
oceanic basins, to fully developed large oceans
bounded by passive margin basin systems (e.g.
Allen and Allen, 1990). For the Precambrian, without
any signi®cant preservation of ocean crust, it is not
always certain that preserved basins with apparent
passive margin-like characteristics were related to
the opening of large ocean basins (see, however,
Martins-Neto et al., 2001; see also Ojakangas et al.,
2001c, who infer that rifting in the Mesoproterozoic
Midcontinent Rift System, USA, ceased shortly
before formation of a proto-ocean). Flooding to
form Archaean±Palaeoproterozoic epicontinental
marine basins may also have resulted from thermally
controlled changes in continental freeboard, or as a
consequence of high rates of global continental crustal
growth (e.g. Eriksson et al., 1999), as discussed in the
next section.
3.2. Palaeoclimate, eustasy and freeboard
Precambrian palaeoclimates, intimately linked to
secular changes in atmospheric composition, played
an important role in basin evolution by controlling
rates of weathering and denudation and, during global
glaciations, strongly in¯uencing sea level (e.g. Dehler
et al., 2001; Ojakangas et al., 2001a,b). Short term and
localised changes in sea level re¯ect a myriad of inter-
acting factors (Reading and Levell, 1996) but longer
term changes of regional or global scale may be
ascribed to orogenesis, volcanism, glaciation, sedi-
ment supply, compaction, loading, isostacy and ther-
mal processes (Dewey and Pitman, 1998; Eriksson,
1999). Continental freeboard, the elevation of a conti-
nent above mean sea level (Wise, 1972, 1974), re¯ects
the interaction of sea level changes, continental crus-
tal growth rates, denudation rates and the hypsometric
curve (Eriksson, 1999). Lowered continental free-
board due to aggressive early Precambrian denudation
rates would have combined with eustatic sea level rise
due to high rates of continental crustal growth to
accommodate vast Neoarchaean to Early Palaeopro-
terozoic epeiric seas such as the Witwatersrand,
Hamersley and Transvaal transgressive successions.
The ultimate control of the Earth's atmospheric
chemistry lies in energy released by radionuclides in
the core, mantle and crust, by electromagnetic radia-
tion received from the sun, and by energy released
from impacts of extraterrestrial objects with The
Earth. Recent models of planetary accretion (Kasting,
1993) suggest that the Earth's interior was initially hot
as a consequence of large impact events. Volatiles
released by impacts might have formed a transient
steam atmosphere during at least part of the accretion-
ary period (Hartmann et al., 1986). By ca. 3.9 Ga
(Schopf, 1999), the surface heat ¯ux would have
decreased and the steam atmosphere would have
condensed to form the oceans (Kasting, 1993). The
remaining atmosphere was probably dominated by
CO2, CO and N2; CO2 and CO contents of about
10 bars and N2 of approximately 1 bar appear to be
plausible for the atmosphere during the ®rst several
million years following ocean formation (Kasting,
1993). Once life originated, processes of anaerobic
decay could have provided ample quantities of CH4.
Carbon dioxide, CH4 and other greenhouse gases
probably offset the effect of the lower luminosity of
the young sun (Kuhn et al., 1989). The Earth's rota-
tion rate, which has decreased exponentially with time
(e.g. rotation speed was ca. 1.32 times the present rate
at 900 Ma; Williams, 1998) would have caused lesser
poleward energy transfer. The consequent cooler
polar temperatures and larger ice sheets would have
resulted in a larger global albedo (Hunt, 1979). The
albedo would have been controlled by the proportion
of land to sea and their distribution; its palaeoclimatic
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
effect was possibly of secondary importance (Kuhn et
al., 1989). Except for the inferred global glaciation
from ca. 2.4 to 2.2 Ga (Young et al., 2001), and
those of the Neoproterozoic, surface temperature esti-
mates for the Precambrian are always high (Eriksson
et al., 1998). The overall temperature variability in the
Precambrian, however, seems to have been small;
global mean surface temperature over most of this
era was ca. 58C higher than today (Kuhn et al., 1989).
Carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere
decreased in a complex fashion through geologic
time, as palaeosols indicate (Holland et al., 1986;
Rye and Holland, 1998). BIF, with minor exceptions,
formed before 1.85 Ga (Kasting, 1991; Trendall,
2001) and deposits of detrital pyrite and uraninite
(unstable in oxidising environments) are restricted to
pre-2.0 Ga sequences (Condie, 1997). Subaerial red
beds sensu stricto were virtually absent before ca.
2.0 Ga (Eriksson and Cheney, 1992) and their appear-
ance thereafter indicates a substantial increase in
atmospheric O2 levels (Kasting, 1993; Rye and
Holland, 1998). Palaeosol composition further corro-
borates an abrupt rise in oxygen content in the atmo-
sphere close to ca. 1.9 Ga (Holland, 1994), from
5 £ 10 24 atm prior to 2.44 Ga, to 0.03 atm between
2.2 and 2.0 Ga (Rye and Holland, 1998). Mass
balance calculations suggest that atmospheric O2
levels did not exceed 0.03 PAL until the deep oceans
remained in a reducing state (Kasting, 1993). Photo-
synthetic cyanobacteria were already in existence by
ca. 3.5 Ga (Schopf, 1999) and photosynthesis
followed by burial of organic carbon most likely
was the principal source of the O2 (Wallace and
Hobbs, 1977).
As a result of atmospheric changes, palaeoclimates
in the Archaean were probably both humid (due to a
high ocean:continent ratio) and warm (due to the
greenhouse atmospheric composition) (Eriksson et
al., 1998). Such conditions, combined with the aggres-
sive nature of the Neoarchaean atmosphere (Corcoran
et al., 1998) would have led to weathering rates higher
than known from the Phanerozoic-modern eras. Due
to the absence of land vegetation (apart from cyano-
bacterial mats in permanently damp environments)
and thick soils, the rate of erosion of weathered detri-
tus would have been high. These combined effects
would have resulted in high sediment supply rates to
basins, provided that palaeoslopes were maintained
9
(e.g. Mueller and Corcoran, 2001); the estimation of
tectonic activity is crucial for such inferences,
because orogenesis and tectonic uplift are the prime
factors in sediment supply to basins. Although the
lower Witwatersrand basin-®ll records a starved
basin, the upper Witwatersrand stratigraphy has
over-®lled basin af®nities concomitant with a high
sediment supply; Nelson et al. (1999) and Nelson
(2001) postulate a global period of extensive cratonic
denudation from ca. 3125 to 3000 Ma, immediately
preceding Witwatersrand deposition.
In contrast, there appears to have been a prolonged
period lacking signi®cant clastic sedimentation
between ca. 2.68 and 2.45 Ga when, for the ®rst
time in the Earth's history, huge accumulations of
platformal carbonates and BIF accumulated on
many cratons. These deposits were most likely conse-
quent upon an inferred period of maximum growth of
continental crust in the Neoarchaean (e.g. Eriksson,
1995), when rapid development of mid-ocean ridges
and the formation of emergent cratons promoted
global eustatic rise. Allied to lowered freeboard due
to the aggressive weathering regime, supra-cratonic
shallow marine epeiric basins with large dimensions
(several hundred kilometres along preserved basin
margins) and deposits characterised by layer-cake-
like stratigraphy became important; excellent exam-
ples are the Hamersley and Lower Transvaal basins
(see below). Although tectonic and thermal subsi-
dence are implicit in the formation of these basins,
their evolution appears to have been controlled mainly
by eustasy and palaeoclimate.
As a result of a diminishing greenhouse effect due
to increasing oxygen content in the Palaeoproterozoic
atmosphere, and most likely also as a result of a grow-
ing importance for Phanerozoic-style plate tectonics
towards ca. 2.0 Ga (Nelson, 1998; Nelson et al.,
1999), these enormous eustatically in¯uenced basins
gave way to largely tectonically and thermally in¯u-
enced basins. Related effects of changing palaeo-
climatic regimes presumably were responsible for
the ®rst known global glaciation at ca. 2.4±2.2 Ga
(e.g. Young, 1991; Young et al., 2001) and the
advent of large, unequivocal desert sedimentation
systems by about 1.8 Ga (Eriksson and Simpson,
1998). Ojakangas et al. (2001a) discuss evidence
for extensive evaporite beds at ca. 2.1 Ga in the
Karelian Supergroup (Fennoscandian shield), with
10 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
similar indications of aridity in approximately coeval
dolomitic beds in the Lake Superior region (Ojakan-
gas et al., 2001b). Much of the late Palaeoproterozoic
and Mesoproterozoic appear to have been charac-
terised by warm and dry palaeoclimates (Condie,
1997). This may be ascribed to a still partly green-
house-style atmosphere combined with large land-
masses. In the Neoproterozoic, when rapid chemical
changes appear to have affected the atmosphere,
multiple global glaciations occurred (e.g. Eriksson et
al., 1998 and references therein; Dehler et al., 2001).
Although the earliest fossils of multicellular photo-
synthetic eukaryotes (plants) date back only to the
Silurian, carbon isotopic data from carbonates suggest
the existence of land plants in the late Mesoprotero-
zoic (Sarkar et al., 1996); this would have reduced
sediment supply rates, aided also by less aggressive
weathering as the greenhouse atmosphere waned
towards the Neoproterozoic.
4. Examples of basins illustrating the variable
interaction of tectonism, magmatism and thermal
processes, palaeoclimate and eustasy
In the following sections, selected Precambrian
basins are summarised to illustrate the interaction of
magmatism, tectonism, palaeoclimate and eustasy.
Although modern basin classi®cation schemes
emphasise tectonic setting (e.g. Dickinson, 1974;
Bally and Snelson, 1980; Klemme, 1980; Kingston
et al., 1983; Miall, 1984, 1990; Ingersoll and Busby,
1995), Dickinson (1993) stressed that most classi®ca-
tions comprise a quasi-static catalogue of reference
end-members, and suggested that alternative schemes
could be based on fundamental basin-forming
processes which combine in different ways to yield
a spectrum of basin types. Furthermore, many basins
`travel' in a trajectory across different tectonic
settings, and are subjected to different subsidence
mechanisms, simultaneously or serially (`polyhistory
basins' of Allen and Allen, 1990). In the examples of
Precambrian depositories discussed below, the
various basin-®lls often bear clear evidence only of
one or more of the four genetic factors rather than the
expected interaction of them all, which is almost
certainly a direct consequence of preservation.
For the Phanerozoic and modern rock record there
are no serious dissenters from the axiomatic view-
point that mantle heat ¯ow drives magmatism, plate
tectonics and eustasy, and that palaeoclimate is
largely determined by this tripartite interaction. For
the Precambrian rock record, however, especially the
earlier part thereof, certain additional factors need to
be considered. Probably the most important relate to
higher Archaean heat ¯ow and crustal growth rates
which were signi®cantly higher than recycling of
continental crust. As a consequence, mantle plumes
were most likely more common and had a greater
in¯uence on the plate tectonic cycle and may have
been responsible for variable rather than uniformly
higher rates of plate movement. This primary interac-
tion would have made continental freeboard and its
in¯uences on sedimentation patterns within basins
more signi®cant, as well as having a major in¯uence
on both eustasy and palaeoclimate. Thermal elevation
of continents may have been imposed on the assembly
and dispersion of supercontinents in controlling sea
level and climatic regimes. For the latter, changing
atmospheric compositions in the Precambrian were
also of prime importance, in contrast to younger eras.
4.1. Greenstone basins
4.1.1. Greenstones in the Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons,
Australia
Field evidence from Archaean granite±greenstone
terrains of the Pilbara craton (Fig. 1), the largest
continuous exposure of such rocks known, led Hick-
man (1983) to suggest a coherent stratigraphy which
he was able to correlate across much of the craton
(Trendall, 1995). Although recent dating (summary
in Nelson et al., 1999) provides some support for
this model, particularly for volcanic greenstone
successions in the eastern Pilbara, Krapez (1993)
takes the alternative view, suggesting that tectonic
repetition due to crustal shortening has in fact
occurred in Pilbara.
In the Yilgarn craton, precise U±Pb zircon chron-
ology has demonstrated similar stratigraphic continu-
ity of predominantly volcanic greenstone lithologies
across large tracts of this terrain, and that subsequent
deformation and structural complexity were accom-
panied by voluminous granitic plutons (Nelson, 1998)
to produce the well-known association of large bath-
oliths separated by arcuate greenstone belts. In the
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35 11

Fig. 2. Sketch map showing Archaean geology of the eastern part of the Yilgarn craton, illustrating the distribution of greenstone belts, their
ultrama®c lithologies, and the uppermost polymict conglomerate units in the greenstone successions (Merougil Beds, Kurrawang Formation,
Mount Belches Greywacke, Penny Dam Conglomerate, Yilgangi Conglomerate and the Kalluweerie Conglomerate).

eastern Yilgarn (Fig. 2), the greenstone sequences
consist predominantly of bimodal (ma®c±ultrama®c
and dacitic) volcanic lithologies, with minor propor-
tions of intermediate volcanic rocks, clastic sedimen-
tary rocks and BIF. U±Pb zircon ages on felsic
volcanic and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks at wide-
spread sites throughout the eastern part of the craton
indicate a major episode of volcanism between 2705
and 2675 Ma, from a number of dispersed volcanic
centres (Nelson, 1997). Shortly after the termination
of volcanism at ca. 2665 Ma, polymictic conglomer-
ates containing clasts of locally derived felsic
porphyry, granite, chert and ma®c rock that occurred
were laid down, and are widely preserved throughout
the eastern Yilgarn craton (e.g. the Penny Dam
conglomerate (Swager, 1994a; Ahmat, 1995), the
Merougil beds (Grif®n, 1990), the Kurrawang Forma-
tion (Witt, 1994) and the Yilgangi conglomerates
(Swager, 1994b; Fig. 2). The conglomerates deposi-
tion, either in developing synclines, or adjacent to
12 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35

Fig. 3. Sketch map of the Kaapvaal craton, showing the location of major outcrops of the Barberton greenstone belt, the approximately coeval
Pongola and Witwatersrand Supergroups, the Ventersdorp and Transvaal Supergroups.

active D3 shear zones, was therefore closely linked to
the development of syn-tectonic depositional basins
during the latter stages of formation of the granite±
greenstone crust of the Yilgarn craton.
4.1.2. Barberton greenstone belt, Kaapvaal craton,
South Africa
Mesoarchaean successions at Barberton (Fig. 3),
the largest greenstone belt preserved on the Kaapvaal
craton, are preserved in two blocks that may have
originated as two distinct terrains (Brandl and De
Wit, 1997). Structural relationships between these
two blocks are not yet clear, because each has a
distinctive assemblage of tectono-stratigraphic units.
In the southern block, the Onverwacht Group (ca.
3490±3450 Ma) contains predominantly ultrama®c
and ma®c extrusive to intrusive rocks, including abun-
dant pillowed lavas, thin chert beds, and minor felsic
volcanic rocks (Brandl and De Wit, 1997). In the
northern block, the Fig Tree and Moodies Groups
outcrop in isolated synclines surrounded by Onver-
wacht lithologies (Eriksson et al., 1997). The Fig
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
Tree comprises a ca. 3260±3227 Ma assemblage of
wackes, shales and conglomerates, up to 2000 m
thick, which are ascribed to fan-delta and turbidite
deposition at water depths above storm wave-base
(Eriksson et al., 1997). Conglomerates, wackes and
arenites of the Moodies Group, up to 3000 m thick,
are interpreted as braided ¯uvial, littoral and shelf
sedimentation systems (Eriksson et al., 1997). Clasts
derived from the Onverwacht and Fig Tree groups are
common in the Moodies Group; other clasts re¯ect
surrounding gneisses, granitoid rocks and BIF,
although in situ BIF outcrops have not been found
(Eriksson et al., 1997).
Amalgamation of the northern and southern
Barberton blocks probably occurred at ca. 3230 Ma
(Brandl and De Wit, 1997), with a southern Fig
Tree facies preceding this event, and a northern Fig
Tree Facies which was coeval with Moodies ¯uvial
feeder systems, succeeding the postulated cryptic
suture (Eriksson et al., 1997). There is strong evidence
for syndepositional deformation at Barberton (Lamb,
1984a,b; Heubeck, 1993; Heubeck and Lowe, 1994),
and at ca. 3080 Ma a rapid shift from shortening to
transtension is inferred (Brandl and De Wit, 1997).
The ages of deformation, metamorphism and granitic
emplacement documented by Brandl and De Wit
(1997) are correlated, with noticeable concordance
at ca. 3.45, 3.23 and 3.1 Ga.
4.1.3. Greenstone belts in the SaÄo Francisco craton,
Brazil
Greenstone belts in the ca. 3.4±3.0 Ga (Nutman
and Cordani, 1993; Noce, 1995; Barbosa, 1997;
Leal, 1998; Carneiro et al., 1998) basement of the
SaÄo Francisco craton, eastern Brazil (Fig. 4), display
the classic greenstone succession of predominantly
komatiites and tholeiitic basalts at the base, medial
intermediate and felsic volcanic rocks associated
with some sedimentary rocks, and an uppermost sedi-
mentary interval with associated volcanoclastic rocks.
BIF, cherts and calc-silicate rocks tend to predominate
in the lower part of the intermediate package asso-
ciated with some turbidite beds (graywackes, pelites
and some quartzites), whereas turbidites generally
predominate in the upper part of the intermediate
package. The uppermost package normally has basal
turbidite beds, overlain by coarser quartzites and
13
arkoses, probably deposited in shallow marine to
shelf environments (Schrank and Silva, 1993).
In the oldest greenstone basins (Contendas-Mirante
and Umburanas, central SaÄo Francisco craton; Fig. 4),
Sm±Nd and geochemical data from 3.1±3.0 Ga
komatiites and tholeiitic basalts suggest an ensialic
environment for the initial magmatism, with only
minor basalts of possible MORB af®nity (Schrank
and Silva, 1993; Leal, 1998). Calc-alkaline volcanism
and coeval intrusion of calc-alkaline granitoids at ca.
2.8±2.7 Ga in the Umburanas belt, and at ca. 2.6±
2.5 Ga in the Contendas-Mirante belt, were accompa-
nied by deformation, metamorphism and migmatisa-
tion (Nutman and Cordani, 1993; Barbosa, 1997;
Leal, 1998).
In the ca. 2860±2720 Ma (Machado et al., 1992;
Noce, 1995) Rio das Velhas greenstone belt (Fig. 4),
geochemistry and Sm±Nd data from basal komatiite/
tholeiitic basalts indicate crustal contamination and
within-plate magmatism (Carneiro et al., 1998).
Provenance studies of medial turbidites (Zucchetti
and Baltazar, 1998) indicate an island-arc source
(Golia, 1997). Syntectonic tonalite and granodiorite
plutons (2778 1 3/22 Ma; Machado and Carneiro,
1992; Carneiro et al., 1998) intrude these medial
rocks and uppermost clastic sediments were deposited
in coastal to ¯uvial environments (Zucchetti and
Baltazar, 1998). The maximum life span of the Rio
das Velhas basin of ca. 140 m.y. is considerably
shorter than the older greenstone basins (ca.
300 m.y. for the Umburanas and ca. 500 m.y. for the
Contendas-Mirante greenstone belt).
In the youngest belt, the Rio Itapicuru (ca. 2.2±
2.0 Ga; Barbosa, 1997; Fig. 4) the basal ma®c±ultra-
ma®c suite has a MORB signature, whereas overlying
calc-alkaline volcanic and associated intrusive rocks
have an island-arc af®nity (Schrank and Silva, 1993).
The clastic sediments change from basal turbidites to
shallow marine to uppermost ¯uvial deposits, and
provenance studies indicate unroo®ng of an increas-
ingly dissected arc (Lebede and Hoppe, 1990). In
summary, an evolution through successive accretions
of island-arcs in a plate tectonics framework may be
inferred for the greenstone belt basins of the SaÄo Fran-
cisco craton. Geochemical evidence for crustal
contamination of the basal ultrama®c rocks of the
Archaean belts suggests initial backarc stretching of
a continental Mesoarchaean TTG lithosphere (Leal,
14 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35

Fig. 4. Simpli®ed geological map of part of the SaÄo Francisco craton and the AracËuaõÂ and BrasõÂlia fold belts (modi®ed after Schobbenhaus et al.,
1984), showing the location of sedimentary basins cited in the text. 1, Palaeoproterozoic and Archaean basement and cover rocks; 2, greenstone
belt basins (U, Umburanas; CM, Contendas-Mirante; RV, Rio das Velhas; RI, Rio ItapicuruÂ); 3, Palaeo/Mesoproterozoic EspinhacËo mega-
sequence; 4, Meso/Neoproterozoic cover rocks reworked in the BrasõÂlia fold belt; 5, rift deposits of the Neoproterozoic MacauÂbas megase-
quence; 6, passive margin deposits of the Neoproterozoic MacauÂbas megasequence; 7, Neoproterozoic BambuõÂ megasequence and correlatives;
8, Palaeo/Mesozoic Parana Basin deposits; 9, Mesozoic cover rocks; 10, limit of the SaÄo Francisco craton.
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
1998; Carneiro et al., 1998), whereas the Palaeopro-
terozoic Rio Itapicuru greenstone basin probably
evolved since its inception in an oceanic backarc
setting (Schrank and Silva, 1993).
4.2. Witwatersrand basin, Kaapvaal craton, South
Africa
As a result of gold mining activities, an extensive
data base has accumulated for the ca. 3074 ± 2714 Ma
(Robb and Meyer, 1995) Witwatersrand basin (see
summaries in Burke et al., 1986; Robb and Meyer,
1995; Els, 1998) (Fig. 3). The supergroup comprises
a lower unit (3086±3074 Ma Dominion Group)
containing thin basal arenaceous sediments overlain
by up to 2.25 km of volcanic rocks, a middle unit
(,2970±2914 Ma West Rand Group) with up to
7.5 km of predominantly mudrocks and texturally
mature sandstones, and an upper unit (,2894±
2780? Ma Central Rand Group) consisting of predo-
minantly sandstones and conglomerates up to 2.88 km
thick. In the Dominion Group, braided stream sand-
stones, up to 60 m thick, grade up to largely andesitic
lavas and pyroclastic rocks that are conformably over-
lain by mainly acidic volcanic rocks (Tankard et al.,
1982). The Pongola Supergroup, preserved in the
southeastern part of the Kaapvaal craton (Fig. 3), is
thought to correlate with the Dominion and West
Rand Groups (Beukes and Cairncross, 1991) and its
sedimentary rocks appear to have been laid down
largely by a more distal and wave-dominated ¯uvial
coastline of the greater Witwatersrand epeiric embay-
ment (Eriksson et al., 1998). The Dominion Group is
interpreted as re¯ecting lithospheric stretching and
thermal collapse, leading to voluminous volcanism
(Robb and Meyer, 1995).
Palaeoenvironments interpreted from the West
Rand sediments include shoreline and subtidal
settings (Eriksson et al., 1981), tidal and storm
settings (Stanistreet and McCarthy, 1991), and a
continuum from beach deposits to those of a distal
shelf af®nity (Burke et al., 1986). These and other
workers have noted the general upward-deepening,
starved basin character of the West Rand succession.
Thermal subsidence, as a consequence of Dominion
volcanism, or due to foreland basin loading related to
the Limpopo belt orogeny (inferred collision between
Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons) is thought to have
15
provided the accommodation space for West Rand
epicontinental marine deposition (Stanistreet and
McCarthy, 1991).
The Central Rand Group traditionally has been
regarded as a product of alluvial fan and braided
¯uvial deposition, with varying degrees of shallow
marine reworking, by tides and waves, where the
prograding alluvial coastline passed into a shallow
epeiric sea (e.g. Tankard et al., 1982; Burke et al.,
1986; Stanistreet and McCarthy, 1991). However,
recent detailed studies suggest that fans were absent
and that predominantly braided ¯uvial systems passed
directly into a strongly tidal shallow epeiric sea (Els,
1998). Distal Central Rand Group sedimentation may
re¯ect a large measure of eustatic control, as inferred
from the high frequency stratigraphic cyclicity (Catu-
neanu and Biddulph, 2001), even though the famous
gold palaeoplacers in the more proximal reaches of
the basin are ¯uvial deposits that were largely
controlled by source area tectonism (Karpeta and
Els, 1999).
Most workers (e.g. Burke et al., 1986; Winter,
1987; De Wit et al., 1992) have interpreted the Central
Rand Group as a foreland basin related to the
Limpopo orogeny. Catuneanu (2001) emphasises
that the Witwatersrand foreland system appears to
re¯ect thrusting and loading from two directions,
with a convergence angle of ca. 1008; this may re¯ect
complex arc±continent collisions rather than an
approximately orthogonal continent±continent colli-
sion implicit within the Limpopo orogeny. Recently,
Coward et al. (1995) interpreted the Witwatersrand
depository as a ¯exural hinterland basin, with thick-
skinned thrusting partially related to the Limpopo
mobile belt to the north, and accretionary plate
tectonic processes to the west. Catuneanu (2001)
strongly supports the validity of the foreland postulate
and notes that the preserved Witwatersrand stratigra-
phy shows a typical ¯exural foredeep transition from
under®lled (West Rand Group) to over®lled (Central
Rand Group) phases of basin-®ll. Catuneanu (2001)
has related the presumably correlative Pongola
succession to the back-bulge region of the foreland
system, with uplift and erosion of the intervening
forebulge region being responsible for preservation
of the Witwatersrand and Pongola Supergroups in
two geographically separate basins.
Comparisons of this Archaean foreland basin
16 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
system with Phanerozoic equivalents suggests that the
forebulge unconformity in the former as opposed to
forebulge sequences in the latter is a consequence of
slow subduction. Another difference between the
Witwatersrand basin, formed on young less rigid
lithosphere, and Phanerozoic depositories on older
stable plates, is that Precambrian foreland basins
might be expected to have shorter ¯exural wave-
lengths, with the Witwatersrand being about half
that of the Mesozoic Karoo basin on Kaapvaal (Catu-
neanu, 2001). Although the age of the Limpopo colli-
sion is subject to dispute (ca. 2.7 Ga, De Wit et al.,
1992; 2.68±2.58 Ga, Treloar and Blenkinsop, 1995;
2.05±1.95 Ga, Holzer et al., 1998), there can be little
doubt of the in¯uence of tectonic shortening on
Central Rand Group deposition. Robb and Meyer
(1995) have additionally noted that episodic granite
plutonism, coincident with hiatuses in Central Rand
deposition, may have been related to pulses of placer
sedimentation.
4.3. Ventersdorp basin, Kaapvaal craton, South
Africa
The Ventersdorp Supergroup (Fig. 3) unconform-
ably overlies the Witwatersrand basin, attaining a
maximum thickness of 5100 m. Although it comprises
predominantly subaerial volcanic rocks, sedimentary
beds with a cumulative thickness up to 2900 m have
been identi®ed in boreholes (Winter, 1976; Van der
Westhuizen et al., 1991). At the base the 2714 ^ 8 Ma
(Armstrong et al., 1991) Klipriviersberg Group is up
to 2000 m thick and covers an area in excess of
30,000 km 2 (Myers et al., 1990b). It contains alkali-
rich tholeiites and local ultrama®c lavas (including
komatiites) (Van der Westhuizen et al., 1991).
These form homogenous, largely amygdaloidal ¯ow
units lacking signi®cant inter¯ow sedimentary beds,
and display a geochemical stratigraphy that is consis-
tent over wide areas (Myers et al., 1990b). The
generation of these lavas is attributed to a mantle
plume (Hatton, 1995). The absence of sedimentary
interbeds suggests effusive volcanism, and the
presence of komatiites suggests that regional exten-
sion allowed rapid ascent of primitive magmas from
depth (Nisbet, 1982; Van der Westhuizen et al., 1991).
The overlying Platberg Group (ca. 2709 ^ 4 Ma;
Armstrong et al., 1991) comprises both volcanic and
sedimentary rocks, deposited in intermontane grabens
above an erosional unconformity (Van der Westhui-
zen et al., 1991). The volcanic rocks encompass a
bimodal suite of ma®c to felsic lavas and pyroclastic
lithologies. Extension to enable formation of the Plat-
berg grabens appears to have been accommodated by
relaxation of syn-Central Rand Group fault systems
(Stanistreet and McCarthy, 1990). The sedimentary
rocks consist of gravity-¯ow and stream-¯ow alluvial
fan deposits (commonly developed adjacent to the
faulted margins of the graben), relatively distal sand-
stones of braided ¯uvial to sheet¯ood origin, and
approximately centrally located ®ne siliciclastic and
chemical lacustrine deposits which include ooids
and stromatolites (Myers et al., 1990a; Van der
Westhuizen et al., 1991). Some of the lavas are over-
lain by bedded cherts, interpreted as magadiitic playa
lacustrine beds formed during hiatuses in volcanic
activity (Karpeta, 1989). Clast compositions in the
Platberg sediments indicate initial denudation of
underlying Klipriviersberg volcanic sources, with
increasing evidence for a Witwatersrand Supergroup
provenance stratigraphically higher in the group
(Myers et al., 1990a).
The unconformity-bounded Pniel Group (undated),
is the uppermost unit of the Ventersdorp Supergroup
(Cheney et al., 1990). Relatively mature sandy sedi-
ments of the Bothaville Formation, ascribed to conti-
nental sedimentation in an extensive basin are
followed by widespread, mainly basaltic, lavas of
the Allanridge Formation (Van der Westhuizen et
al., 1991). Thermal subsidence may have accommo-
dated the widespread Pniel Group volcanism and sedi-
mentation (Clendenin et al., 1988), but local
komatiites in the Allanridge Formation suggest
continued extension (Van der Westhuizen et al.,
1991).
4.4. Hamersley (Pilbara craton, Australia) and lower
Transvaal (Kaapvaal craton, South Africa) basins
Due to the remarkable lithostratigraphic similarity
of the Hamersley (Fig. 1) and Lower Transvaal (Fig.
3) basin-®ll successions (e.g. Cheney, 1996), only one
will be discussed here. The Transvaal Supergroup,
Kaapvaal craton, is preserved in the Transvaal and
Griqualand West basins of South Africa and Kanye
basin of Botswana (Fig. 3) (Eriksson and Altermann,
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
1998). These three basins represent structurally
preserved portions of what originated as a single,
large depository. With the exception of the Transvaal
basin, where initial fault-controlled volcanic and sili-
ciclastic rocks that accumulated in discrete sub-basins
were mantled by Black Reef ¯uvial sheet sandstones,
the basal Transvaal succession (known as the Chunie-
spoort-Ghaap-Taupone Groups, CGTG, here termed
the `Lower Transvaal') comprises carbonate and BIF
lithologies, with minor siliciclastic rocks and tuffs
(Eriksson and Reczko, 1995).
Lavas in the basal mixed siliciclastic-chemical unit
of the CGTG in Griqualand West and tuffs in the
uppermost carbonate unit of the same basin indicate
an age of 2642 ^ 3±2516 ^ 4 Ma for the carbonates,
and ca. 2.5±2432 ^ 31 Ma for overlying BIF (Alter-
mann and Nelson, 1998; Eriksson and Altermann,
1998; Nelson et al., 1999). The total thickness of
carbonates preserved is almost 3000 m in Griqualand
West (Altermann and Siegfried, 1997) and ca. 1200 m
in the Transvaal basin (Eriksson and Altermann,
1998). Overlying BIF sediments are up to ca.
1050 m thick in the Griqualand West basin (Tsikos,
1999) and ca. 640 m in the Transvaal basin (Eriksson
and Reczko, 1995). The contact between carbonates
and BIF is gradational. The carbonate beds (mainly
dolostones) are typically stromatolitic (giant domal
stromatolites, columnar stromatolites, microbial
laminites ^ fenestral fabrics) and are locally oolitic
(Altermann and Siegfried, 1997). In the southwest
of the Griqualand West basin, about 600 m of carbo-
nates grade up to a section of about 175 m of
mudrock, which is lacking elsewhere (Altermann
and Nelson, 1998).
Carbonate deposition in the greater Transvaal basin
began with shallow peritidal carbonate ¯ats in the
southwestern portion, concurrent with a possible
volcanic arc positioned in the south (Altermann,
1996; Eriksson and Altermann, 1998). A major trans-
gression at ca. 2550 Ma resulted in drowning of the
southwestern facies and deposition of muddy, possi-
bly arc-derived sediments. Concurrently, in the north
and northeast parts of the basin, the carbonate plat-
form expanded, covering the areas where the three
basins are preserved today (Altermann and Wother-
spoon, 1995). This enormous carbonate platform
probably covered ca. 600,000 km 2 (Beukes, 1987);
stromatolitic reef growth matched subsidence, and
17
photic water depths (,ca. 100 m) were maintained
(Eriksson and Altermann, 1998). If stromatolitic reef
growth had not matched subsidence, the basin would
have developed a starved character, as happened with
the onset of BIF sedimentation.
Tectonic and or thermal subsidence, and or eustasy,
induced a second drowning event at ca. 2.5 Ga, result-
ing in uppermost CGTG shelf carbonates, which
gradually were replaced by deeper water shales and
succeeding BIF sediments (Altermann and Wother-
spoon, 1995). The latter comprise mainly micro- to
macro-BIFs, but toward the northwest, these grade to
ferruginous mudrocks (Eriksson and Reczko, 1995).
Various models exist for the Transvaal BIF: Klein and
Beukes (1989) and Beukes et al. (1990) infer that the
BIF are deep-basin facies equivalents of the carbonate
rocks, and relate iron precipitation to a chemocline
that separated shallow oxygenated waters and deep
waters upwelling from a hydrothermal iron-rich
source; HaÈlbich et al. (1992, 1993) envisaged a gradu-
ally shoaling basin in which iron precipitated due to
mixing of sea water and fresh water containing iron
derived from weathering of Ventersdorp Supergroup
lavas; Klemm (1991) suggested an evaporitic shallow
marine depositional setting. However, most workers
agree on a deeper shelf setting for BIF deposition (e.g.
Altermann and Nelson, 1998).
Altermann and Nelson (1998) established that,
when corrected for compaction, sedimentation rates
for the entire range of facies deposited in the
Transvaal epeiric sea were comparable to similar
Phanerozoic deposits. In addition, they identi®ed
four second-order cycles of transgressive deposits
followed by upward-shoaling sediments. They used
their SHRIMP-based calculations of sedimentation
rates to infer a rift-related setting for the Transvaal
carbonate-BIF sediments, with both thermal and
tectonic subsidence. Thermal relaxation following
the Ventersdorp ¯ood basalts (see above), allied to
globally high sea levels in the Neoarchaean concomi-
tant with maximum rates of continental crustal growth
and enhanced mid-ocean ridge development (e.g.
Eriksson, 1995), probably helped to accommodate
the Transvaal epeiric basin. High chemical weather-
ing rates due to atmospheric composition (Corcoran et
al., 1998) may have lowered freeboard to facilitate
drowning events. The conspicuous lack of siliciclastic
source areas caused by aggravated denudation and
18 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
lack of palaeoslopes to facilitate transport of detritus
to the basin enabled the establishment of vast micro-
bial mat colonies. Drowning of the carbonate plat-
forms is speculative, but relative sea level rise,
in¯ux of large volumes of pelitic sediment and possi-
bly a palaeoclimate change could have contributed to
preventing the rate of platform growth keeping pace
with subsidence rates, and starved basin BIF sedimen-
tation ensued.
Based on remarkable lithostratigraphic similarities
between the Ventersdorp-CGTG in Africa and the
Fortescue-Hamersley successions in Australia (Fig.
1), many workers have suggested that the Kaapvaal
and Pilbara cratons originated as contiguous compo-
nents of a single supercontinent termed `Vaalbara'
(e.g. Cheney, 1996). However, Nelson et al. (1999)
have pointed out signi®cant differences in the timing
and stratigraphic occurrence of magmatic events, and
suggested that ®rst- and second-order cycles
expressed on both cratons may be related to global
eustasy, and thus be irrelevant to the question of
former contiguity (see also Eriksson et al., 1999).
Thus, although subsidence to accommodate Trans-
vaal-Hamerlsey chemical epeiric sedimentation was
at the ®rst-order level related to thermal and tectonic
processes, the development of thick accumulations of
shallow marine sediments may also be ascribed to
globally higher sea levels close to the Archaean±
Proterozoic boundary.
4.5. Timeball hill (Transvaal) basin, Kaapvaal craton,
South Africa
The Timeball Hill Formation, comprising predomi-
nantly of mudrocks and lesser sandstones up to ca.
1400 m thick, forms part of the Pretoria Group, Trans-
vaal Supergroup (Fig. 3). It is underlain by the Rooi-
hoogte Formation which consists of karstic breccias
developed at the expense of a dolostone and BIF
(dated at 2432 ^ 31 Ma, U±Pb; Walraven and
Martini, 1995) substrate, conglomerates, sandstones
and mudrocks, ascribed largely to alluvial fan, ¯uvial
and locally lacustrine deposition (Eriksson, 1988;
Eriksson and Reczko, 1995). Although the Rooi-
hoogte±Timeball Hill transition appears to be
conformable, the contact is marked by up to 90 m of
highly altered lavas in the southern part of the basin,
and by thin reworked tuffs at several other localities
(Eriksson et al., 1994b). An angular unconformity
separates the Timeball Hill Formation from overlying
¯uvial deposits of the Boshoek Formation. The latter
are overlain by thick andesitic lavas of the Hekpoort
Formation (2224 ^ 21 Ma; Rb±Sr; Walraven and
Martini, 1995).
The Timeball Hill Formation comprises lower and
upper mudrock members, separated by a sandstone
unit (Eriksson et al., 1994c). Minor lenses of poorly
sorted diamictite and wackes, ascribed to reworking
of periglacial detritus have also been identi®ed
(Visser, 1971). A variety of genetic facies associations
are recognised in the formation: pelagic suspension
deposits, distal and proximal turbidites, contourites
and lower and upper tidal ¯at deposits (Eriksson and
Reczko, 1998). Thin stromatolitic carbonate interbeds
in Timeball Hill mudrocks suggest that, although sedi-
mentation may have been deep, it was within the
photic zone. An epeiric embayment depositional
model has been proposed (Eriksson et al., 1995a;
Eriksson and Reczko, 1998).
Although the age constraints of the Timeball Hill
Formation are poor, they indicate deposition within
the span of the ca. 2.4±2.2 Ga global glaciation
(Young, 1995; Eriksson et al., 1998; Martin, 1999;
Young et al., 2001). As evidence for extensive ice
cover on the Kaapvaal craton is limited, sea levels
were most likely low and freeboard high (emergent,
glaciated continents) and, additionally, weathering
rates would have been low (cold temperatures). As a
consequence, the shallow marine deposits of the
Timeball Hill basin were most likely related to predo-
minantly tectonic and/or thermal subsidence to induce
epeiric drowning. A tectonic in¯uence for initial basin
formation is supported by the alluvial fan deposits of
the underlying Rooihoogte Formation, and by thin
lavas and tuffs found at the Timeball Hill±Rooihoogte
contact. The Rooihoogte Formation may thus repre-
sent initial rift-related alluvial and volcanic deposits,
with subsequent transgressive epeiric Timeball Hill
mudrocks and sandstones re¯ecting thermal subsi-
dence and deposition of a more widespread basinal
facies. In view of low synglacial sea levels, subsi-
dence to accommodate epeiric drowning must have
been signi®cant. Due to denudation and the intrusion
of the Bushveld Complex (ca. 2.05 Ga) into the
central Transvaal basin, only distal facies are
preserved in the Timeball Hill basin; the original
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
extent of the basin is thus unknown and it is uncertain
whether a `steer's head' geometry (White and
McKenzie, 1988) was relevant for the combined
Rooihoogte±Timeball Hill succession. For the same
reasons, it is dif®cult to infer detailed subsidence
mechanisms for this basin.
Termination of Timeball Hill marine sedimentation
was abrupt, with common soft sediment deformation in
the upper mudrocks, followed by deep erosive down-
cutting of the Boshoek fans and rivers into underling
Timeball Hill mudrocks (Eriksson and Reczko, 1995).
This inferred rapid uplift was probably related to the
mantle plume responsible for the Hekpoort ¯ood basalts
(Reczko et al., 1995), rather than re¯ecting isostatic
rebound which was probably not signi®cant due to
limited ice cover on the Kaapvaal craton.
4.6. Hurwitz basin, western Churchill province,
Canada
During the assembly of the supercontinent Lauren-
tia, the Western Churchill Province of the Canadian
Shield (Hearne and Rae domains, Fig. 5) formed a
central strip along which the Slave, Superior, Sask,
and Wyoming cratons were welded. Caught between
Trans-Hudson orogen (ca. 1.92±1.69 Ga) in the east,
and Taltson/Thelon orogen (ca. 2.0±1.9 Ga) and
Wopmay orogen (ca. 1.97±1.84 Ga) in the west, the
Hearne and Rae domains were subjected to a complex
sequence of post-ca. 2.0 Ga tectonic processes,
historically referred to as the `Hudsonian orogeny'.
Continental and marine deposits of the Hurwitz
Group de®ne four major sequences that record the
evolution of an intracratonic basin that covered
much of the Hearne domain, and whose history
spanned a period from ca. ,2.45 to ca. ,1.91 Ga
(see Aspler et al., 2001, and references therein).
Continental deposits that comprise sequence 1
(Noomut, Padlei and Kinga Formations) de®ne a
conformable pattern in which successive units onlap
a low-relief basement, and record radially expanding
subsidence during the initiation of the Hurwitz Basin.
Voluminous quartz-rich sandstones in the Noomut
Formation, and cold climate (glacial?) indicators in
lacustrine rhythmites of the Padlei Formation, are
consistent with the atmospheric and hydrospheric
effects of a high-standing supercontinent (the
Neoarchaean Kenorland) postulated to have under-
19
gone protracted break-up between ca. 2.4 and 2.1 Ga
above a large-scale mantle upwelling (Aspler and
Chiarenzelli, 1998). These rocks, together with
equivalent units elsewhere in North America (Huro-
nian Supergroup and Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the
Lake Superior area ¯anking the Superior Province;
Snowy Pass Supergroup, ¯anking the Wyoming
Province) substantiate long-standing interpretations
of the worldwide ca. 2.4±2.2 Ga Huronian glacial
episode (e.g. Young, 1970; Young et al., 2001;
Ojakangas et al., 2001b). Regional sagging during
sequence 1 culminated with sheet deposition of super-
mature quartz arenites across an area of at least
100,000 km 2 (Kinga Formation). The development
of a broad, shallow, continental depression during
deposition of sequence 1 is consistent with post ca.
2.45 Ga lithospheric stretching of relatively young
lithosphere recovering from Neoarchean orogenic
events.
Sedimentation of continental quartz arenites was
terminated and replaced by texturally and composi-
tionally immature deep-water siliciclastic rocks of
sequence 2. The abrupt change in depositional regime
re¯ects sudden drowning in the central part of the
basin and the appearance of angular and labile grains
represents concurrent arching and erosional stripping
of basement near the margins of the basin. Sequence 2
is interpreted to have formed in response to a second
episode of stretching. During this episode, ¯exural
isostatic rebound led to high-amplitude ¯exural uplift
of the unextended basin ¯anks and basin overdeepen-
ing, possibly because of high magnitudes and rates of
extension and/or because the lithosphere had aged.
Magmatic upwelling related to emplacement of a ca.
2.2 Ga curvilinear gabbro dyke swarm northwest of
the Hurwitz Basin (Tulemalu dykes) may have
augmented arching. Geochemical and Sm±Nd isoto-
pic data indicate that a regional swarm of ca. 2.1 Ga
gabbro sills and dykes within the Hurwitz Group
resulted from the melting of lithospheric mantle due
to continued extension and thinning which together
with similarly aged magmatic rocks elsewhere in
North America and the Baltic Shield (Ojakangas et
al., 2001a), ultmately led to dispersion of daughter
fragments of the Kenorland supercontinent.
Sequence 3 de®nes a regressive pro®le in which a
storm-dominated, microtidal, mixed siliciclastic-
carbonate ramp (Watterson Formation) was
20 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35

Fig. 5. Simpli®ed geological map of the Western Churchill province, northern Canada, illustrating the Rae and Hearne domains, and location of
the Hurwitz Group.

succeeded by prograding deltaic, ¯uvial and lacus-
trine deposits (Ducker Formation, lower Tavani
Formation) that led away from a basement-cored
arch. It records rejuvenation of the Hurwitz basin
after an hiatus of at least 200 m.y., during which crus-
tal ¯exure led to a ramp topography and generation of
siliciclastic debris, and marine ¯ooding resulted in
concurrent carbonate sedimentation. Mechanisms
that induced crustal ¯exure during sequence 3 remain
enigmatic, but recent U±Pb SHRIMP data (Davis et
al., 2000) and Sm±Nd and Pb±Pb isotope data (Aspler
et al., 2001) demonstrate that basin rejuvenation
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
occurred during post ca. 1.91 Ga shortening on the
western margin of the Rae domain (related to Talt-
son/Thelon and Wopmay orogens and assembly of
Laurentia), and either during late extension on the
eastern margin of the Hearne domain or early (ca.
1.87 Ga) collisional processes in western Trans-
Hudson orogen. Sequence 4 mixed siliciclastic-
carbonate strata are considered to represent re-
establishment of the ramp following marine ¯ooding
of the lower Tavani Formation continental deposits.
Local evaporites in sequence 4 suggest a climatic shift
toward arid conditions.
In summary, although previous postulates that
sequences 1 and 2 were deposited during protracted
break-up of Kenorland remain tenable, new data indi-
cate that deposition of sequences 3 and 4 overlapped
with the assembly of Laurentia on the western ¯ank of
the Rae domain, and with either late dispersion of
Kenorland crustal blocks or early collision on the east-
ern margin of the Hearne domain. The predominant
control on subsidence and ®ll of the Hurwitz basin
appears to have been tectonic, although the effects
of eustasy (low sea level during sequence 1; ¯ooding
at the start of sequences 2, 3 and 4), palaeoclimate
(alternating wet/warm and periglacial or glacial
during sequence 1; warm tropical during sequence
3, shifting to arid during sequence 4), and magmatism
(ca. 2.1 Ga gabbro sills) were signi®cant (Aspler et al.,
2001).
4.7. EspinhacËo basin, SaÄo Francisco craton, Brazil
The ca. 1730±1500 Ma (Brito Neves et al., 1979;
Machado et al., 1989) EspinhacËo basin in southeastern
Brazil (Fig. 4) unconformably overlies Archaean
basement and Archaean±Palaeoproterozoic cover
rocks (P¯ug, 1965), and is unconformably overlain
by the Neoproterozoic SaÄo Francisco Supergroup
(Martins-Neto et al., 1997). A .3 km thick succession
of siliciclastic metasedimentary and subordinate
volcanic rocks (EspinhacËo megasequence) is divided
into six tectonosequences that are separated by regio-
nal unconformities and which include linked deposi-
tional systems formed during a speci®c tectonic phase
of basin development (Martins-Neto, 2000; Martins-
Neto et al., 2001).
The basal Olaria tectonosequence, ca. 150 m thick,
comprises alluvial braidplain and local aeolian and
21
lacustrine deposits, lacking evidence of synsedimen-
tary faulting (Martins-Neto, 2000). Deposition is
inferred to have occurred during sagging resulting
from ductile stretching below the elastic limit of the
upper crust (Martins-Neto, 2000; Martins-Neto et al.,
2001). The succeeding rift stage consists of three
tectonosequences each bounded by angular unconfor-
mities. The lower Natureza rift tectonosequence, up to
200 m thick, is characterised by coarse alluvial fan
and succeeding interbedded ¯uvial braidplain and
aeolian sandstones (Reis, 1999). The basal angular
unconformity and the character of the conglomerate
sections supports syntectonic block tilting; the limited
extent of the unit suggests a restricted rift basin
(Martins-Neto, 2000).
Ma®c rocks near the base of the SaÄo JoaÄo da
Chapada tectonosequence mark the onset of rift-
related volcanism in the EspinhacËo basin (Dussin
and Dussin, 1995). This tectonosequence, up to
300 m thick, has a basal angular unconformity; clast
compositions indicate repeated local fault-controlled
uplifts, and cannibalisation of underlying Natureza
sandstones (Martins-Neto, 1993). Overall upward
coarsening re¯ects transitions from lacustrine to
deltaic to predominantly ¯uvial environments and,
suggests rapid initial subsidence followed by gradual
®lling (Martins-Neto, 2000). Synrift phase 3 (Sopa-
Brumadinho tectonosequence) comprises siliciclastic
metasediments and bimodal metavolcanic rocks,
organised in stacked coarsening- to ®ning-upward
intervals, reaching 800 m in thickness (Reis, 1999;
Martins-Neto et al., 1999) and ascribed to lacustrine,
fan-delta and ¯uvial sedimentation (Martins-Neto,
2000). Episodic subsidence was controlled by block
tilting in separate asymmetric half-grabens. This
tectonosequence marks the peak of extensional
tectonism in the evolution of the EspinhacËo basin
(Martins-Neto, 1996, 2000).
The three synrift tectonosequences are overlain by
a transgressive surface marking the ®rst marine incur-
sion and the onset of the transitional stage in Espi-
nhacËo basin development (Martins-Neto, 1993). Above
the transgressive surface, the Galho do Miguel tecto-
nosequence is characterised by basal shallow marine
deposits onlapping underlying units from the east, as
well as by widespread aeolian sandsheets prograding
from the west (Martins-Neto, 2000). Initially, relative
sea level rise outpaced sedimentation rate, but for the
22 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
progradational sediments, supply exceeded base-level
rise, leading to over®lling of the basin. The basin
enlarged as a result of continued high sedimentation
rates and increased ¯exural rigidity of the lithosphere
due to cooling (Martins-Neto, 2000). The Galho do
Miguel tectonosequence thus records a change from
mainly mechanical, locally compensated subsidence
to a regime marked by thermal, regionally compen-
sated subsidence, and a steer's head geometry (White
and McKenzie, 1988) resulted.
The uppermost, ¯exural stage of the EspinhacËo
basin comprises the ca. 900 m thick Conselheiro
Mata tectonosequence, which begins with a maximum
¯ooding surface marking the maximum extent of the
EspinhacËo palaeo-sea (Espinoza, 1996). Dupont
(1995) recognised three depositional sequences,
each with a transgressive base and a progradational
top: (1) barred nearshore deposits passing up into
progradational beach and shallow marine sediments;
(2) shelf sediments passing upward to alluvial plain
and coastal deposits; (3) shelf deposits passing up into
coastal to ¯uvial sediments. These three depositional
sequences each suggest initial rapid subsidence and
starved basin conditions followed by over®lled basin
conditions (Martins-Neto, 2000).
4.8. The MacauÂbas/Salinas basin, SaÄo Francisco
craton, Brazil
The Neoproterozoic MacauÂbas megasequence (SaÄo
Francisco craton, Brazil; Fig. 4) represents rift to drift
sedimentation related to the break-up of Rodinia
(Pedrosa-Soares et al., 1992, 1998; Martins-Neto
and Hercos, 2001; Martins-Neto et al., 2001). Inter-
mediate to felsic volcanic rocks, interpreted as
products of initial stretching, have U±Pb zircon ages
of ca. 1000 Ma (Brito Neves et al., 1993); MacauÂbas
diamictites contain 950±900 Ma detrital zircons
(Buchwaldt et al., 1999). The passive-margin wedge
includes shelf, slope and deep-sea deposits (Lima et
al., submitted for publication). Rocks inferred to
represent related oceanic crust (RibeiraÄo da Folha
ophiolites, northern termination of the Adamastor
Ocean) have a Sm±Nd age of 816 ^ 72 Ma
(Pedrosa-Soares et al., 1992, 1998). Ice-proximal
and proglacial sedimentation in the cratonic and tran-
sitional domains of the MacauÂbas megasequence
occurred in sub-basins that were separated by base-
ment palaeohighs. Deep palaeovalleys were ®lled
with tillites, mass-¯ow diamictites, ¯uvial sandstones
and lacustrine rhythmites. These inter®nger with
proglacial outwash deposits that prograded axially.
Block tilting, indicated by asymmetric angular rela-
tionships at the sub-MacauÂbas unconformity across
the Serra da A Â gua Fria, was most likely responsible
for basin partitioning, and re¯ects Early Neoprotero-
zoic extensional tectonics during Rodinia break-up
(Martins-Neto et al., 1997; Martins-Neto and Hercos,
2001).
Previous workers (e.g. Karfunkel and Hoppe, 1988;
D'Agrella-Filho et al., 1990; Uhlein et al., 1995,
1999) interpreted MacauÂbas glaciogenic deposits to
represent a continental ice sheet moving uniformly
eastward. However, the data presented in Martins-
Neto and Hercos (2001) indicate multiple depocentres
and a more complex dispersion pattern. The sub-
basins preserved in the cratonic and transitional
domains represent subsidiary structures to the main
rift depocentre of the MacauÂbas/Salinas basin, and
the Serra de GraÄo Mogol represents an Early Neopro-
terozoic rift shoulder. Uplift related to the elastic
rebound of the rift shoulders most likely contributed
to the MacauÂbas glaciation (Martins-Neto and Hercos,
2001). In addition, the rifting process which generated
the MacauÂbas/Salinas basin may be related to a
mantle plume (Martins-Neto, 1998). Correa-Gomes
and Oliveira (1997) have proposed an early Neopro-
terozoic mantle plume in the region where the AracËuaõÂ
and West Congo fold belts are now located, based on
reconstruction of ¯ow-directions in ma®c dykes in
east±southeast Brazil and the Congo craton, as well
as on lithogeochemical analysis. Initial regional
domal uplift due to plume activity would have gener-
ated elevated rift structures and, consequently,
favoured the generation of glaciers on the rift
shoulders (Martins-Neto, 1998).
5. Discussion
5.1. Variable interaction of tectonism, magmatism,
eustasy and palaeoclimate
An important question arising from the study of the
Precambrian rock record is to what extent the full
variety of basins as known today, and as inferred for
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
the Phanerozoic, may provide analogues for the
Precambrian and more speci®cally for the earlier
portion thereof? It is this very basic question which
this special issue will attempt to answer, rather than
the examples of Precambrian basins outlined above,
which do not provide a large enough sample. However,
the basins discussed here do strongly support the
importance of the interaction of tectonism, magma-
tism, eustasy and palaeoclimate in their genesis, as is
the case for Phanerozoic-modern depositories.
For the Witwatersrand basin, the preserved basin-
®ll exhibits convincing evidence for the interplay of
all four of the factors, and for the MacauÂbas/Salinas
basin the rock record supports three as having been
important, with eustasy apparently being responsible
only for the relatively late post-glacial sea level rise
and for the internal stratigraphic framework of the
passive margin wedge. The preserved Hurwitz
basin-®ll suggests predominant tectonism, but with
signi®cant eustatic, palaeoclimatic and magmatic
in¯uences. In the Ventersdorp basin, the presence of
small quantities of komatiite in the uppermost lavas
suggests that a plume may have been in¯uential
throughout, and that lithospheric stretching and ther-
mal subsidence were secondary processes (see also
Ojakangas et al., 2001c, for another Precambrian
basin where a plume appears to have been of cardinal
importance). In the Hamersley and Lower Transvaal
basins, although both mechanical and thermal subsi-
dence were important, the over-riding in¯uence upon
the preserved sedimentary succession appears to have
been globally high sea levels, whose effect was
magni®ed due to aggressive early Precambrian weath-
ering (palaeoclimate) as a result of atmospheric
composition. For the upper Transvaal Timeball Hill
basin, inferred glacial in¯uences suggest low sea
levels and minimal weathering; although glacial
erosion should have provided large amounts of debris,
little such material is preserved in the basin-®ll. For
the EspinhacËo basin, a lithospheric stretching model
can be interpreted with some con®dence.
5.2. Origin of greenstone basins
Strong similarity of the few examples of preserved
greenstone basin-®ll successions described herein,
also observed for most such basins (De Wit and
Ashwal, 1997), suggests a common evolutionary
23
history. There can be little doubt about the data
supporting synsedimentary tectonism, particularly
shortening (e.g. Hofmann et al., 2001), the latter
being easily explained by convergent margins.
Those who do not believe that plate tectonic processes
had evolved during the Archaean (e.g. Goodwin,
1996; Hamilton, 1998) cite a number of arguments,
including the apparent absence of Archaean accretion-
ary prisms (melange deposits). However, preserved
greenstone deposits are generally poor in mudrocks,
and structurally competent intra-prism sandy succes-
sions are less known and harder to identify than
argillaceous equivalents (Devaney, 1999). Some
deformation in greenstone belts may be directly
related to granitic batholiths (Trendall, 1995; Ridley
et al., 1997). However, although there is evidence of
early batholiths in Barberton, elsewhere they are late
in greenstone history (Myers and KroÈner, 1994; Dirks
and Jelsma, 1998; Schwerdtner, 1990). Regardless of
whether or not plate tectonic models are appropriate
for the Archaean, with few exceptions (e.g. Slave
province, Canada; Padgham, 1992), greenstone belts
constitute `large igneous provinces' with voluminous
magmatic rocks. What is less certain is whether this
magmatism is independent of plates, or plate-driven
(e.g. Fedo et al., 2001).
Most recent reviews of greenstone belts stress that
they formed in a variety of tectonic settings (e.g.
Windley, 1993; Condie, 1994; Eriksson et al.,
1994a, 1997; Arndt et al., 1997; Sylvester et al.,
1997; De Wit, 1998). Brandl and De Wit (1997) relate
the tectonic setting of the Barberton greenstone belt to
an arc-related plate tectonic model, also envisaged for
the Brazilian belts (Section 4.1.3), and the evolution
of continental crust is commonly ascribed to obduc-
tion of oceanic lithosphere and the development and
subsequent collision of arc systems during orogenesis
(e.g. De Wit et al., 1992; Kusky and Vearncombe,
1997). Although the evidence in favour of Archaean
ophiolites is contentious, low-angle thrusts have been
identi®ed (e.g. Hofmann et al., 2001), and in the oldest
greenstone belt, Isua, there is evidence for highly
metamorphosed and deformed components of ocean
crust having been preserved (Fedo et al., 2001).
Hofmann et al. (2001) provide detailed sedimentary
evidence which strongly supports deposition of the
Neoarchaean Cheshire Formation (Belingwe green-
stone belt, Zimbabwe) within a foreland basin, with
24 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
sediment being partly derived from advancing thrust
sheets of pillowed basalts. Mueller and Corcoran
(2001) discuss volcanism and sedimentation patterns
related to rifting of a continental arc in the Neoarch-
aean Raquette Lake Formation, Slave Province,
Canada.
Another long-standing model relates greenstone
belts to spreading ocean-ridge systems or to ascending
plumes (Windley, 1973; Hunter, 1974; Condie and
Hunter, 1976; Tarney et al., 1976; Hunter and
Stowe, 1997). Greenstones in the Slave Province
have been interpreted as representing obducted sea-
¯oor spreading oceanic slices (either full ocean or
back-arc basin ridge-generated) (Helmstaedt et al.,
1986; Fyson and Helmstaedt, 1988), and in a more
general model based on rheological analysis of ocea-
nic crust, Hoffman and Ranalli (1988) made an analo-
gous proposal. Many recent papers have offered
oceanic plateaus as analogues for greenstone belts,
some relating the plateaus to spreading ridges or
suggesting an intimate association of plumes and
ridges (e.g. Abbott, 1996; Saunders et al., 1996).
Arndt (1999) ascribed the subaqueous character of
voluminous crust-contaminated submarine basalts in
many Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic greenstone
belts to high sea levels resulting from ocean basin
volume reduction in response to either extensive/
active mid-ocean ridges or enhanced oceanic plateau
growth rates.
5.3. Secular changes in the in¯uence of tectonics and
magmatism on Precambrian basin evolution?
The common concordance of ages for magmatic,
deformational and metamorphic events in greenstone
belts (e.g. Barberton and the Brazilian belts above) is
also compatible with the ideas of Nelson (1998) (see
also Nelson et al., 1999), that plate tectonics and
global magmatic events were major parallel in¯u-
ences on the evolution of the Earth's crust and its
basins during the Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic.
Global magmatic events may have given way to
increasingly predominant plate tectonism towards
approximately 2.0 Ga (Nelson, 1998). Also notable
are the major atmospheric changes (e.g. Holland et
al., 1986; Schopf, 1999) that appear to have occurred
at about the same time, as outlined in Section 3.2
above. These changes probably relate also to super-
continent assembly and dispersion events close to ca.
2.0 Ga.
Episodic magmatic events appear to have been
more important in basin evolution early in the
Precambrian, as illustrated by the greenstone-Witwa-
tersrand, Ventersdorp basins discussed in this paper.
The Witwatersrand basin has a number of aspects
analogous to greenstone basin-®lls; both exhibit
evidence for compressional tectonics and an impor-
tant in¯uence of granitic batholiths. The Witwaters-
rand succession has the same overall vertical
transition from volcanics to deep water to shallow
water sediments seen in many greenstone belts, the
main difference being that this sequence for the
former is fully cratonic. The subsequent Ventersdorp
Supergroup on the Kaapvaal craton also enjoyed a
major magmatic in¯uence. The style of epeiric basin
sedimentation observed in the Witwatersrand basin is
very similar to that seen in Hamersley and Lower
Transvaal, with the latter two containing predomi-
nantly chemical deposits compared to the siliciclastic
sediments of the former. The greater degree of trans-
gression for the Transvaal and Hamersley examples
most likely re¯ects the inferred maximum rates of
continental crustal growth close to the Archaean±
Proterozoic boundary (Eriksson, 1995), greater
cratonic stability, allied to the palaeoclimatically
induced low freeboard resulting from aggressive
weathering, hence allowing a predominance of chemi-
cal sedimentation (e.g. Eriksson et al., 1999). It is thus
possible that the Witwatersrand basin represents a
transition from the crustal instability and predominant
magmatism characteristic of Archaean greenstone
belt settings, to the emerging stability of micro-conti-
nents subject to plate tectonism and whose growth
rates promoted epeiric drowning of emergent land-
masses. Detrital zircon geochronology of the ca.
2990±2945 Ma Mallina basin, Pilbara craton, Austra-
lia, suggests an intracratonic depository which under-
went rifting and subsequent compression (Smithies et
al., 2001), supporting the apparent in¯uence of plate
tectonics on the earliest cratonic plates. The possibly
unique and probably short-lived style of basin devel-
opment inferred for the Witwatersrand succession,
which took place soon after an apparently global
period of enhanced erosion at ca. 3125±3000 Ma
(Nelson et al., 1999) and under aggressively weath-
ering palaeoclimatic conditions (Corcoran et al.,
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
1998), may help explain the greatest placer gold
deposit in the world.
Catuneanu (2001), in his application of a foredeep
model to the Witwatersrand basin, suggests that in
addition to many favourable comparisons with
Phanerozoic ¯exural foredeep basin-®lls, there may
have been slow subduction, and short ¯exural wave-
lengths due to basin formation on young, less rigid
lithosphere. There is additional evidence in support
of slower, or, more likely, variable rates of plate
movement during this time period. Supercontinent
assembly and break-up cycles in the Phanerozoic
occur at time scales of approximately 200 m.y. (e.g.
Vail et al., 1977). The inferred Precambrian Kenor-
land supercontinent, comprising cratons now forming
parts of North America, and the Baltic and Siberian
shields, appears to have undergone protracted attenua-
tion from ca. 2.4±2.1 Ga, followed by dispersion from
ca. 2.1±2.0 Ga (Aspler and Chiarenzelli, 1998; Aspler
et al., 2001; Ojakangas et al., 2001b). For the assem-
bly of the Eburnean/Transamazonian supercontinent,
comprising cratons from present-day Africa and
South America, a time period of ca. 300 m.y. is indi-
cated, from approximately 2.1±1.8 Ga (Eriksson et
al., 1999). The possibility that `normal' plate tectonic
processes and migration rates may be affected and
effectively halted by major mantle plumes has been
discussed for the African plate for the period since
30 Ma (Burke, 1996; see, however, Ojakangas et al.,
2001c). The possible in¯uence of a plume on Kenor-
land has also been discussed by Aspler and Chiaren-
zelli (1998). For the Neoarchaean±Palaeoproterozoic
Transvaal Supergroup, Catuneanu and Eriksson
(1999) have proposed a ®rst-order cycle of ca.
650 m.y. length, and second-order cycles of relative
sea level change with an average duration of ca.
130 m.y. Analogous second-order cycles in the Kare-
lian Supergroup have an average length of ca.
115 m.y. (Ojakangas et al., 2001a). These estimates
are markedly longer than Phanerozoic cycles (e.g.
Vail et al., 1977) and may be ascribed to moderated
plate tectonic processes. However, Eriksson et al.
(2001) emphasise the signi®cant unconformities and
hiatuses in Transvaal sedimentation, and these indivi-
dual unconformity-bounded successions resemble
Phanerozoic cycle lengths, given the poor geochro-
nology available.
Variable rates of plate motion are also suggested by
25
the well-known Neoarchaean Limpopo mobile belt,
formed when the Zimbabwe and Kaapvaal cratons
of southern Africa collided. Many workers agree
that coarse upper sedimentation in the Witwatersrand
Group may be ascribed to the ®rst effects of the
Limpopo orogenesis (e.g. Burke et al., 1986; see,
however, Catuneanu, 2001; Eriksson et al., 2001);
this sedimentation occurred between 2894 and
2714 Ma, as indicated by precise dating of detrital
zircon grains (Robb and Meyer, 1995). The last
major event in the Limpopo collision is dated at ca.
2.58 Ga (Treloar and Blenkinsop, 1995); the closure
of the Limpopo ocean between these two cratons may
thus have encompassed some 300 m.y. Such inferred
slower spreading rates during the Archaean may
merely re¯ect preservational bias. In addition, there
is still a controversy over the age of the Limpopo belt,
with strong evidence in favour of a 2.0 Ga orogeny
(Holzer et al., 1998). There is thus no strong evidence
to qualify the generally accepted higher heat ¯ow
values inferred for the early Precambrian, and to
doubt that these decreased as the Earth aged. Never-
theless, the interaction of large mantle plume events
with plate motions, may well have resulted in variable
plate motion rates on the surface of a gradually cool-
ing Earth during the Precambrian, as it had done in the
Phanerozoic (Burke, 1996).
5.4. Secular changes in weathering and erosion rates?
Subsidence of basins such as the Witwatersrand,
Hamersley and Lower Transvaal has been recently
investigated in some detail and the ®ndings do not
support greater denudation rates than those demon-
strated for Phanerozoic-modern basin-®lls of similar
inferred tectonic style. In the Transvaal basin, Alter-
mann and Nelson (1998) calculated non-backstripped
sedimentation rates for the Lower Transvaal carbo-
nate-BIF-shale succession which indicate physical,
biological and chemical processes of sedimentation
for varying shallow marine facies realms analogous
to those found in equivalent post-600 Ma deposits.
The same data allowed identi®cation of second-
order cycles of sedimentation for the Transvaal,
which could also be inferred for the Hamersley
basin-®ll (Altermann and Nelson, 1998). These
authors thus concluded that subsidence rates, due to
thermal and mechanical processes, and continental
26 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
denudation rates resemble those from Phanerozoic
basins. Full decompacted and backstripped subsi-
dence rates calculated by Maynard and Klein (1995)
for the Witwatersrand basin similarly support analo-
gous conditions to those in young basins. It may thus
be inferred that the thermal behaviour of even the
earliest Archaean continents such as Kaapvaal and
Pilbara, combined with emerging plate tectonic
processes, enabled the creation of accommodation
space that allowed basin-®ll evolution of Phanerozoic
character.
5.5. Precambrian supercontinents and basin evolution
Supercontinents were probably able to develop
when plate tectonics became predominant over
mantle plume activity in the Palaeoproterozoic (e.g.
Kenorland, and the Eburnean-Transamazonian super-
continent; Aspler and Chiarenzelli, 1998; Eriksson et
al., 1999; Aspler et al., 2001; Martins-Neto et al.,
2001; Ojakangas et al., 2001a,b). This transition prob-
ably resulted from decreasing heat ¯ow in general,
and from the more ef®cient heat loss at MORs.
However, major mantle plume events still in¯uenced
younger Precambrian basin formation, as illustrated
by the ca. 1109±1087 Ma Midcontinent Rift Sysytem,
USA, where a combination of plate tectonic and
magmatic processes was predominant (Ojakangas et
al., 2001c). While the exact cause of supercontinent
cyclicity has yet to be fully elucidated, the ultimate
root of supercontinent assembly and dispersal is
believed to be mantle convection (Gurnis, 1988). A
high-freeboard Precambrian supercontinent would
maximise the amount of weathering and terrestrial
sedimentation, and most likely lead to a decrease of
CO2, already minimised by reductions in volcanism.
Such weathering would also have been maximised at
low palaeolatitudes (Young et al., 2001).
The Hurwitz basin probably re¯ects a combination
of analogous thermal, plate tectonic (supercontinent
break-up) and palaeoclimatic (lowered sea level and
reduced weathering) in¯uences in its preservation of
glacial deposits (Aspler et al., 2001). Repeated, self-
limiting feedback cycles could explain glacial
sequences intercalated with mature quartz arenites in
the approximately coeval Huronian basin of Canada
(Young, 1991; Young et al., 2001). Eventually, conti-
nental break-up and dispersal would elevate CO2
levels via enhanced magmatic (volcanic emissions)
inputs, raise sea level, and result in periods of global
warming. The lowered sea levels related to this ®rst
global glacial event at ca. 2.4±2.2 Ga support tectonic
and or thermal subsidence as a major formative factor
in our interpretation of the epeiric Timeball Hill
basin-®ll, which was associated with localised glacial
in¯uences on the Kaapvaal craton. The approximately
coeval, yet much more widespread glaciogenic depos-
its of the Sariolian Group (Karelian Supergroup,
Fennoscandian shield) appear to have been pre-
dominantly glaciomarine and are thought to re¯ect
ice-house conditions associated with transgression
(Ojakangas et al., 2001a). The interaction of glacio-
eustatic processes and differential subsidence in the
evolution of Neoproterozoic rift, immature and subse-
quent mature passive margin basins (Mojave desert,
southeastern California) related to the fragmentation
of Rodinia is discussed by Fedo and Cooper (2001).
Extension due to distant tectonic break-up of Rodinia
also affected fully cratonic basins such as that within
which the Chuar Group (Grand Canyon) was depos-
ited, strongly in¯uenced by the interaction of
glacioeustasy and local differential tectonic subsi-
dence (Dehler et al., 2001). The latter authors relate
subordinate dolomites within the siliciclastic Chuar
succession to rapid palaeoclimatic changes dependent
largely on high frequency glacioeustatic cyclicity.
6. Conclusions
The prime control on Precambrian basin evolution
would appear to be magmatic processes and plate
tectonics; the interaction of these two overlapping
processes over most of the Precambrian time
exceeded the combined effects of eustasy/freeboard
and palaeoclimate, which tended to modify this ®rst-
order in¯uence. This is essentially the same as for
Phanerozoic-modern basins (e.g. Miall, 1990, 2000;
Allen and Allen, 1990). It should be emphasised, once
again, that magmatism, tectonics, eustasy and palaeo-
climate form a coherent group of interdependent in¯u-
ences on basin evolution.
For greenstone basin-®ll successions an unique
combination of high heat ¯ow magmatism, perhaps
at mid-ocean ridges, in island-arc settings, in plate-
independent ocean plateaus (mantle plumes?), or
 P.G. Eriksson et al. / Sedimentary Geology 141±142 (2001) 1±35
indeed all of these settings, preserved a suite of rocks
which some consider to be unique to the Archaean, with
minor occurrences up to about 2.0 Ga. Others, however,
maintain that greenstones are still forming today. As
proto-cratons formed by these processes, they would
have become subject to the modifying in¯uences of
weathering in aggressive palaeoclimatic regimes, and
eustasy; there is evidence to support a global erosional
period from ca. 3125±3000 Ma (Nelson et al., 1999),
and globally high sea levels related to a maxima of
continental crustal growth in the Neoarchaean (e.g.
Eriksson, 1995). The lithological succession of the ca.
3074±2714 Ma Witwatersrand basin resembles green-
stone successions to a certain degree, but differs from
greenstone deposits in that it was also strongly in¯u-
enced by increasing cratonic stability and the combina-
tion of eustasy and palaeoclimate. The subsequent
Ventersdorp basin on Kaapvaal demonstrates that
magmatic in¯uences were still strong in the Neoarch-
aean. The two interacting processes of palaeoclimate
and eustasy produced a style of basin on many cratons
at ca. 2.5 Ga (e.g. Hamersley and Lower Transvaal)
where high sea levels predominated over mechanical
and thermal subsidence, and in which several kilometres
of carbonate-BIF sediment accumulated. Their evolu-
tion and the cyanobacterial colonies that inhabited these
basin ¯oors began the process of atmospheric composi-
tional change, which in the Palaeoproterozoic,
combined with supercontinentality to produce the ®rst
global glaciation (e.g. Hurwitz and Timeball Hill
basins).
By ca. 2.0 Ga, greenstone formation was either less
important or had come to an end (e.g. the ca. 2.2±
2.0 Ga Rio Itapicuru belt, Brazil) and with an increas-
ingly oxygenated atmosphere, aggressive weathering
decreased. In addition, most continental crustal
growth had been achieved by this stage, and MOR
growth rates rather than those of crust formation
increasingly controlled freeboard and sea levels.
Basins younger than 2.0 Ga were predominantly
subject to a ®rst-order plate tectonic control, with
mantle heat promoting break-up of supercontinents
as Wilson cycles waxed and waned (e.g. EspinhacËo
and MacauÂbas basins).
Finally, we suggest that Precambrian basin evolu-
tion was controlled by variable interaction of the four
factors of tectonism, magmatism, eustasy and palaeo-
climate. The most signi®cant differences compared to
27
Phanerozoic-modern basins, especially in the early
Precambrian, lay in the relative rates of processes,
such as the rates of MOR spreading and subduction,
denudation rates, tempo of continental crustal genesis
and in the changing atmospheric composition; the
principal of actualism may thus be broadly applied
to Precambrian basins (e.g. Donaldson, 1999).
Acknowledgements
P.G.E. and C.J. de W.R. acknowledge the generous
research funding from the University of Pretoria, and
the National Research Foundation. S.S. thanks the
National Research Foundation of South Africa and
the University of Pretoria, as well as the Department
of Science and Technology, Government of India, the
Indian National Science Academy and the Jadavpur
University for research support. M.A.M-N acknowl-
edges the grants from FAPEMIG, the Research
Support Foundation of Minas Gerais State, Brazil
(contract number CEX 895/95) and the CNPq, the
Brazilian National Research Council, for a research
fellowship (contract number 300404/94-8). O.C.
thanks the University of Alberta for ®nancial support.
Numerous discussions over many years with collea-
gues, in particular Ken Eriksson, Ed Simpson, Kent
Condie, Dietrich Klemm and Jon Devaney, were also
most bene®cial. We acknowledge the support and
helpful suggestions offered by friends and co-workers
in the Global Precambrian Sedimentation Syndicate.
Referees Andrew Miall and Al Donaldson, as always,
provided constructive criticism and valued advice; we
also thank Andrew Miall for subediting this paper and
wholeheartedly supporting the entire special issue.
Femke Wallien at Elsevier was, as usual, a model of
support and cooperation.
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