Isotopic modelling of Archean crustal evolution from comagmatic zircon–apatite pairs

Abstract

The composition of Earth's early crust is challenging to assess as only a fragmented record remains. As a consequence, deciphering the composition of early crust as a means to understand early processes on our planet often relies on the isotopic composition of resistive minerals. Here we present a new tool for investigating igneous petrogenesis and crustal evolution by combining 87Sr/86Sr measurements of apatite inclusions with U–Pb and Hf isotope analysis of their host zircon crystals. This approach takes advantage of the complementary inverse fractionation behaviour of Rb/Sr and Lu/Hf, and the cogenetic host/inclusion relationship, to link the three isotopic systems and construct an evolution model in triple isotope space. By applying this triple isotope system modelling to Mesoarchean igneous rocks from the Akia terrane in SW Greenland, we reconstruct a bulk SiO2 composition of 63-68 wt% for the precursor source crust and infer an average crustal residence time of 300–350 Ma. Our modelling implicates involvement of intermediate to felsic Paleo-Eoarchean crust in the genesis of voluminous 3.0 Ga magmatic rocks of the Akia terrane, one of the largest components of the Archean North Atlantic Craton. A further outcome of this approach is the ability to place more robust empirical constraints on the Lu/Hf ratio of the precursor crust by comparison of the modelling output to a global whole-rock dataset. The approach in this work provides a template for further application to ancient rocks in order to better understand the evolution of early Earth.