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Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821
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Plate tectonics and mantle plumes as a basis of deep-seated Earths

tectonic activity for the last 2 Ga
M.I. Kuzmin a,*, V.V. Yarmolyuk b
a

A.P. Vinogradov Institute of Geochemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Favorskogo 1a, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
b
Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Staromonetnyi per. 35, Moscow, 109017, Russia
Received 22 July 2015; accepted 28 August 2015

Abstract
The onset of the modern tectonic style that combines plate-related and plume-related mechanisms has been discussed. Such a tectonic style
could have started on the Earth when all layers of our planet had formed. Analysis of available geological data shows that the solid inner
core crystallized by 2.7 Ga. Typical geologic complexes appeared on the continents as a result of plate tectonics processes at that time. The
layer D that accumulates lithospheric slabs, which do not remain at the upper-lower mantle interface but can go down to the core-mantle
boundary, was finally produced by 2 Ga. At pressures and temperatures of the D layer perovskite, a principal mineral of the lower mantle
transforms into postperovskite phase. The isotope data suggest the existence of mantle (EM-I and EM-II) domains, being the sources for
oceanic island basalts (OIB) and the depleted upper mantle (asthenosphere), the source for mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), from at least
2 Ga. It is accepted that the recent tectonic style started on the Earth at that period. Deep-seated processes suggest the involvement of all
Earths layers. The asthenospherelithosphere interaction is responsible for different types of large surface structures that develop as fold
mountains, oceanic spaces, and subduction zones. The descending lithospheric slabs (cold mantle material) and ascending mantle material in
hot mantle provinces or the so-called low shear velocity provinces are responsible for the lower mantle convection. The plume is produced
in the layer D, which accumulates the descending lithosphere slabs as well as light elements released from the outer liquid core, which are
oxidized in this layer, thus resulting in thermochemical plume formation. At the same time the molten ferric iron penetrates the core. So, we
see the interaction of all Earths layers. The article also considers the evolutionary history of the Siberian continent over 700 Myr as early
as the breakdown of Rodinia and the formation of mountain folds and rifting structures and the associated metallogeny.
2016, V.S. Sobolev IGM, Siberian Branch of the RAS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: plate tectonics; subduction; plumes; depleted mantle

Introduction
Volcanic and tectonic activity has always characterized our
planet throughout its entire history. However, the style of
tectonic movements has changed with time. Planetary bodies
played a key role in the growth of our planet, formation of
the Moon and the Earths core differentiation in the first fifty
million years (Kuzmin, 2014; Wood, 2011; Wood et al., 2006).
The following 500 million years were characterized by the
formation of the first continental crust whose geochemical
nature can be deciphered from detrital zircon grainsrare
remnants of the first terrestrial crust (Nebel et al., 2014). The
advances in modern analytical methods provided us with the
information about the early Earth. This first geological eon
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kuzmin@igc.irk.ru (M.I. Kuzmin)

was marked by frequent asteroid bombardments that destroyed

the primary terrestrial crust. Those frequent asteroid bombardments together with the whole-mantle convection led to the
so-called mantle overturn events (Griffin et al., 2014). This
tectonic style still remained in the Archean prior to 2.7 Ga;
the crustal rocks that survived to the present were produced
at that time. The surface topography of the Hadean and
Archean Earth was rather subdued, and the convection still
remained whole-mantle. The paleomagnetic data document the
assembly and break-up of supercontinents after 2.7 Ga.
Paleomagnetic, geochemical, and tectonostratigraphic data
establish that the recent tectonic style combining both plateand plume-related mechanisms has been active since at least
2 Ga. This very period of the Earths evolution that was
considered in a number of publications by N.L. Dobretsov
(Dobretsov, 2011a; Dobretsov and Vernikovsky, 2001; Dobretsov et al., 2001, 2008) is discussed here.

1068-7971/$ - see front matter D 201 6, V.S. So bolev IGM, Siberian Branch of the RAS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rgg.201
+
6.01.002

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

Short historical background

As it is known, the modern science begins with a paradigm
notion introduced by Thomas Kuhn (1977) which is based on
past scientific achievements (fundamental monographs or
review scientific articles). This concept incorporates rules and
standards for scientific studies, practical examples and ways
of problem-solving as well a scientific language understandable to the whole scientific community.
The first paradigm of geology was initiated by the outstanding British geologist Sir Charles Lyell in his major work
entitled as Principles of Geology (18301833) where he
formulated the principles of what he termed actualism (the
past is to be explained by processes acting currently in time
and space) and uniformitarianism (all natural changes, the laws
responsible for them are uniform through time). Later on two
foreign honorary members of the St. Petersburg Academy of
Sciences, James Hall (1859) and James Dana (1873) came up
with the concept of geosynclines explaining the origins of fold
mountain masses. They discovered that the fold mountains
began as basins with thick sedimentary sequences. Later on
this process was replaced by the phase of tectonic deformations that gave rise to metamorphosed sequences cut by
granitic intrusions. The tectonic phase then was replaced by
the orogenic phase associated with the andesitic volcanic
activity and origin of fold mountains. An essential addition to
the concept of geosynclines was identification of stable Earths
regionscontinents-platforms.
The concept of geosynclines became groundwork for the
geological paradigm up to the 1960s when the plate tectonics
theory came to the forefront. The first paradigm of geology
started from the geology of the continents while the second
one (the plate tectonics theory) was based on the data of the
ocean floor structures as well as on geophysical data of the
upper (lithosphere and asthenosphere) Earths layers and
tectonically active sites (Dobretsov, 2011a; Khain, 2003;
Pushcharovsky and Pushcharovsky, 2010).
A number of scientists contributed to a new paradigm:
Robert Dietz, a British geophysicist, and Harry Hess, a US
earth scientist introduced sea floor spreading; two British
geophysicists, F.S. Vine and D.H. Matthews, confirmed
spreading by the presence of strip-like magnetic anomalies;
John Wilson of Canada singled out a special type of fracturestransform faults; William Jason Morgan, the US geophysicist and Xavier Le Pichon, a French geophysicist
identified the plate boundaries from zones of tectonic and
volcanic activity; US scientists B. Isacks, J. Oliver, L.R. Sykes
revealed the driving mechanism for lithospheric plate motions.
The original articles of the above authors can be found in a
special issue (New Global, 1974).
The major principles of plate tectonics or new global
tectonics have been formulated by 1968 (Zonenshain et al.,
1976).
In tectonic processes two external layers of the Earththe
lithosphere and the asthenosphere interact with each other.
The asthenosphere substance is capable of buoyancy, which
leads to convection sustained by the energy from the inner

layers of the Earth. The lithosphere is the rigid outermost shell

of the Earth that passively reacts to processes occurring in
the underlying asthenosphere. The lithosphere is cut by
narrow deformation belts, i.e., zones demonstrating high
tectonic (in particular, seismic) and magmatic activity: rift
midoceanic ridges and subduction zones. These zones break
the lithosphere into a number of rigid lithospheric plates,
which move horizontally relatively to each other owing to
ductile friction caused by convective (or any other) flows in
the asthenosphere.
In some active zones or divergent boundaries the best
known as the midoceanic ridges lithospheric plates (new crust)
are created as the plates move away from each other; in others
the so-called convergent boundaries (known as arc systems or
deep oceanic trenches) the plates are destroyed and sink
readily into the mantle. And lastly the transform faults are
characterized by plates that slide horizontally past each other.
The principles of the plate tectonics paradigm were logic
and simple and thus this theory met the recognition from the
majority of the geologists (Pushcharovsky and Pushcharovsky,
2010). It was based on the recent geological processes, but
soon after it was used for the past geological epochs. The
book Plate Tectonics on the Territory of the USSR (Zonenshain et al., 1990) was of great significance for understanding
the structure of large continental masses, as it considered the
geological history of almost entire Eurasia continent.
In 1963, when the first principles of plate tectonics were
developed, G. Wilson (1963) turned attention to the withinplate magmatic occurrences resulting from the uplift of the
deep-seated mantle material. They were called hot mantle
spots. It was shown that hotspots hold stable position for a
long span of time and generate underwater ridges consisting
of lost volcanoes. An impressive example is the Hawaiian
hotspot, related to which is the origin of the Hawaiian-Emperor Ridge in the Pacific Ocean. A number of scientists (e.g.,
Sorokhtin, 1974) believed that the geologic and physicalchemical parameters of the mantle are highly improbable for
the existence of narrow (about 100150 km in diameter)
mantle flows (or columns) which penetrate all mantle layers
including the asthenosphere.
So, there was a demand in studies allowing us to discover
deep mantle structures, responsible for the magmatism of
hotspots. By the proposal of a prominent geologist L.P. Zonenshain we tried to find such geological structures. The
approach was remarkably straightforward: to find purely
geographical regularities in the distribution of within-plate
magmatic rock products on the Earths surface. Only quite
young (015 Myr) rocks and formations were taken into
account. The obtained map of hotspot distribution indicated
that there are four areas of recent within-plate magmatic
activity: two big areas, the Pacific and the African (up to
10,000 km in diameter), and two small areas, the CentralAsian and the Tasmanian. The size of big areas is comparable
to the size of major lithospheric plates (Zonenshain and
Kuzmin, 1983).
The within-plate magmatism areas were called as hot
mantle fields. It turned out that hot mantle field locations

10

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

Fig. 1. Double-layered convection of the Earth (ONions et al., 1980).

coincided with the big positive anomalies of the relief and

positive deviations of geoid. Judging from the geochemical
signatures of within-plate magmatic rocks, corresponding to
these areas are the anomalies of material composition. Hence
the recognized hot mantle fields can be regarded as areas
where the substance and energy of the lower mantle rise to
the surface of the planet, while cold mantle fields located
in-between (related with the subduction zones of lithosphere
plates) can be interpreted as zones where the lithispheric
substance sinks into the lower mantle. If processes related to
the upper layers could be described in terms of plate tectonics,
the discovery of hot mantle fields meant that convection had
a more deep-seated nature. So, the obtained results suggested
an interaction between the lower and the upper mantle.
It was later confirmed by the seismic tomography (Dziewonski, 1984; Fukao et al., 1994, Zhao, 2007). The seismic
tomography demonstrated that such hot fields coincide with
the large low shear velocity provinces that are traced from the
core-mantle boundary up to the Earths surface (Kuzmin and
Yarmolyuk, 2014, Fig. 1). As opposed to them higher shear
velocity provinces, are characterized by the sinking of cold
lithospheric plates into the mantle. Thus, the mantle convection primarily typical of the lower mantle was revealed. The
hot mantle is produced in the layer Dboundary layer
between the core and the mantle. The superplumes that
originate deep in the mantle rise in the form of a mushroomlike cloud through the lower mantle, breaking into a series of
isolated plumes manifested at the Earths surface as clusters
of hotspots (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014).
It was important in the early 1990s to see the further
development of new ideas in geology. As it seems to us, it
was done by a prominent geologist, L.P. Zonenshain. In 1991,
just before having a major operation, he addressed in writing
the International Conference on Plate Tectonics in Zvenigorod:
My deep belief that plate tectonics is an accomplished stage
in the evolution of the Earths sciences. The plate tectonics is
a good theory, that perfectly describes geological transformations of the upper Earths layers. But it is limited by the upper
layers We are in front of, maybe, my confidence is naive, a
new huge building. Open our eyes, combine our efforts, strain
our thinking to penetrate deeper and deeper into the Earth
and in knowledge (Kuzmin, 1995).

The Sr, Nd, Pb isotope ratios both in continental rocks of

different age, and in recent MORB and OIB affinities showed
the existence of the upper depleted MORB-source mantle and
less depleted lower mantle (ONions et al., 1980). Thus, a
double-layered model of mantle convection was presented
(Fig. 1): large-cell in the lower and fine cell being responsible
for the lithospheric plate motions, i.e., for ocean opening and
fold mountains formation.
The plume and plate tectonics interaction was summarized
in the special issue (J. Geol. Soc. Japan, 1994, Vol. 100, No. 1)
and in particular in (Maruyama, 1994). So the available data
suggest the following tectonic processes (Fig. 2): growth
tectonics typical of the Earths core, plume tectonics common
to the lower mantle and plate tectonics, responsible for the
formation of surface landforms.

Main characteristics of the Earths recent tectonic

activity
Composition of rocks from major geodynamic settings. As
shown above there are two types of geodynamic settings. The
first type is related to plate boundaries. The composition of
rifting-, subduction- and collision-related rocks was discussed
in a number of publications devoted to plate tectonics
(Dobretsov, 2011a; Kuzmin, 1985; Zonenshain et al., 1976,
1990; and others), therefore here we only note that all these
rock types normally occur in linear zones which mark plate
boundaries of various age.
The plume-related magmatism occurs within plates both in
oceans and on continents. Quite often eruptive products from
plume-related magmatism form large igneous provinces
(Ernst, 2014). In oceans they, mainly, include tholeiitic and
alkaline basalts rich in lithophile elements as opposed to
MORBs. On continents the within-plate rocks normally include flood basalts that contain both tholeiitic and alkaline
affinities. In addition, there are abundant alkaline and alkaline-ultramafic complexes with carbonatites, alkaline and
peralkaline granite (Kuzmin, 1985).
Large within-plate igneous provinces range in size from
huge >107 km3, to small less than 103 km3 but normally they
are from 106107 km3 to 103105 km3 (Ernst, 2014). The
pulses of magmatic activity could last of order of one million
year during which a huge proportion of the total igneous
volume has been emplaced like in case with Siberian flood
basalt (trap) province. At the same time longer duration
volcanic pulses can cover the time spans up to 10 million
years and are related to the formation of within-plate granite
batholiths (Yarmolyuk et al., 1997). Moreover, many events
consist of multiple pulses of magmatic activity (Ernst, 2014).
Origin of the Earths recent layered inner structure.
Advances in geophysics and seismology as well as the
mineralogy at high temperatures and pressures have brought
us far in the understanding of Earths internal structure. So, it
appears to be of top priorities in the Earths sciences
(Pushcharovsky and Pushcharovsky, 2010). The changes of
tectonic style through time as well as the timing for each layer

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

11

Fig. 2. Scheme of the Earths recent tectonics from (Maruyama, 1994) modified by the authors. Growth tectonics is attributed to the core. The density of the molten
core is less than the solid inner core density. The outer core contains volatile components (H2 + CH2 + SH2 + SiH2 + KH2), that come to the layer D. The oxidation
produces H2O, CO2, SiO2, etc., and native iron (Dobretsov, 2010). The oxidized gases stipulate the plume origin while the native iron sinks into the core. Plume
tectonics is responsible for the lower mantle convection: the cold subducted material sinks into the layer D and hot plumes ascend from the layer D to the
lower-upper mantle boundary. The lower mantle convection supports a fine-cell upper mantle convection. Two layers (lithosphere and asthenosphere) are involved
in plate tectonics. Their interaction is responsible for the origin of orogenic belts and oceanic basins.

initiation provides some insight into understanding the timing

of recent tectonic style initiation as the tectonic movements
are governed by the interaction of all Earths layers.
It is believed that the Earth was 93% formed by 30 million
years after the start of the solar system; and it formed and
segregated the core within at least 50 Myr (Kuzmin, 2014;
Wood, 2011). At that time the Earth had only two layers: the
mantle and the liquid core. To understand the reasons for the
recent tectonic activity we have to decipher the timing for the
crystal-melt separation, upper (depleted)-lower mantle boundary initiation and the origin of the layer D at the core-mantle
boundary. As regard to the lithosphere and in particular its
upper partcrust, its thickness varies from 0 km beneath
oceans to a few hundreds of kilometers beneath the continents.
The initiation of lithosphere began in the Precambrian and
thus the lithosphere beneath the ancient cratons is substantially
thicker; however it is almost 0 km thick beneath the mid-ocean
ridges and can be as thick as 100200 km in subduction zones.
The present understanding of lithosphere is summarized in a
book by Artemieva (2011).
The initiation of solid inner core and the layer D can be
suggested from the marked changes in the abundance of
plume-related mafic-ultramafic rocks based on the change in
the maximum MgO content of plume-related komatiites and
picrites (Campbell and Griffiths, 2014, Fig. 3). The maximum
MgO content is found in magmas older than 2.7 Ga (32.5

2.5%), whereas for those younger than 2.0 Ga it is 21 3%.

Between 3.5 and 2.7 Ga, and between 2.0 Ga and today, there
is no evidence of a systematic MgO decrease with time. The
calculated eruptive temperature of the pre-2.7 Ga komatiites
is 1650 50 C and that of post-2.0 Ga komatiites and picrites
is 1420 75 C. The steady temperature of mantle plumes
between 3.5 and 2.7 Ga suggests that the temperature of outer
core was constant or nearly constant corresponding to the
melting point of the FeNi alloy that crystallized to form the
inner core. Thus, the inner core was finally produced by 2.7 Ga
(Campbell and Griffiths, 2014).
The 2.7 Ga period is marked by a number of significant
events, recorded in the Earths geological material (Condie,
2011; Kamber, 2015; ONions et al., 1980). The 3.02.5 Ga
time span is characterized by high rate of felsic crust growth.
The composition of major granitoid complexes making up the
continental crust changed between 2.7 and 2.4 Ga. Prior
to 2.72.4 Ga the continental crust comprised mainly the
tonalitetrondhjemitegranodiorite association making up the
so-called nucleus of the ancient shields (Khain, 2003). Their
proportion later decreased to calc-alkaline granitoids demonstrating higher K/Na ratios, higher Ti and lower Mg contents.
Also, Rb/Sr and Ba/Sr ratios and P, Nb, Ta increase at that
time (Condie, 2011). The period after 2.7 Ga is marked by
the assembly of supercontinents and their break up by the
plumes located beneath that is verified by the paleomagnetic

12

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

Fig. 3. Distribution of U/Pb zircon ages in orogenic granitoids and detrital zircons for the last 4 Ga with 1 error envelope from (Condie, 2011), where N is
representative of the number of samples as a function of age that would be observed in a histogram with bins of width 30 Ma. The detrital ancient sediment database
is multiplied by two for comparative purposes. Number of zircon ages: orogenic granitoids8928 (red); detrital modern sediments6978 (purple); detrital ancient
sediments, 21,282 (green); total ages37,188. Major peak clusters are given in Ma; supercontinent assembly (red) and supercontinent break-up (green) are shown at
the top.

data. The supercontinent formation and fragmentation or the

so-called supercontinent cycles with a lifespan of 600700 Ma
(Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014; Li and Zhong, 2009; Maruyama et al., 2007) is one of the most convincing arguments
for plume and plate tectonics interaction. Figure 3 demonstrates distribution of U/Pb zircon (black) and HfTDM (red)
ages in orogenic granitoids and detrital zircons for the last
4 Ga (Condie, 2011). The major peak clusters in the detrital
age distribution correlate well with supercontinent formation: 2.72.5 GaKenorland; 1.87 GaColumbia (Nuna);
1.0 GaRodinia; 0.6 GaGondwana; 0.3 GaPangea.
There is no evidence for the assembly of older supercontinents,
though approximately 45% of the existing continental crust
appears to have formed between 4.32.7 Ga (Condie, 2011).
It was produced from mafic and komatiitic melts.
Between 2.7 (3.4?) and 2.0 Ga two layers had formed: the
layer D with the perovskite-postperovskite phase transition
and the depleted mantle (asthenosphere) responsible for the
formation of the oceanic lithosphere and MORBs. They leave
imprints in the compositions of related igneous rocks and
metallogeny. The supercontinents assembly at 3.42.7 Ga is
indicative of subduction. The subduction is confirmed by a
number of plate tectonics characteristics: paired metamorphic
belts, transcurrent faults and sutures, paleomagnetism, continent formation, accretionary and collision orogens, geochemistry and isotopes data (Condie, 2011). Between 2.7 Ga and
2.0 Ga the layer D originated at the core-mantle boundary.
This time span is marked by the decrease in plume temperature
initiated by the accumulation of former oceanic crust, that goes
down into the lower mantle and is accumulated in the layer
D (Campbell and Griffiths, 2014).
A systematic decrease in maximum MgO content of
plume-related, high-MgO magmas between 2.7 Ga and 2.0 Ga

implies a decrease in the plume temperature. This temperature

drop is related to thickening of the insulating layer above the
core. The layer thickening continued until approximately
2.0 Ga, when the layer had reached the critical thickness
required for the inner convection in the layer D. Once it took
place any further increase in its thickness didnt affect plume
temperatures. This implies that the temperature of the core is
buffered by the layer D at the core-mantle boundary (Campbell and Griffiths, 2014).
Of specific interest is the discovery of the postperovskite
phase in the layer D as it contributed to a deeper understanding of the Earths geodynamics. A phase transition from
MgSiO3 perovskite, recognized as a dominant phase in the
lower mantle, to a higher-pressure structure called postperovskite was experimentally discovered in 2004. The postperovskite phase transition is considered to appear between
2.4 and 2.0 Ga. It has the same composition as perovskite
MgSiO3. However, the CaIrO3-type of MgSiO3 phase (postperovskite) is denser by 1.2%. The postperovskite phase is
produced at 2600 to 2900 km depth at a temperature of
2300 K, i.e., temperatures typical of the D layer (Hirose,
2010). Earlier the temperature at the mantle base was higher
(Fig. 4).
There is evidence for the existence of the depleted mantle
reservoir, the source of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs)
from 2.72.0 Ga (Kamber et al., 2015). The seismic tomography has revealed that the descending lithospheric slabs are
partly accumulated at the lower-upper mantle boundary forming a buffer layer. However, some slabs can go down to the
lower mantle where they are accumulated in D layer (Zhao,
2007). The buffer upper-lower mantle layer was most likely
responsible for the double-layered mantle convection since at
least 2.7 Ga. The lower mantle convection is responsible for

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

13

Fig. 4. The scheme from (Hirose, 2010) showing the timing (2.02.4 Ga) of perovskite-postperovskite phase transition at the depth of 26002900 km, i.e., in D layer.
Judging from a higher temperature the Early Earth lacked the postperovskite phase.

descending of the cold subducted material as downgoing flows

into the layer D, and ascending of the hot mantle material
from the layer D to the lower-upper mantle boundary. The
upper mantle convection is responsible for the lithospheric
plate movements and all other processes related to plate
tectonics. The data for mid-ocean ridge basalts based on
87 86
Sr/ Sr ratios suggest the existence of a widespread depleted
mantle reservoir, the source of MORBs since at least 2.0 Ga
(Kuzmin, 1987). Figure 5 demonstrates the change in the
primitive (chondrite-normalized) 87Sr/86Sr values (87Sr/86Sr =
0.699) which at present should be equal to 0.7045 0.005
taking into account the constant value of 87Rb/87Sr decay. This
value is similar to that typical of OIB affinity. However,
MORBs have this value equal to 0.7025 0.0005. As Figure 5
shows the depleted mantle reservoir should have formed at
about 2 Ga.
A.W. Hofmann (1997) showed that the isotope composition
of two different mantle reservoirs (EM-I and EM-II) being the
source for OIBs and that of the depleted mantle being the
source for MORBs define a common trend (Fig. 6); implying
the formation of all these reservoirs at 2.0 Ga.
There are geological evidences that confirm the existence
of the depleted (asthenosphere) mantle since 2.01.8 Ga. The
rapakivi granites, containing large ovoid-like crystals of
potassium feldspars were intruded at that time on almost all
Precambrian shields. These granites show higher K2O contents
(over 5 wt.%), K2O/Na2O = 1.21.9, Th and U contents
varying from 30 to 160 and from 40 to 200 ppm, correspondingly, with the average for granitoids as 3.5 and 18 ppm,
correspondingly. They also have higher contents of all lithophile elements. The rapakivi-like granites of the Primorsk
complex, Western Transbaikalia were produced at 1859
16 Ma, their intrusion is related to the final accretion when
the supercontinent Columbia was formed. The granites demonstrate higher (24 times) F, Pb, REE, Zr, Th, Rb, Cs, Sn
contents, i.e., almost all LILEs (Donskaya et al., 2003;

Saveleva and Bazarova, 2012). Almost all Precambrian

cratons (Siberia, Baltica, Greenland, Eastern Antarctica, North
America, North China, Madagascar, South America and
Tanzania) were assembled to form the supercontinent Columbia (Rogers and Santosh, 2002). All granitic intrusions from
the Precambrian cratons of different continents have similar
age: UPb zircon18901810 Ma; KAr and RbSr ages of
granites19041870 Ma. This event was accompanied by the
supply of incoherent elements into the crust from the upper
(asthenosphere) mantle that gave rise to the MORB depleted
mantle magmas. The rapakivi granite intrusions can be
compared with the origin of the Phanerozoic within-plate
batholiths (e.g., Hangayn).
Thus, it is assumed that all major layers of the mantle as
well as lithosphere and continental crust were produced by
2.01.8 Ga. The interaction of all layers gave rise to recent
tectonic movements responsible for the Earths structural
features within the last 2 Ga.

Fig. 5. Sr isotope composition, indicating the timing of depleted mantle (asthenosphere) domain initiation (Kuzmin, 1987). See text for explanation.

14

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

Fig. 6. Pb isotopic compositions in MORBs (marked in red) and OIBs (marked

in other colors) (Hofmann, 1997). The plot indicates that OIB- and MORBsource mantle reservoirs were produced at 2.0 Ga.

How does Earths interior work, and how does it

affect the surface?
Processes responsible for the Earths recent deep-seated
activity. With this article we are trying to give the answer to
the main questions of geology: How does Earths interior
work, and how does it affect the surface; why do the crusts
structure and lithospheres composition change with time;
what forces drive plate tectonic motion, different-focus earthquakes, magma emplacement and eruption; how do mineral
deposits form? We will show how different Earths deepseated layers namely the core (inner and outer), layer D,
lower and upper mantle (including the asthenosphere), lithosphere (oceanic and continental) are involved in this Earths
interior work.
The first general answer to these questions comes from the
plate tectonic concept. The plate tectonics theory demonstrated
that major geologic processes that affect the Earths surface
are related to the interaction of two layers: lithosphere and
asthenosphere. At the same time, the recent studies led to the
conclusion on the exceptional contribution of mantle plumerelated magmatism in the geological evolution of the continents and metallogeny. It was found that the deep-seated
geodynamics is related to hot mantle fields (Dziewonski, 1984;
Kuzmin et al., 2010). The plume and plate tectonics interaction
was shown through the formation and break-up of supercontinents in terms of a uniform supercontinent cycle (Ernst,
2014; Kuzmin, and Yarmolyuk, 2011, 2014; Li and Zhong,
2009). At present it is found that the supercontinents which
combine almost all continental blocks of the Earth into a single
whole arose during the evolution of the Earth (Li and Zhong,
2009; Torsvik, 2003). They were later broken up under the
effect of superplumes located beneath. The supercontinent
cycles can be exemplified by four supercontinents (Li and
Zhong, 2009): Kenorland, Columbia, Rodinia, Pangea (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014, Fig. 4). Such a supercontinent
cycle starts with grouping of cratons of different size into a

uniform supercontinent (Li and Zhong, 2009). When the

supercontinent is assembled the subducted lithospheric material (mainly oceanic) sinks into the mantle. The majority of
lithospheric material is accumulated at the upper-lower mantle
interface and only part of it as slabs can go down to the layer
D. The lithospheric material in the layer D is the basis for
superplume formation stipulated by light elements released
from the outer core. The light hot mantle material of the
superplume ascends in the form of a huge mushroom to the
upper-lower mantle boundary, breaking into a number of
isolated plumes in the upper mantle and a chain of hotspots
in the lithosphere thus carrying the deep-seated mantle
material onto the surface as ultramafic-mafic, alkaline-ultramafic intrusions with carbonatites (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk,
2014).
The advance of the seismic tomography revealed convective cells in the lower mantle. The hot mantle fields, where
the mantle material rises from the D layer coincide with the
large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVP) characterized by
the excess temperature. These provinces (African and the
Pacific) have been identified by geophysical studies (Dziewonski, 1984; Fukao et al., 1994; Yuen et al., 2007; Zhao, 2007).
In addition to low (hot) shear velocity provinces the seismic
tomography also showed high shear velocity (cold) provinces which are associated with subduction zones.
Before the plate tectonics theory was formulated there had
been ideas on the existence of the mantle convection which
was later confirmed by the seismic tomography. Questions
naturally arise: whether the convection is a whole-mantle
suggesting cells that convect through the whole mantle (from
the core-mantle boundary to lithosphere base) or we can
expect the existence of independent upper mantle and lower
mantle convection. A double-layered mantle convection model
is suggested from sharp changes both in the phase and in bulk
composition of the mantle. As was mentioned above a
double-layered mantle convection model was proposed by
ONions et al. (1980). The recent data on the bulk mantle
composition and numerical modeling favor a double-layered
convection model that was demonstrated in Dobretsov et al.,
2001. They showed the existence of large isometric convection
cells with a radius up to 3000 km and more in the lower
mantle. These convective cells are responsible for the rise of
the hot mantle material to the upper-lower mantle interface as
well as the sinking of the cold lithospheric material to the
D layer. In the asthenosphere mantle effected by the heat
from the lower-mantle convection, the number of cells increases and their shape becomes more complicated, the
convection becomes fine-cell which is responsible for lithospheric plate motion. The hypothetical model of doublelayered convection through the Earths mantle in the equatorial
plane is given on Figure 7 (Dobretsov et al., 2001).
However, only the upper mantle convection cannot explain
the plate tectonic movements over a distance. Phase basalteclogite, gabbroeclogite transitions occurring in the lithosphere plates may play a certain role in the lithospheric plate
motion. The eclogite is heavier as compared with the ultramafic mantle material and thus these transitions could

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

initiate the pull of the lithospheric plates so they can reach

D layer (Yuen et al., 2007). At the same time the rise of the
basaltic magmas at mid-ocean ridge sites is responsible for
ridge push. This is a general idea of lithospheric plates
formation and subsidence.
A more complicated problem is the rise of mantle plume
material from the mantle base to the lower/upper-mantle
interface and eruption of plume-related magmas to the surface.
If the plate tectonics product is a result of the interaction of
two Earths layers (lithosphere and asthenosphere), the mantle
plume composition and dynamics can be explained by the
interaction of all Earths layers. Two mechanisms have been
proposed for the convection: heat transfer and heat and mass
transfer. The second model is more preferable as it can explain
the difference between the products from the within-plate
magmatic activity and those produced at plate boundaries
(Dobretsov, 2008, 2010, 2011a; Dobretsov and Vernikovsky,
2001; Dobretsov et al., 2008).
Thermochemical plumes form by melting in the presence
of a chemical dope at Tmc being intermediate between the
temperature at the coremantle boundary and mean temperature of lower mantle. The addition of a chemical dope
decreases the melting point of dry ambient mantle (Dobretsov, 2008, 2010, 2011a; Dobretsov et al., 2008). Note, that
D layer accumulates the subducted lithospheric material
which when transiting into eclogite become heavier than the
ambient ultramafic (pyrholite) mantle (Khain, 2003, Maruyama et al., 2007). The subducted basalt-gabbro eclogitized
material can melt at temperatures similar to melting point of
the mantle material, in particular with chemical doping by
volatiles that come from the liquid outer core (Maruyama et
al., 2007). As known (Khain, 2003; Dobretsov, 2008, 2011a)
the outer core density is higher than that of inner solid core
due to chemical doping with volatiles (H2 + CH2 + SiH4 +
KH4), and possibly with rare (P, Ti, Rb, Li, Ce, La, Th, U,
etc.) elements (i.e., elements typical of any melts related to
plumes). When the inner core was crystallized these rare
elements remained in the outer liquid core. As a result of
reactions (Fig. 2) the gases and hydrides are oxidized in the

15

layer D. The oxidation produces H2O, CO2, SiO, K2O, etc.,

and native iron that sinks into the core (Dobretsov, 2008,
2010). The melting in the plume head can result from H2O
content that can lower the melting temperature so the plume
ascends from the layer D. Ascending of a thermochemical
partly molten plume into the lower mantle being colder than
the ambient mantle in D layer stipulates endometric reaction
from postperovskite to perovskite that increases a plume
temperature by 50100 K (Maruyama et al., 2007) thus
facilitating its further rise to the surface. A plume originated
due to a supply of volatiles; during the ascent the plume
entrains incoherent elements from the lower mantle and from
the EM-I and EM-II mantle reservoirs.
In the beginning of this section we noted that the recent
tectonic style was initiated at about 2 Ga. However, this period
is marked by several events, so we can distinguish several
stages (Dobretsov, 2010; Khain, 2010).
Between 2.0 and 0 Ga the following stages can be
recognized: Deuterogainium and Neogey.
The first stage is related to the break-up of the first
supercontinent; assembly (1.91.7 Ga) of the second one that
was associated with the emplacement of the rapakivi granites;
in the Mesoproterozoic that continent was broken up and the
next supercontinent Rodinia was formed, the later was broken
up at 850750 Ma (Khain, 2010). The time span between 1.90
and 0.85 (0.75) Ga is characterized by a mantle activity lull
and was called by Maruyama as a time of dead Earth
(Dobretsov, 2010). This conclusion is quite controversial as
two supercontinents (Nuna and Rodinia) were assembled and
broken up and the within-plate magmatic activity was still
intense that is manifested by origin of large igneous provinces,
juvenile crust growth and granitoid intrusions. The time
interval from one supercontinent cycle to another is discussed
in (Condie, 2013). He pointed out the diverse processes
participating in the assembly and break-up of supercontinents
but stressed that the interpretation of data from preserved
fragments of supercontinents is controversial and requires a
thorough analysis. The less frequent zircon ages in granitoids
between 1600 and 1250 Ma is interpreted by Condie as a

Fig. 7. A hypothetical model of double-layered convection through the Earths mantle in the equatorial plane (Dobretsov et al., 2001). 1, oceanic lithosphere;
2, continental lithosphere; 3, asthenosphere. The figure shows a large-cell convection in the lower mantle and fine-cell convection in the upper mantle; ascent of the
mantle plumes from the core-mantle boundary to Hawaii and Okavango is shown by vertical hatching.

16

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

reflection of increase in recycling rate of the juvenile crust

into the mantle and decrease in the production rate of the
continental crust like in the Andes in post-Paleozoic time. It
results both in the decrease of zircon sources and the
widespread occurrence of A-type granites during the assembly
of Rodinia due to the enrichment of the mantle wedge in
incompatible elements and water leading to the production of
felsic magmas.
The last stage in the Earths historyNeogey covers the
Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic starting from the break-up of
Rodinia at 800750 Ma (Khain, 2010). This stage is related
to the formation of a number of secondary oceans including
Pacific, Iapetus, Paleo-Tethys and Paleo-Asian; origin of
Gondwana supercontinent and assembly of the last supercontinent Pangea, whose break-up in the Early Jurassic (200
180 Ma) gave rise to modern continents. The recent plate
tectonic and plume tectonic mechanisms had been involved in
those processes.
Further we discuss the recent tectonic movements between
700 and 0 Ma exemplified by the Siberian continent. Its
characteristics, features of igneous rocks and related metallogeny were described in a number of publications (Kuzmin and
Yarmolyuk, 2014; Kuzmin et al., 2010; Yarmolyuk et al.,
2014; Zonenshain et al., 1990).
Neogene geological complexes and related metallogeny
of Siberia. The breakdown of Rodinia resulted in the initiation
of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Its further evolution, in particular
the closure of Solonkersky part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean,
together with the Mongol-Okhotsk basin was responsible for
the specific geological features of the Siberian continent. The
geological complexes produced as a result of this event mainly
occur in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, whose geological
history is described with the use of modern concepts of plate
tectonics and analysis of terranes in a number of publications
(Parfenov et al., 2003; Zonenshain et al., 1990). The related
metallogeny is discussed in (Nokleberg, 2010) so this issue is
not addressed in the present paper.
We discuss the geologic units and related metallogeny of
the Siberian continent related to plume tectonics events as
namely these deep-seated processes are responsible for its
metallogeny (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014). The geologic
data suggest that Siberia separated from Rodinia at 720
620 Ma (Yarmolyuk et al., 2014). The pale geographic
reconstructions based on paleomagnetic data assume that from
that time the Siberian continent started its migration above the
African LLSVP (Kuzmin et al., 2010, 2011).
The plume-related mineralized mafic and ultramafic complexes and intrusions of alkaline ultramafic rocks with carbonatites were formed as early as breakdown of Rodinia
(Laurentia part). They are associated with NiCuPt deposits
hosted in the Barbitai mafic-ultramafic intrusion (Eastern
Sayan). The intrusion consists of dunite, harzburgite, lherzolite, and olivine websterite. High Ni concentrations in rocks
are associated with sulfide mineralization and can reach as
high as 1.22.1%. The age of ore-bearing ultramafic complexes ranges from 630 to 650 Ma. Nickel reserves are
preliminarily estimated as 1 Mt. The Barbitai deposit is also

rich in Pt; Pt content in ores makes up to 20 ppm. Similar

mineralization can be found in other parts of the Eastern Sayan
(Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014). These deposits are abundant
on the continents; they normally occur in marginal parts of
the ancient cratons, which have deep lithospheric roots and
are related to the formation of a large igneous province (LIP)
under the effect of the mantle plume (Begg et al., 2010;
Pirajno, 2000). The chalcophile character of the mineralization
suggests its association with deep-seated sources of ore
components, which are accumulated at greater depth under the
accretion and core crystallization (Wood, 2011). It is believed
that a close association between mantle plumes and lithosphere
cratons at a great depth results in NiCuPt mineralization
(Begg et al., 2010).
Another type of mineral systems includes deposits hosted
in alkaline-ultramafic intrusions with carbonatites. They are
distributed along the south margin (in the present frame of
reference) of the Siberian Platform stretching from the Aldan
Shield to the Yenisei Ridge over 3000 km.
One of the largest areas of alkaline-ultramafic magmatism
with carbonatites is the Eastern Sayan that includes Zhidoi,
Bolshetagninsky, and Belaya Zima complexes-deposits as well
as a number of other complexes occurring mainly within the
Riphean Iisk-Urik graben along the platform margin (Yarmolyuk et al., 2006). The Zhidoi massif is dated at 632 2 Ma
(UPb zircon age of ijolites) (Yarmolyuk et al., 2005). The
massif comprises Fe, Ti, Nb deposits. The Belaya Zima
complex has an area of outcrops of 3 4 km and is composed
of alkaline and carbonatite rocks. UPb zircon dating of
nepheline syenite yielded the age of 643 4 Ma (Yarmolyuk
et al., 2005). It is associated with NbTa mineralization.
Thus, the mantle plumes responsible for the break-up of
Rodinia are related to the origin of mafic and ultramafic
layered intrusions with CuNiPt mineralization and ultramaficalkaline complexes hosting rare-metal (Nb, Ta REE)
carbonatites. These complexes were produced under the effect
of deep-seated plumes, i.e., with involvement of the core and
lower mantle material.
As mentioned above during the RipheanPhanerozoic the
Siberian continent was drifting within the framework of
African hot field (Kuzmin et al., 2010, 2011). Its migration is
related to four hotspots: Vilyui: 35 15 N340 E; Altai
Sayan: 40 15 N360 E; Mongolian65 15 N2535
E and the Icelandic with the present day coordinates 65 N
and 342 E. Every hotspot is connected to a certain large
igneous province with its specific metllogenic specialization
(Kuzmin et al., 2011).
There are evidences for the AltaiSayan hotspot activity in
the Eastern Sayan area since the Riphean when oceanic
islands and island arcs were accreted to the Siberian continent
in the CambrianOrdovician (Yarmolyuk et al., 2014). At that
time the margin of the Siberian continent overlapped the
AltaiSayan hotspot and thus in addition to the rocks typical
of convergence setting there are abundant within-plate igneous
rocks: picrites, high-Ti subalkaline and alkaline gabbroids,
alkali-ultramafic complexes with carbonatites, nepheline
syenites, peralkaline granites and syenites, and Li-F granites

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

dated at 530490 Ma (Dobretsov, 2011; Izokh et al., 2008;

Yarmolyuk and Kuzmin, 2012; Yarmolyuk et al., 2006).
The magmatic activity still continued in the Middle Paleozoic (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014) giving rise to eruptions
of basic lava composition (basalts, andesite-basalts, tephrites,
and trachybasalts) and also phonolites, trachytes, and comendites (Vorontsov et al., 1997; Yarmolyuk and Kovalenko,
2003a). Simultaneously there was intrusion of teschenites,
alkali granites, and syenites. It is supposed that no less than
100,000 km3 of igneous rocks were produced in the entire
area between 410 and 390 Ma ago. Thus, the Eastern Sayan
domain can be classified as a LIP. The magmatic activity
dramatically diminished in the Middle Devonian.
As to the EarlyMiddle Paleozoic metallogeny within the
AltaiSayan area numerous deposits specialized for rare and
noble metals were formed: Kundat (Au/W), Pervomaisk
(Pb/W), Koltarovsk (W, Mo, Cu), Byskarsk (Mo, Pb, W)
deposits in the Kuznesky Alatau; Aryskan (Ta, Nb/TR, U) in
the TuvaEastern Sayan; Sol-Beldyr (Li), Tastyg (Li/Ta),
Pichi-Tastyg (Li/Be, Nb, Ta) in the Sangilen Region (Yarmolyuk and Kuzmin, 2012).
The Vilyui large igneous province. In the Late Paleozoic
the Siberian continent was affected by two mantle plumes:
AltaiSayan and Vilyui. The latter was responsible for the
formation of the Vilyui large igneous province. A triple system
of rift zones arose here as a result the Vilyui hotspot activity:
one branch of the triple system is the Vilyui Rift and two
others correspond to marginal ruptures which form the
present-day eastern boundary of the Siberian paleocontinent.
The Vilyui Rift extends for about 800 km having a width of
450 km and has a complex structure.
The magmatic events within the rift zone are dated at the
MiddleLate Devonian. The area is composed of tholeiitic and
alkaline basalts, trachybasalts as well as intrusions of ultramafic alkaline rocks with carbonatites, mainly occurring
close to the eastern margin of the Siberian Platform, to the
Sette-Daban Region. The kimberlites were intruded in the
Devonian along the north-west margin of the Vilyui Rift. The
formation of the Vilyui Rift is associated with eruption of a
great amount of volcanic rocks (over 100,000 km3).
The metallogenic potential of the Vilyui province results
primarily from the diamondiferous kimberlites. The SetteDaban carbonatite complexes host rare-metalrare-earth mineralization as exemplified by the Gornoozersk, Khamnin,
Voin, Gek, Povorotnyi complexes. The age of those complexes
is dated at the EarlyMiddle Devonian (400370 Ma) (Zaitsev
et al., 1992).
The activity of the Siberian hotspot was responsible for the
formation of the BarguzinVitim igneous province. The
major part of the province is occupied by the AngaraVitim
batholith covering an area of more than 150,000 km2. The
volume of the batholith is most likely close to 1 million km3.
The batholith is composed of biotite and biotite-hornblende
granodiorites and granites, monzonitioids, syenites, granosyenites, and leucogranites (Litvinovsky et al., 1992). According to various geochronology data (UPb, ArAr, and RbSr)
the age of the batholith ranges from 330 to 280 Ma

17

(Tsygankov et al., 2007, 2010; Yarmolyuk and Kovalenko,

2003b). At the same time, the UPb age (determined using
individual zircon grains) of rocks from the batholith shows
that all of its numerous complexes were produced within a
narrow time interval ranging from 303 7 to 281 1 Ma
(Kovach et al., 2012; Yarmolyuk and Kovalenko, 2003b).
Simultaneously with the batholith the rift zones arose at its
margins. The Synnyr Zone comprises nepheline and pseudoleucite syenites, pulaskites, alkaline granites, and subalkaline
rocks: syenites, quartz syenites, and granosyenites. The rocks
of the zone are dated at 295288 Ma (Yarmolyuk et al., 2013).
The UdaVitim Zone includes numerous gabbro-monzonite,
alkaline granite, granosyenite, and syenite complexes as well
as dikes of bimodal associations. The rocks of the zone are
dated at 295275 Ma (Litvinovsky et al., 2001, 2011). The
Eastern Sayan Zone hosts the agpaitic and peraluminous
granitoid, nepheline syenite complexes, and rocks of the
gabbrosyenite association. The rocks are dated at 305
292 Ma (Yarmolyuk et al., 2011).
The within-plate magmatic rocks are abundant in the
batholiths interior. They occur here as synplutonic dikes and
stocks of alkaline mafic rocks (Yarmolyuk et al., 1997).
The metallogenic potential of the Barguzin magmatic area
results from the magmatic rocks contained in its rift zones.
In the Synnyr zone the rocks of the Burpala and Akit
complexes host the rare-metal (Ta, Nb, Zr, Y, REE) deposits.
The Eastern Sayan zone includes the Ulug-Tanzek, SolBeldyr, Snezhny, Zashikhinsky deposits, etc. (Yarmolyuk et
al., 2011). Both peralkaline and peraluminous granites are
considered to be ore-bearing here. The ore potential of this
zone can be clearly exemplified by Ulug-Tanzek deposit with
rare-metalrare-earth mineralization, which is related to a
small intrusion (1700 900 100 m) of alkali granitoids
demonstrating the impregnation of rare-metal minerals. The
deposit is characterized by complex (Ta, Nb, Zr, Hf, REE, Li,
Th, U, cryolite) mineralization (Grechishchev et al., 2010).
By the composition of rocks and mineralization the Zashikhinsky deposit is close to the Ulug-Tanzek deposit; the ores
of the Zashikhinsky deposit are similar to the Ta-bearing LiF
granites, %: 0.03 Ta2O5, 0.15 Nb2O5, 0.32 ZrO2, and 0.01
HfO2.
The activity of the Icelandic hotspot is connected with the
formation of Siberian flood basalt (trap) and Siberian Rift
provinces. The most large-scale within-plate magmatic event
in the history of the Siberian continent was the formation of
the giant igneous province, which unites the flood-basalt area
of the Siberian Platform and the rift system of the West
Siberia. Flood basalts (traps) cover more than 1,500,000 km2
and their volume is approximately equal to 1.5 106 km3.
The Siberian flood basalts (traps) are related to mafic
igneous rocks hosting CuNiPt, FePt, and MgFe deposits
(Dobretsov, 1997; Dobretsov et al., 2010), primarily, the
unique CuNiPt deposits of the Norilsk district and iron
deposits of the AngaraIlim district. The available age data
(Almukhamedov et al, 1999; Reichow et al., 2009) indicate
that this flood basalt province was produced in a very narrow
time interval ranging from 250 to 248 Ma. However, certain

18

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

data indicate that the magmatic processes and CuNiPt

mineralization in the Siberian LIP proceeded in a number of
stages (Dobretsov et al., 2010). The paper (Kuzmin and
Yarmolyuk, 2014) reports data which provides evidence that
the Siberian LIP was produced in the age interval ranging
from 260 to 240 Ma. However, a specific feature of its
evolution is one pulse of magmatism that significantly prevailed over all other events.
The Icelandic hotspot trace is observed in Greenland, East
Arctic basin until it reached the present day position under
Iceland (Kuzmin et al., 2010). Its specific feature is the ability
to exude a great amount of magmatic material from below
Earths surface onto the surface. If flood basalts are erupted
in a great volume the metallogeny of the large igneous
province would be similar to the metallogenic specialization
typical of intervals when the rising plumes break-up the
supercontinents. We believe that is due to a specific work
of the Earths core. Thus, in the Permian just before the
Siberian flood basalt eruption we can observe a very long
period when the geomagnetic field does not reverse polarity
(Didenko, 2011). The plumes that form at the core-mantle
boundary are characterized by various evolution: the Hawaii
plume is characterized by a constant activity so it is able to
exude the magmatic material onto the surface for about
100 Ma while the Icelandic plume experiences the episodic
enormous lava eruptions.
The activity of the Mongolian hotspot that began operating
in Siberia in the Late Paleozoic was responsible for the
formation of a number of provinces (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk,
2014, Figs. 1214). The igneous rocks occur in the Northern
Mongolia and partly in China. They comprise the Tarim flood
basalts (traps) (in the west) and the rift zones (GobiTien Shan
and the Main Mongolian Lineament) in the east. The traps
cover an area of approximately 2.5 105 km2, their volume
is estimated as 100,000 km3. They are dated at 275287 Ma
(Li et al., 2008; Zhong et al., 2008). Towards the east, the
traps are bordered picrodolerite and picrite intrusions hosting
frequently CuNi ore mineralization. The intrusions are dated
at 292275 Ma (Han et al., 2004; Mao et al., 2006, Pirajno
et al., 2008). Farther eastward, there are two rift zonesthe
GobiTien Shan and the Main Mongolian Lineament (Kovalenko et al., 2006; Kozlovsky et al., 2006, 2012; Yarmolyuk
et al., 2008, 2013) which in the west transit into mafic-ultramafic associations (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014, Fig. 12).
The GobiTien Shan rift zone is a broad chain of grabens,
stretching from the northwestern China through the whole
southern Mongolia. The grabens are filled with rocks of a
volcanic bimodal complex (basalt, comendite, pantellerite, and
trachyrhyolite) which is accompanied by intrusions of alkaline
granites. The evolution of this rift zone proceeded between
317 and 280 Ma. This age was yielded by UPb and RbSr
dating.
The rift zone of the Main Mongolian Lineament is
controlled by the tectonic boundary between the Caledonian
and Hercynian structures of Mongolia. The zone is traced
mainly by exposures of alkaline granites. The RbSr isochron

age of similar rocks from the rift zone varies from 295 to
285 Ma (Han et al., 1997; Wang and Han, 1994).
Alkaline granites of the South Mongolia host Zr-REE
mineralization. The most potential is the alkaline granite of
the Khan-Bogda intrusion.
The TarimSouth Mongolia igneous province was produced within 1030 Myr. It comprises a large volume of
magmatic products erupted during the formation of the
GobiTien Shan rift zone (over 50,000 km3). Taking into
account such a great volume of magmatic products we can
refer this area as a large igneous province (LIP) (Kuzmin and
Yarmolyuk, 2014). The magmatic rocks are associated with a
number of rare-metal (Nb, Ta, REE, etc.) deposits.
The continued clockwise rotation of Siberia in the Late
PaleozoicEarly Mesozoic led to the migration of the Mongolian hotspot beneath Hangayn (Mongolia) and thus the
Hangayn igneous province was produced. It has a zonal
concentric structure. Its central part is occupied by the
Hangayn batholith, while the GobiAltai and North Mongolia
rift zones are found at the margins (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk,
2014, see Fig. 14).
A similar age is yielded for the rocks framing the batholith
(GobiAltai and North Mongolia) zones. They contain grabens
filled with rocks of a bimodal volcanic complex which are
spatially related to alkaline granites and syenites, in cases to
gabbro-monzonites (Kuzmin, and Yarmolyuk, 2014).
The metallogenic specialization of the province primarily
results from the rare-metal mineralization (Zr, Nb, REE)
associated with alkali granites and their volcanic equivalents
in rift zones. The largest Ulan-Tologoi (North Mongolia rift
zone) deposit is related to a small stock of alkali syenite and
granite enriched in Zr (up to 3500 ppm), Nb (up to 1500 ppm),
Ta (up to 100 ppm), Li (up to 350 ppm), Y (up to 300 ppm)
and Th (up to 250 ppm). The metallogeny of the rift zone is
not limited by rare-metal specialization. The largest Erdenet
CuMo porphyry deposit and the Nomgon layered intrusion
with CuNiPt mineralization are related to this area.
At about 230 Ma Siberia collided with North China craton.
As a result of that collision the Solonkersky part of the
Paleo-Asian Ocean and the Mongol-Okhotsk basin closed
(Zonenshain et al., 1990). The continued clockwise rotation
of Siberia led to the migration of magmatism above the
Mongolian hotspot towards the east in present day coordinates
that gave rise to the Hentiy or the MongoliaTransbaikalian
zonal magmatic area (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014; Yarmolyuk et al., 2002). The major part of the area is occupied
by the Hentiy batholith (120,000 km2) framed by the West
Transbaikalian, Kharkhora, and North Gobi rift zones. The age
dating shows that the batholith was produced in the age
interval 225195 Ma (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014).
The Hentiy batholith is composed of granitoids of a wide
range of compositions from granodiorite to leucogranite. The
rift zones comprise an array of grabens filled with rocks of
bimodal and alkaline-granitoid associations which are related
to LiF granites and mafic and alkaline-salic dikes. The West
Transbaikalian rift zone is located at the northern margin of
the Hentiy batholith. It comprises bimodal volcanic associa-

M.I. Kuzmin and V.V. Yarmolyuk / Russian Geology and Geophysics 57 (2016) 821

tions containing comendites and pantellerites of the TsaganKhurtei Formation as well as alkaline granites of the Malyi
Kunalei complex.
The metallogeny of the MongoliaTransbaikalian zonal
area is due to LiF granites and to alkaline rocks and rocks
of the increased alkalinity specialized for Zr, Nb, Li, REE,
Sn, Mo, W, Be. The West Transbaikalian rift zone is primarily
specialized for Be mineralization. The Yermakovka, Orot,
Aunik, and Amondsek deposits associated with alkali granites
are localized in this zone. The Yermakovka deposit that is
associated with the Malyi Kunalei complex is of particular
interest. Fluorite, phenokite and bertrandite are the main
minerals in ore. In the Kharkhora and North Mongolia rift
zones the ore-bearing LiF granites are specialized for Sn, W,
Ta, and Nb (Abdar, Zhangavlan, Baga-Gazryn, and other
intrusions) (Kuzmin and Yarmolyuk, 2014).
The within-plate magmatic activity throughout Northern
Asia decayed abruptly at about 190 Ma. We believe that it
happened due to the displacement of the Siberian continent
beyond the African LLSVP (Kuzmin et al., 2010). The
within-plate activity reappeared at about 160 Ma. The paleomagnetic data indicate that during this epoch the Siberian
continent (and the East Asia as a whole) migrated into the
field affected by the Pacific superplume. This epoch is not
discussed here.

Conclusions
Summarizing the above considerations the following conclusions can be inferred.
Plate tectonics appears not to operate from the start of the
Earth. The major mechanism determining the evolution of the
Early Earth was whole-mantle convection which together with
frequent asteroid bombardments led to ascending of the
deep-seated material as mantle plumes giving rise to mantle
overturn events. The Archean Earth was quite different from
the Earth of today as it lacked some layers, but exactly the
interaction of all layers is responsible for the recent tectonic
movements that are governed by plate and plume tectonics
mechanisms.
1. The 2.7 Ga period is marked by several important
deep-Earth events: the crystallization of the solid inner core;
initiation of the double-layered mantle convection due to
supercontinent assembly and their further break-up by the
plumes; origin of the subduction-related geological units
(Condie, 2011; Khain, 2003). This period is also related to the
onset of D layer, that later became as a thermal boundary
layer where plumes can originate.
2. The next prominent period in the Earths history is dated
at 2.0 Ga as perovskite-postperovskite phase transition became
possible. During the ascent from the layer D, the plume
entrains additional heat quantity. The available data suggest
that the recent depleted (asthenosphere) mantle was produced
at that period, stipulating LILE-enrichment of the continental
crust thus giving rise to rapakivi granite emplacement. In

19

addition to the depleted mantle source, enriched OIB mantle

reservoirs were produced.
3. It is necessary to distinguish between different stages
within the last 2 Ga period based primarily on crust growth
rates (Dobretsov, 2010, 2011; Khain, 2010). Note, that this
period is marked by the combination of plate and plume
tectonics.
4. The history of the Siberian continent suggests that its
main geological units were produced as a result of lithosphere
plate interaction. Those tectonics movements were responsible
for the closure of paleo-oceanic basins. As a result, fold
mountains and rifting basins (including Lake Baikal) arouse.
Plume tectonic processes that are responsible for the origin
of within-magmatic complexes including granite batholiths are
important for further evolution of geological units. Plumes
play a certain role for the metallogenic specialization of the
Asian continent as a whole. The goal of the near future studies
is to associate certain mineral types with certain plumes.
Using a long-standing position of the Icelandic hotspot
(from at least 250 Ma), we reconstructed the Siberian continent
drift in the Phanerozoic (Kuzmin et al., 2010). We believe
that absolute reconstructions can be widely applied in the near
future for other continents.
The authors are pleased to thank A.N. Didenko, A.I. Kiselev, V.A.Vernikovsky for reviewing the paper and for constructive remarks.
The study was supported by grants 13-05-12026 ofi_m and
13-05-12043 ofi_m from the Russian Foundation for Basic
Research.

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