NEWS & EVENTS

Sometimes during the Archean, Earth shifted from an early “water world” to 
a hypsometrically bimodal planet, where subaerial continents emerged. The available sedimentological record of shales, glacial diamictites, and detrital zircon provides isotopic and petrological insights showing that the crust was becoming more silicic and exposed as it evolved over time, primarily driven by planetary cooling and the start of horizontal tectonics. The critical tipping point of emergence was reached at the end of the Archean with the formation of the first supercontinent. Exposed large swaths of subaerial crust, initiated surface weathering as an important new geochemical flux regulating climate, and influenced the proliferation of lifeforms on early Earth via habitat creation.

Resume: Professor Bindeman is a recipient of the Humboldt Research Award and 
is currently in residence at the University of Mainz, Germany. He is a Professor of Geochemistry and the Head of the Stable Isotope Lab at the University of Oregon, (west coast USA), He worked at Caltech, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin and 
a series of Universities in Europe (France, Switzerland and Germany) after receiving his PhD from the U of Chicago in 1998 and BS from Moscow State University in Russia. 
His interests include magmatic evolution, zircon crystallization from magma, using stable isotope geochemistry (O and H isotopes) to investigate topics related to magmatic evolutions (supervolcanoes, subduction zones), and, more recently, topics in early Earth, timing of continental emergence using shales and weathering products. His work combines isotopic and chemical investigation of igneous and sedimentary rocks and modeling.

For additional information, please contact Prof Meng GUO, mengguo@hku.hk