Continental Growth During Formation of Rodinia at 1.35-0.9 Ga

Nd isotopic data and U/Pb zircon ages suggest that only 7–13% of continental crust was formed between 1.35 to 0.9 Ga. Calculated crustal production rates during this time fall within the 1.1 km3/y average production rate of continental crust. This distribution of juvenile continental crust supports the existence of only two major superplume events at 2.7 and 1.9 Ga, and one or two minor events in the Phanerozoic at about 300 and 110 Ma. The absence of a 1.35-0.9 Ga juvenile crust peak may be related to supercontinent history. Results of this study confirm that although both the supercontinent and superplume cycles are episodic, each cycle can operate independently of the other.