Hadean geodynamics inferred from time-varying ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd in the early Earth rock record

Tracking the secular evolution of ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd anomalies is important towards understanding the crust-mantle dynamics in the early Earth. Excessive scatter in the published data, however, precludes identifying the fine structure of ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd evolution as the expected variability is on the order of few parts per million. We report ultra-high precision ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd data for Eoarchean and Palaeoarchean rocks from the Isua Supracrustal Belt (SW Greenland) that show a well-resolved ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd temporal variability suggesting progressive convective homogenisation of the Hadean Isua depleted mantle. This temporally decreasing ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd signal provides a direct measure of early mantle dynamics, defining a stirring timescale of <250 Myr consistent with vigorous convective stirring in the early mantle. The ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd evolution suggests protracted crustal residence times of ~1000-2000 Myr, inconsistent with modern-style plate tectonics in the Archean. In contrast, a stagnant-lid regime punctuated by episodes of mantle overturns accounts for the long life-time estimated here for the Hadean proto-crust.