PROF. ROBERT J.

STERN (Orcid ID : 0000-0002-8083-4632)

Accepted Article
Article type : Focus Article

Received date: 09-Sep-2017

Revised version received date: 12-Dec-2017
Accepted date: 13-Dec-2017

FOCUS ARTICLE

Title: Did the Transition to Plate Tectonics Cause Neoproterozic

Snowball Earth?

Authors: Robert J. Stern1*, Nathan R. Miller2

Affiliations:

1
Geosciences Dept., U Texas at Dallas, Richardson TX USA

2
Jackson School of Geosciences, U Texas at Austin, Austin TX USA

*Correspondence to: rjstern@utdallas.edu.

ABSTRACT: When Earth’s tectonic style transitioned from stagnant lid (single plate) to

the modern episode of plate tectonics is important but unresolved, and all lines of

evidence should be considered, including the climate record. The transition should have

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 disturbed the oceans and atmosphere by re-distributing continents, increasing explosive
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arc volcanism, stimulating mantle plumes, and disrupting climate equilibrium established

by the previous balance of silicate weathering-greenhouse gas feedbacks. Formation of

subduction zones would redistribute mass sufficiently to cause true polar wander if the

subducted slabs were added in the upper mantle at intermediate to high latitudes. The

Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth climate crisis may reflect this transition. The transition to

plate tectonics is compatible with nearly all proposed geodynamic and oceanographic

triggers for Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth events, and could also have contributed to

biological triggers. Only extraterrestrial triggers cannot be reconciled with the hypothesis

that the Neoproterozoic climate crisis was caused by a prolonged (200–250 m.y.)

transition to plate tectonics.

Main Text: It is important to understand when and how plate tectonics began and what

was Earth’s tectonic style before this. In the following essay, we follow the modern

redefinition of plate tectonics by Stern and Gerya (in press): “A theory of global tectonics

powered by subduction in which the lithosphere is divided into a mosaic of strong

lithospheric plates, which move on and sink into weaker ductile asthenosphere. Three

types of localized plate boundaries form the interconnected global network: new oceanic

plate material is created by seafloor spreading at mid-ocean ridges, old oceanic

lithosphere sinks at subduction zones, and two plates slide past each other along

transform faults. The negative buoyancy of old dense oceanic lithosphere, which sinks in

subduction zones, provides major power for plate movements.” When Earth began to

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 behave this way and how we can use the climate record to shed light on the transition to
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plate tectonics, as defined above, is the crux of this paper.

Understanding the evolution of plate tectonics on Earth is key to understanding

how our planet became habitable. We know that Earth formed hot and has since been

cooling. Geodynamic modeling indicates that Earth’s interior had to cool by a few

hundred degrees in order for sustainable subduction and thus plate tectonics to happen.

Cooling caused greater strength and density of oceanic lithosphere, which promoted long-

lasting subduction (Gerya et al., 2015). The geodynamic transition from a single-plate

(stagnant lid) tectonic style with plume-induced short-lived lithospheric drips and

embryonic subduction zones to global modern-style plate tectonics, with deep and long-

lived subduction, reflected the thickening, strengthening and densification of oceanic

lithosphere due to mantle cooling. It is uncertain when this transition occurred and how

long it took to generate the modern plate mosaic.

Most geoscientists think that plate tectonics began early in Earth history,

particularly in Archaean time (Cawood et al., 2006; Korenaga, 2013). Nevertheless, it is

increasingly clear that Earth went through major tectonic changes in Neoproterozoic time

(e.g., Brown, 2010; Ernst et al., 2016; Hawkesworth et al., 2016). It is worth further

considering whether this was when plate tectonics as defined above began. Geologic

evidence is critical (Fig. 1), including the observations that most ophiolites – direct

indicators of seafloor spreading and thus plate tectonics - are Neoproterozoic and younger

(Fig. 1B) and that all blueschists and ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic terranes –

direct evidence of deep subduction and thus plate tectonics - are Neoproterozoic and

younger. Perspectives from other geoscientific disciplines are useful in this inquiry, for

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 example studies of gemstones and kimberlites. Rubies only form in continental collision
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zones and jadeitite only forms in subduction zones, and both of these “plate tectonic

gemstones” are limited to Neoproterozoic and younger time (Fig. 1C,D).

Kimberlites – the water- and carbon dioxide-charged eruptions that carry diamonds from

deep in the lithosphere to the surface – are concentrated in Neoproterozoic and younger

time (Fig. 1A), perhaps because large volumes of these volatiles were not delivered to

great depth in the mantle before subduction and plate tectonics began at this time (Stern

et al., 2016).

Below we build on the well-founded assumption that the transition to plate

tectonics would have resulted in major changes in the solid Earth system – possibly

including the spin axis, volcanism and topographic relief – and that these changes would

have profound effects on Earth’s climate and related systems. Specifically, we use the

work of other geoscientists to explore the possibility that the major shifts in climate and

the C isotopic record known as “Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth” (NSE) were caused by

a prolonged (~250 million year) transition from stagnant lid tectonics >~800 Ma to a

global plate tectonic regime by ~ 550 Ma. We first state our assumptions and outline

what is known about Earth’s tectonic regime before the NSE. We then summarize our

present understanding of the timing and causes of NSE and show how NSE could have

been the response of Earth’s climate and hydrosphere to the transition to plate tectonics.

We acknowledge that such an exploration of links between fundamental changes in

Earth’s tectonic and climate systems cannot yet be definitive, but we do think that it is

novel and useful.

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 PREMISES:
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We can informally define the moment that something changes in an important

way as a singularity. Some singularities are obvious: they start with a bang and leave

clear evidence. As an example of a “loud and clear” singularity, consider the beginning of

thermonuclear fusion in the core of the Sun ~4.5 Ga. This may have resulted in an

explosion, powerful enough to blow away the atmospheres of the inner planets. Other

singularities leave little evidence when they occur and take many millions of years to

affect their surroundings. The origin of life - the first self-replicating cell – may have

been such a cryptic singularity, with clear evidence for life appearing much later in fossil

stromatolites and C isotopic compositions of carbon-bearing sediments. The beginning of

plate tectonics may not have occurred as a singularity, but instead over an extended

period of time. We do not know the duration of the transition from a stagnant lid one-

plate regime to a two-plate embryonic plate tectonic regime to the modern 12-big plate

tectonic regime (Gerya et al., 2015). Did the transition require 10, 100, or 1000 million

years to accomplish? Was it smooth and continuous once underway, or was it episodic,

with stops and starts? We have only begun to consider these questions.

We assume that the transition to plate tectonics (hereafter, “the transition”)

disturbed the oceans and atmosphere enough to leave evidence in the sediment record.

This is expected because as the number of plates grew, so did the global distribution of

important plate-margin processes (e.g., increased H2O and silica content and thus

explosivity of magmas, increased CO2 due to volcanic degassing, increased crustal

thickening and relief above sea level and associated precipitation and weathering). This

transition would have shifted the distribution of masses, resulted in albedo changes

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 associated with ocean/land distribution, changed silicate weathering intensity and nutrient
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supply to oceans and associated CO2 sinks. The transition is likely to have redistributed

planetary mass by forming new subduction zones at intermediate-high latitudes to

sufficiently change Earth’s moment of inertia and cause true polar wander. Any

combination of these likely responses to the transition is likely to have catastrophically

disturbed the regulation of Earth’s surface temperature – namely the greenhouse-

weathering thermostat. These expected linkages provide central assumptions of and

motivations for this paper.

We acknowledge that many Neoproterozoic sediments are poorly dated and lack

fossils for correlation, however Earth’s surface was dominated then as now by continuous

sedimentary accumulations. The sedimentary record for the time periods of interest is

sufficiently complete that it is usefully interrogated to see if it preserves evidence of the

transition. If the climate record can be linked to the start of plate tectonics, then the

higher resolution available from the associated sedimentary record may allow us to better

understand the pace and timing of the transition than any of the direct proxies for plate

tectonics: ophiolites, blueschists, etc.

In this exploration, we make no effort to evaluate the many proposed explanations

for NSE. Instead we build on our understanding that the transition from stagnant lid to

plate tectonics should have strongly affected climate, show that such effects are in most

cases consistent with inferred causes of NSE, note that such effects are not known from

other times inferred for the start of plate tectonics (Note: the Huronian snowball Earth

episode shown on Fig. 1 occurs at a time that has not been advocated for when plate

tectonics started), and comment on whether or not the duration of NSE is consistent with

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 that expected for the transition to plate tectonics. We start by showing that the preceding
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tectonic regime in Mesoproterozoic time appears to have been a protracted stagnant lid

episode.

THE BORING BILLION: A MESOPROTEROZOIC STAGNANT LID EPISODE?

Before we consider how the transition might have caused NSE, we must consider Earth’s

tectonic and climatic regime before NSE. This was a protracted episode known as “The

Boring Billion” (aka Dullest Time on Earth, Barren Billion, Earth’s Middle Age) between

1.8 and 0.8 Ga that was characterized by remarkable environmental, evolutionary and

lithospheric stability (Buick et al., 1995; Holland, 2006; Brasier, 2012; Young 2013;

Cawood and Hawkesworth, 2014), although the formation of the Rodinia supercontinent

occurred near the end of this interval. Cawood and Hawkesworth (2014) list seven

characteristics of the Boring Billion: paucity of passive margins; absence of glacial

deposits and iron formations; lack of significant seawater Sr isotope spikes; lack of

phosphate deposits (Fig. 1G); high ocean salinity; abundant anorthosites and alkali

granites; and limited orogenic gold deposits. Sr and C isotopic compositions of seawater-

proxy carbonates change little during this time (Fig. 1E, F). The Boring Billion was also a

long time when deep oceans were substantially ferruginous/anoxic/euxinic and the

complexity of life increased very slowly, possibly because high levels of plume activity

and hydrothermal Fe input restricted oxygen to low levels while limiting the availability

of important micronutrients (Lyons et al., 2014 and references therein); biological

evolution is likely to be slower during stagnant lid episodes than during plate tectonic

episodes, as discussed by Stern (2016). These characteristics are very like that expected

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 from a stagnant lid episode, although we stress that we have much to learn about likely
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variations in stagnant lid behavior (Wyman, 2017; Stern et al., in press).

COULD THE TRANSITION TO PLATE TECTONICS HAVE CAUSED

NEOPROTEROZOIC SNOWBALL EARTH?

Many explanations have been offered for what caused NSE. Table 1 parses these

into 22 possible causative mechanisms placed into four groups: extraterrestrial,

geodynamic, oceanographic, and biotic. These four groups of mechanisms are differently

susceptible to forcing by environmental changes resulting from the transition. Nearly all

of the 11 proposed geodynamic mechanisms could have been directly caused by the start

of plate tectonics whereas the five extraterrestrial mechanisms cannot be related to the

transition. The three oceanographic mechanisms and three biotic mechanisms could have

been related to the proposed geodynamic factors (e.g., disruption of a stratified ocean,

increasing nutrient delivery to oceans) and so are not addressed here. Below we briefly

consider how the 11 geodynamic mechanisms listed in Table 1 (numbers listed in

parentheses) could have been caused by the transition from the Boring Billion stagnant

lid episode to plate tectonics in Neoproterozoic time.

Earth’s seasons are today controlled by modest obliquity of 23.5°; greater

obliquity would make stronger seasonality. Unusually high obliquity (>54°) of Earth’s

spin axis to the ecliptic is suggested for pre-Edicaran glaciations (2.1). This is the

HOLIST (High Obliquity, Low-latitude Ice, STrong seasonality) hypothesis (Williams,

2008). This could have been caused by mass redistribution such as may have occurred

during the transition to plate tectonics. Ultimately, high-obliquity may have transitioned

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 to the more moderate obliquity of today by mass redistributions as a result of plate
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tectonics.

True Polar Wander (2.2; TPW) is a dramatic reorientation of Earth’s rotation axis

due to mass redistribution. Planets rotate such that the largest moment of inertia axis is

aligned with the spin axis. When this is not the case because mass is redistributed the spin

axis realigns with that of the largest moment of inertia axis. When the first subduction

zone formed during initiation of plate tectonics, the sinking lithosphere of the subducting

plate beneath lithosphere of the overriding plate effectively increased the proportion of

dense lithosphere where the first subduction zone formed, at the same time thinning

lithosphere elsewhere on the planet, where the first spreading axis formed in response.

The mass redistribution associated with the transition is thus very likely to have caused

TPW. An episode of Neoproterozoic TPW would have greatly changed the distribution of

planetary insolation, directly affecting climate. In addition, TPW may have concentrated

landmasses within weathering intensive tropical latitudes, leading to NSE by enhanced

global albedo and carbon sequestration in carbonate and organic-rich sediments.

Several workers previously proposed Neoproterozoic TPW. For example, Li et al.

(2004) used geochronological and paleomagnetic data from 802 ± 10 Ma dykes in S.

China and existing data to propose that Earth’s spin axis underwent rapid ~90° rotation at

~750 Ma. They further suggested this TPW episode was triggered by initiation of a

mantle superplume beneath the polar end of Rodinia. Similarly, Maloof et al. (2006)

suggested two episodes of TPW, linked to Rodinian breakup and bracketing the ca. 820-

790 Ma Bitter Springs negative 13C excursion, may have driven global changes in the

flux of organic carbon relative to total carbon burial.

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 Another explanation for NSE is that supercontinent Rodinia moved to or
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amalgamated within low latitudes, thereby increasing planetary albedo and leading to

cooling (2.3). Such a scenario is proposed by Meredith et al. (2017) on the basis of

geologic and paleomagnetic synthesis. Rodinia moving to a low latitude is easily

explained as caused by the transition.

Rodinia break-up (2.4) in association with various other processes is invoked as a

cause for NSE. Ancilliary contributions include uplift and weathering (2.5), basalt

weathering (both subaerial and submarine; 2.6), and ocean fertilization (2.7). Break-up of

the supercontinent Rodinia would have led to rift margin uplift and increased moisture

delivery to continental interiors, increased runoff, increasing weathering and drawdown

of atmospheric CO2, weakening the greenhouse and causing cooling. Large igneous

provinces (LIPs) were more common in Neoproterozoic relative to Mesoproterozoic time

(Ernst et al., 2013), perhaps in association with increased rifting caused by the transition.

There is abundant evidence for LIPs, erupted between 825 and 750 Ma in association

with Rodinia break-up (Li et al., 2003; Goddéris et al., 2003). Pulses of 825-755 Ma

tholeiitic magmatism are documented in Australia, NW Laurentia, South China, and

Congo cratons (Park et al., 1995; Li et al., 1999; Wingate et al., 1998; Wingate and

Giddings, 2000; Key et al., 2001). These underlie formations containing Sturtian/Rapitan

glacial deposits. The length of dyke swarms, thickness of associated volcanics, and

geochemistry indicate that the 825 and 780 Ma events are plume-related large continental

basalt provinces, and all events may constitute a “plume time-cluster” (Ernst and Buchan,

2002; Goddéris et al., 2003).

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 As previously suggested by Goddéris et al., (2003) breakup volcanism is likely to
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have affected Neoproterozoic climate. This would at first lead to increased atmospheric

CO2 by magmatic degassing, increasing the greenhouse effect, and subsequently to

consumption of carbon dioxide through terrestrial and submarine weathering that may

have greatly decreased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and weakened the pre-

existing greenhouse. These possibilities indicate that tectonic changes could have

triggered a progressive transition from a greenhouse to an icehouse climate during the

Neoproterozoic era. All of these scenarios – Rodinia rifting, increased lengths of rifts and

areas of rift flank uplift, and LIP volcanism – are expected in association with the

transition. They are also consistent with increases in limestone 87Sr/86Sr, sulphate 34S,

and marine P from chemical weathering of LIPs (e.g., Horton, 2015; Reinhard et al., 2016)

(Fig. 1E,G).

The huge swings in C isotopic composition observed in Neoproterozoic sediments,

featuring distinct negative 13C excursions (Fig. 1F. Bitter Springs, Islay, Tayshir,

Trezona, Shurham events), imply correspondingly large variations in release and burial of

organic carbon. Schrag et al. (2002) (2.8) suggested that clathrate formation and exposure

and depletion of clathrates might explain the 13C variations and that associated collapse

of transient methane greenhouse states might trigger global glaciations. Clathrate

formation and destruction could readily be accomplished by rapid burial of organic-rich

sediments in new rift basins and exhumation by uplifts (Schrag et al., 2002). This

conclusion is consistent with that of Shields and Mills (2017), who argued that tectonic

controls were “underlying drivers” of C isotope variations in Neoproterozoic marine

carbonates that were previously ascribed to organic carbon burial or to the changing

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 isotopic composition of carbon sources. Tremendous changes in carbon sequestration and
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release are likely signatures of the transition.

Explosive volcanic eruptions – especially those associated with convergent

margins and magmatic arcs - inject sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere; these aerosols

reflect incoming solar radiation and cool the atmosphere and surface. Cooling as a result

of increased explosive volcanism (2.9) may have caused NSE (Stern et al., 2008). A

similar effect was recently ascribed to LIP volcanism (2.10; Macdonald et al., 2017). A

transition to plate tectonics is very likely to have greatly increased explosive arc

volcanism.

The last proposed geodynamic mechanism for NSE is that reduced continental arc

igneous activity prior to the Cryogenian glaciation was responsible (2.11; McKenzie et al.

2016). We think that this conclusion is misleading. About 20% of the continental crust

formed in Neoproterozoic time (Stern, 2008), so that if abundant Cryogenian arc

sequences in especially the Arabian-Nubian Shield and elsewhere in Africa (Stern et al.,

1994) were better captured in the McKenzie et al. (2016) compilation of U-Pb zircon

ages that the significance of Cryogenian arc volcanism would be more truly represented.

If future efforts confirm decreased arc volcanism during Cryogenian time, this would be a

significant argument against a Neoproterozoic start for plate tectonics.

In summary, 10 of the 11 proposed geodynamic mechanisms for Neoproterozoic

Snowball Earth are readily explained if the transition from stagnant lid to plate tectonics

occurred during this time.

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 DISCUSSION
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The preceding presentation is based on the inference that the transition from

stagnant lid to plate tectonics should disturb climatic and oceanographic stability, and

that such disturbances are likely to have continued as the plate mosaic grew from one

plate to two plates to the present 7+ plate system. We have shown that there are several

ways that this transition could have disturbed the surface systems. We do not attempt to

distinguish which of these actually happened or which were most important. The fact that

strong climate and oceanographic effects are observed in Neoproterozoic time is a

powerful supporting argument that this is indeed the time of the transition, and is an

argument that - to our knowledge - has not heretofore been considered. The fact that other

proposed times for the transition – for example at 3.0 Ga or 2.5 Ga – are not associated

with comparable oceanographic or climatic disturbances weakens these as candidate

times, although the available sedimentary record is admittedly sparse. The only time

earlier in Earth history when a comparable climate disturbance is observed is the ~2.3 Ga

(Huronian or Makganyene) glaciation, and this is not a time interval proposed for the

transition to plate tectonics.

The other interesting point resulting from this discussion is that we now have a

potential independent constraint for how long of a time it took for the transition from

stagnant lid to formation of the first subduction zone to the development of a global plate

tectonic network and when important episodes in this transition might have occurred. In

this interpretation, each climatic and oceanographic episode might indicate formation of

new subduction zones and associated rifts and spreading ridges that broke up the

remaining stagnant lid, beginning with the Bitter Springs event ~0.8Ga and ending with

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 the mid-to-late Ediacaran glaciation (Etemad-Saeed et al., 2016). If this interpretation is
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correct, the transition took 200–250 million years to accomplish. It may also be

noteworthy that the duration of Late Neoproterozoic glaciations also decrease through

time (Sturtian ca 720–660Ma, Marinoan ca 650–630 Ma, Gaskiers ca 580±1 Ma),

potentially consistent with a progressively changing balance of silicate-weathering-

greenhouse feedbacks as the increasingly plate tectonic behavior of the planet approached

a new (Phanerozoic) equilibrium.

CONCLUSIONS:

Geologic evidence constraining the timing of signature plate tectonic processes (e.g.,

ophiolites/sea floor spreading; UHPM/cold subduction) supports the hypothesis that the

Neoproterozoic marked a prolonged transition from stagnant lid to modern style plate

tectonics. During this time associated marine sedimentary proxies indicate extreme

perturbations of the global carbon cycle (e.g. 13CCO3, OM), an overall increase in silicate

weathering (e.g. 87Sr/86Sr CO3 and 34SSO4) and that Earth’s climate regulating

(greenhouse-silicate weathering) thermostat repeatedly failed leading to global scale

glaciations (subtropical glacial deposits) for only the second time in Earth history. We

posit that late Neoproterozoic climate oscillations inevitably followed from this tectonic

transition, by disrupting the spatial distribution of continental landmasses, the nature of

plate margin processes, and the previous billion-year-long balance of silicate weathering-

greenhouse gas feedbacks. Environmental changes expected to accompany the transition

to plate tectonics are consistent with nearly all postulated geodynamic triggers for late

Neoproterozoic icehouse events and are not known to have accompanied other proposed

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 times for the transition to plate tectonics. The possible linkage between the transition to
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plate tectonics, the pattern and severity of ensuing glaciations, and changing habitability

on Earth is worth further consideration.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Taras Gerya for thoughts about how much time the transition from

development of the first subduction zone to formation of a global plate tectonic mosaic is

likely to have taken. We thank Kent Condie and Peter Cawood for reviews that improved

the present manuscript. We have no conflicts to interest to declare. This is UTD

Geosciences contribution number xxxx.

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FIGURE CAPTIONS:

Fig. 1: Comparisons of key petrotectonic indicators for plate tectonics and timings of

major glacial episodes (vertical blue regions, after Cox et al., 2016) spanning the last 3

byrs. A) Kimberlites provide evidence of mantle ingassing due to subduction (Stern et al.,

2016). B) Ophiolites provide evidence of seafloor spreading and horizontal motions

consistent with plate tectonics (Stern et al., 2017, modified by Palaeoproterozoic

ophiolites from Condie, 2016). C) Indicators of subduction zone metamorphism –

blueschists, glaucophane-bearing eclogites, lawsonite-bearing metamorphic rocks, and

jadetites – form only in the cool, fluid-rich environments in and above subduction zones

(Stern et al., 2013). D) Ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks and the gemstone ruby

proxy continental collision and deep subduction of continental crust (Stern et al., 2017). E)

Seawater 87Sr/86Sr and 34S of carbonate rocks, and timing of giant P sedimentary

deposits (after Shields et al., 2007). Note the rapid rise in 87Sr/86Sr during Neoproterozoic

time, from ~0.705 to ~0.709, indicating enhanced continental input. F) Seawater 13C

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 curve. Curve >900 Ma digitized from Young (2013, Fig 1), the 2600–1600 Ma portion
Accepted Article
follows Melezhik et al. (2005); the 1600–920 Ma portion follows Kah (2004). The 540–

920 Ma portion follows Cox et al. (2016), including LIPs; Neoproterozoic C-isotope

excursions B, I, T, Tr and S denote Bitter Springs, Islay, Tayshir, Trezona and Shuram

anomalies, respectively. The Phanerozoic portion follows Shields & Mills (2017); note

this is a smooth of the composite curve. G) Sedimentary phosphorite abundance as

represented by deposits (Planavsky, 2014).

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ccepted Article
Table 1. Possible Causes of Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth and Links to the Transition to Plate Tectonics (TPT)

Class – Proposed events promoting cooling Main cooling mechanism(s) Refs Caused by TPT?

Extraterrestrial

1.1. Fainter Neoproterozoic sun Lower(ed) insolation H64 No

1.2. Collapse of orbiting ice rings into Earth's atmosphere Lower(ed) insolation S84 No

1.3. Variation in cosmic ray flux Lower(ed) insolation MM04 No

1.4. Variation in interstellar dust Lower(ed) insolation P05 No

1.5. Impact ejecta Lower(ed) insolation BB02 No

Geodynamic

2.1. Colder, more seasonal, tropics due to high obliquity High obliquity W00 Yes

2.2. Low-latitude Rodinia after ~800 Ma true polar wander episode Enhanced albedo & C sequestration Li04 Yes

2.3. Low-latitude Rodinia (unspecified) Enhanced albedo & C sequestration HS02 Yes

2.4. Rodinia break-up Enhanced C sequestration D04 Yes

2.5. Rodinia break-up (elevated, diachronous rifting) Tectonic uplift, active rift margins EJ04 Yes

2.6. Rodinia break-up + basalt weathering Enhanced C sequestration G03 Yes

2.7. Rodinia break-up + basalt weathering + ocean fertilization Enhanced C sequestration H15, G16 Yes

2.8. Clathrate reservoir (tectonic?) exhumation and depletion Loss of atmospheric methane H02 Yes

2.9. Atmospheric sulfur aerosols - explosive volcanism Lower(ed) insolation S08 Yes

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ccepted Article
2.10. Atmospheric sulfur aerosols - LIP emplacement within S evaporite Lower(ed) insolation MW17 Yes

2.11. Reduced continent-volcanic arc activity Lull in volcanic CO2 outgassing M17 Yes

Oceanographic

3.1. Ocean stagnation and enhanced organic burial Enhanced C sequestration K93 Yes

3.2. Carbonate burial depletes PCO2 Enhanced C sequestration R76 Yes

3.3 Hypsometric effect - deeper CCD depletes PCO2 Enhanced C sequestration R03 Yes

Biotic

4.1. Methane destroyed by a Neoproterozoic oxidation event Loss of atmospheric methane P03 Yes

4.2. Biocatalyzed weathering enhances PCO2 drawdown Enhanced C sequestration K06 Yes

4.3. Enhanced organic export production and anaerobic mineralization Enhanced C sequestration T11 Yes

References are intended to be representative, not exhaustive: H64: Harland, W. B. 1964a. S84: Sheldon, 1984. MM04: Marcos and Marcos, 2004. P05: Pavlov et al., 2005. BB02:
Bendsen and Bjerrun, 2002. W02: Williams, 2000, 2008. HS02: Hoffman and Schrag, 2002. D04: Donnadieu et al., 2004. EJ03: Eyles and Januszczak, 2004. G03: Goddéris et al.,
2003. H15: Horton, 2015. G16: Gernon et al., 2016. H02: Halverson et al., 2002. S08: Stern et al., 2008. MW17: Macdonald and Wordsworth 2017. M17: McKenzie et al., 2016.
K93: Kaufman et al., 1993. R76: Roberts 1976. R03: Ridgwell et al., 2003. P03: Pavlov et al., 2003. K06: Kennedy et al., 2006. T11: Tziperman et al., 2011.

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Accepted Article

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