The Onset of Modern-Style Plate Tectonic

Talk by Professor Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth

Abstract
Since the 1960s we have accepted the plate tectonic paradigm as being central to how our planet operates at the present day. However, there is much ongoing debate as to when plate tectonics began and how similar it was to the current observable mode. Hypotheses range from the Hadean to the Neoproterozoic and therefore span across profound changes in the Earth system, including atmospheric oxygenation and the proliferation of life. In this talk I will review (some of) the “hallmarks” of plate tectonics, their first appearance and secular evolution, and speculate on when it all began and how it evolved.

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