The Eastern Pilbara Craton is the eastern portion of the Pilbara Craton located in Western Australia. This region contains variably metamorphosed mafic and ultramafic greenstone belt rocks, intrusive granitic dome structures, and volcanic sedimentary rocks. These greenstone belts worldwide are thought to be the remnants of ancient volcanic belts, and are subject to much debate in today's scientific community. Areas such as Isua and Barberton which have similar lithologies and ages as Pilbara have been argued to be subduction accretion arcs, while others suggest that they are the result of vertical tectonics. This debate is crucial to investigating when/how plate tectonics began on Earth. The Pilbara Craton along with the Kaapvaal Craton are the only remaining areas of the Earth with pristine 3.6–2.5 Ga crust.[1] The extremely old and rare nature of this crustal region makes it a valuable resource in the understanding of the evolution of the Archean Earth.[2]
- ^ Arndt, Nicholas (2001). "Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa". Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. p. 885. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1894. ISBN 9783642112713.
- ^ Laurie, Angelique (March 2013). "The formation of Earth's early felsic continental crust by water-present eclogite melting" (PDF). pp. ii, 31. hdl:10019.1/80214. see also doi 10.1111/ter.12015