Metamorphism and continental growth: Introduction

摘要

The growth of continents in orogenic belts has always been a key factor in understanding the interaction and coevolution of Earth's crust and mantle in time and space. The cyclic process of plate tectonics has been continuously operating throughout much of the Earth's history, and the continental crust has an important role in evaluating this because the materials accumulated in the continental crust are retained for geologically long durations compared to the oceanic crust. The formation of continental crust is associated with large-scale tectonic processes, and the geological processes involved in its preservation in orogenic belts are therefore important. Because of its close relation with orogeny, continent formation has been episodic and often related to high-temperature (T), and medium to high-pressure (P) metamorphic processes (Brown, 2006).