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Early Archaean onset of volatile cycling at subduction zones

Nature Geoscience volume 18, pages 436–442 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

The subduction of pelagic sediments and altered oceanic crust modulates the global cycle of volatile elements. Sulfate and carbonate fluids released when one plate descends beneath another modify the redox state of the mantle, and generate the return of water and reactive gases to the atmosphere and hydrosphere via arc volcanism, affecting planetary habitability over geologic timescales. However, the timing of the onset of subduction remains uncertain, hindering our understanding of how deep geochemical cycles operated on the early Earth. Here we measure sulfur and neodymium isotope data on Eoarchaean mantle-derived rocks of the Innuksuac Complex in northern Québec, Canada, with petrological characteristics of arc magmas. These rocks exhibit anomalous sulfur isotopic compositions originally produced by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere more than 3.8 Gyr ago. Combined sulfur and neodymium isotope data suggest that these signatures were transferred to the Innuksuac mantle through devolatilization and partial melting of terrigenous sediments derived from a Hadean (4.3–4.4 Gyr ago) continental source, providing a record of an early continental margin subduction environment. This result pushes back direct evidence of a subduction-driven volatile cycle to the onset of the terrestrial rock record, approximately 1 Gyr earlier than previously inferred from diamond inclusions.

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Fig. 1: Sulfur isotope compositions in metalavas and granitoid gneisses of the Innuksuaq Complex.
Fig. 2: Relationships between Δ33S values and ratios of moderately incompatible elements in USB metalavas.
Fig. 3: Nd isotopic compositions and Th/Nd ratios in NSB/USB amphibolites and modern arc lavas.

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Data availability

Geochemical data that support the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information files, and via figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27073267 (ref. 70).

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge A. Schumacher, D. Cividini and C. Zimmermann for their essential support in maintaining the Neptune and clean labs in optimal condition. G.C. and S.J.M. acknowledge logistical assistance for work in the Nuvvuagittuq area from the Pituvik Corporation of Nunavik (Québec). All licenses and permits for sample collections were obtained in advance from the local authorities, and in full consultation with the mayoral office in Inukjuak (town). We honour the cultural significance of these lands to the people of Nunavik. Financial support for this project was provided by the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP) of CNRS/INSU, co-funded by CNES (G.C.). The HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (CSFK), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHAB) of the University of Oslo provided generous support (S.J.M.) during significant phases of the project. Isotopic analyses were conducted at the IRISS platform of the RéGEF network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRPG, Nancy, France

    G. Caro, P. Bourgeois, P. Bouilhol & G. Paris

  2. Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    T. Grocolas

  3. HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (CSFK), MTA Centre for Excellence, Budapest, Hungary

    S. J. Mojzsis

  4. Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHAB), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    S. J. Mojzsis

  5. Institute for Earth Sciences, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany

    S. J. Mojzsis

  6. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    S. J. Mojzsis

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  1. G. Caro
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Contributions

G.C.: project conception, funding acquisition, data collection, data interpretation and original paper drafting. T.G.: data collection, paper review and editing. P. Bourgeois: data collection. P. Bouilhol: paper review and editing. S.J.M.: paper review and editing. G.P.: project conception, data collection, paper review and editing.

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Correspondence to G. Caro.

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Nature Geoscience thanks J. Elis Hoffmann, Simon Turner and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Alison Hunt, in collaboration with the Nature Geoscience team.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Discussion and Figs. 1–5.

Supplementary Tables 1–7

Supplementary Table 1: total sulfur concentration and sulfur isotopic composition in USB amphibolites and surrounding granitoids. Supplementary Table 2: sulfur isotopic composition of geostandards. Supplementary Table 3: major element, trace element and 142Nd compositions of USB amphibolites and surrounding granitoids. Supplementary Table 4: mineral major element concentrations. Supplementary Table 5: mineral trace element concentrations. Supplementary Table 6: mineralogical composition, melting reactions and partition coefficients used in the melting model. Supplementary Table 7: Melting model parameters.

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Caro, G., Grocolas, T., Bourgeois, P. et al. Early Archaean onset of volatile cycling at subduction zones. Nat. Geosci. 18, 436–442 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-025-01677-5

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