Synonyms
Definition
Tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (or TTG suite, a term coined by Jahn et al. 1981) is an association of rocks that compose a large part of Archean continental crust. It is widely accepted that this rock suite formed by melting of hydrous metabasalts at high pressure, yet the geodynamic setting in which this melting took place is discussed. Two main sources of melt are proposed: (1) basaltic material that was previously underplated beneath thickened crust (e.g., Smithies 2000) and (2) basaltic rocks in subducting oceanic slabs that melted in a hotter Archean mantle (e.g., Martin et al. 2005).
Overview
About 90 % of the juvenile continental crust generated between 4.0 and 2.5 Ga belongs to the “TTG suite” (tonalite, trondhjemite, granodiorite) (Jahn et al. 1981; Moyen and Martin 2012), although in some cratons (e.g., Yilgarn Craton, Australia; Champion and Sheraton 1997), high-K monzodioritic and syenogranitic rocks can also be abundant. Most of these rocks are...
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References and Further Reading
Bédard J (2006) A catalytic delamination-driven model for coupled genesis of Archaean crust and subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 70:747–771
Brown GC (1986) Processes and problems in the continental lithosphere: geological history and physical implications. In: Snelling N (ed) Geochronology and geological record. Geological Society of London Special Publication, London
Champion DC, Sheraton JW (1997) Geochemistry and Nd isotope systematics of Archaean granites of the eastern Goldfields, Yilgarn Craton, Australia: implications for crustal growth processes. Precambrian Res 83(1–3):109–132
Defant MJ, Drummond MS (1990) Derivation of some modern arc magmas by melting of young subducted lithosphere. Nature 347:662–665
Foley SF, Tiepolo M, Vannucci R (2002) Growth of early continental crust controlled by melting of amphibolite in subduction zones. Nature 417:637–640
Jahn BM, Glikson AY, Peucat J-J, Hickman AH (1981) REE geochemistry and isotopic data of Archaean silicic volcanics and granitoids from the Pilbara block, Western Australia: implications for the early crustal evolution. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 45:1633–1652
Martin H (1986) Effect of steeper Archean geothermal gradient on geochemistry of subduction-zone magmas. Geology 14:753–756
Martin H (1987) Petrogenesis of Archaean trondhjemites, tonalites and granodiorites from eastern Finland: major and trace element geochemistry. J Petrol 28:921–953
Martin H, Moyen J-F (2002) Secular changes in TTG composition as markers of the progressive cooling of the earth. Geology 30:319–322
Martin H, Smithies RH, Rapp R, Moyen J-F, Champion D (2005) An overview of adakite, tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG), and sanukitoid: relationships and some implications for crustal evolution. Lithos 79(1–2):1–24
Moyen J-F, Martin H (2012) Forty years of TTG research. Lithos 148:312–336
Rapp RP, Watson EB (1995) Dehydration melting of metabasalt at 8–32 kbar: implications for continental growth and crust-mantle recycling. J Petrol 36(4):891–931
Rapp RP, Shimizu N, Norman MD, Applegate GS (1999) Reaction between slab-derived melts and peridotite in the mantle wedge: experimental constraints at 3.8 GPa. Chem Geol 160:335–356
Rapp RP, Shimizu N, Norman MD (2003) Growth of early continental crust by partial melting of eclogite. Nature 425:605–609
Rapp R, Norman M, Laporte D, Yaxley G, Martin H, Foley S (2010) Continent formation in the Archean and chemical evolution of the cratonic lithosphere: melt-rock reaction. Experiments at 3–4 GPa and petrogenesis of Archean Mg-diorites (sanukitoids). J Petrol 51(6):1237–1266
Smithies RH (2000) The Archaean tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) series is not an analogue of Cenozoic adakite. Earth Planet Sci Lett 182:115–125
Smithies RH, Champion DC (2000) The Archaean high-Mg diorite suite: links to tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite magmatism and implications for early Archaean crustal growth. J Petrol 41(12):1653–1671
Smithies RH, Champion DC, Cassidy KF (2003) Formation of earth’s early Archaean continental crust. Precambrian Res 127(1–3):89–101
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Martin, H., Arndt, N. (2014). Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1620-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1620-5
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Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite- Published:
- 25 May 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1620-6
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Tonalite-Trondhjemite-Granodiorite- Published:
- 29 April 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1620-5