Granitic perspectives on the generation and secular evolution of the continental crust

Every geologist is acquainted with the principle of “uniformitarianism,” which holds that present-day processes are the key to those that operated in the past. But the extent this applies to the processes driving the growth and differentiation of the Earth's continental crust remains a matter of debate. Unlike its dense oceanic counterpart, which is recycled back into the mantle by subduction within 200 Ma, the continental crust comprises buoyant quartzofeldspathic materials and is difficult to destroy by subduction. The continental crust is, therefore, the principal record of how conditions on the Earth have changed, and how processes of crust generation have evolved through geological time. It preserves evidence of secular variation in crustal compositions, and thus the way in which the crust has formed throughout Earth's history. Exploring the nature and origin of these variations is the focus of this chapter