The intraplate character of supercontinent tectonics

For several decades geoscientists have recognised intraplate tectonic activity far from plate margins, both from modern and ancient examples. This apparent disconnect with the drivers of plate tectonics does not necessarily imply unconnected processes, but rather an uncertainty in understanding exactly how these systems operate. Are the driving forces derived locally or do they propagate from plate-margins? How do these forces interact with a complex tectonic inheritance to generate the observed tectonism? Furthermore, what novel approaches have been applied to understand these processes? Here we review the general literature and the contents of this special issue to develop some partial answers to these questions. Key observations include the critical importance of local lithospheric heterogeneities as a control on the mode of orogenesis, and also the role of locally derived forces from mantle upwelling or from depositing thick piles of magmatic or sedimentary rocks. These processes happen within the overarching tectonic setting provided by far-field plate margins, which show intimate links in both time and observed processes with many intraplate regions. These insights would not be possible without a growing arsenal of geological, geophysical and numerical methods that can be applied to intraplate regions, and this is reflected in the varied approaches within the issue. We envisage that this special issue will provide a stimulus for further progress in understanding intraplate tectonics.