Low ¹⁸O and ³⁰Si TTG at ca. 2.3 Ga Hints at an Intraplate Rifting Onset of the Paleoproterozoic Supercontinent Cycle

The start of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle is typically taken as the initiation of orogenesis at ca. 2.1 Ga leading to the assembly of Earth's first supercontinent, Columbia. However, the dearth of ca. 2.5-2.2 Ga geological records makes it difficult to deduce tectonic factors during the onset of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle. The petrogenesis of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) provides useful proxies for tracing prevailing geodynamic regimes of early continental evolution. However, marked decreases of TTG and other magmatism occurred across the Archean-Paleoproterozoic transition and have previously precluded forming testable hypotheses. Early Paleoproterozoic TTGs have been identified in the North China Craton (NCC) and other cratons, which may represent the last major pulse of TTGs globally. Here we present low delta O-18 and delta Si-30 ca. 2.3 Ga TTGs from the NCC, together with thermodynamic modeling and compilation of stable O and Si isotopes for TTGs globally through time. The ca. 2.3 Ga TTGs were derived from the partial melting of Archean basaltic crust and give lighter average zircon delta O-18 (3.15 +/- 0.35 parts per thousand) and whole-rock delta Si-30 values (-0.17 +/- 0.08 parts per thousand) than most Archean TTGs. Considering coeval mafic-felsic igneous rocks, and lithospheric thinning since ca. 2.5 Ga based on estimated crustal thickness through the Neoarchean-Paleoproterozoic, we posit the onset of an intraplate rifting consistent with the anomalous low-delta O-18 magmatism. Continental rifting of Archean cratons/supercratons plausibly hints at the formation of rifts driving subduction initiation as the veritable onset of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle. Plain Language Summary The Earth's first supercontinent, Paleoproterozoic-Mesoproterozoic Columbia, likely began to form during ca. 2.1 Ga (billion years ago) orogenesis. However, the limited record of ca. 2.5-2.2 Ga magmatism makes it difficult to establish how exactly the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle commenced. The tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) series of felsic rocks forms the backbone of Archean cratons and can provide key constraints on the Earth's early tectonic evolution. Some early Paleoproterozoic TTGs occur in North China and other cratons, which may represent the last major TTG event globally, presenting the possibility to fulfill this role. Here we carry out zircon O and bulk-rock Si isotopic analyses and thermodynamic modeling for these ca. 2.3 Ga TTGs, together with Si-O-Hf data compilation of TTGs globally through time. These ca. 2.3 Ga TTGs show lighter zircon O and bulk-rock Si isotopes than those of Archean TTGs. They might be formed within-plate, associated with lithospheric thinning and mantle-crust remelting to form mafic-felsic magmatism. We propose an intraplate rift setting for this early ca. 2.3 Ga magmatism, which drove the mobilism that led to the subsequent 2.1-1.8 Ga orogenesis and should be posited as the real start of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent cycle.