Description:
Oceanic lithosphere subduction is widely accepted among geoscientists as the major driving
force of plate motions on Earth. Ocean floor basalts and gabbros are converted into
blueschists and eclogites in the process of oceanic lithosphere subduction. Therefore, outcrops
of MORB-like chemistry eclogites in orogenic belts manifest the operation of plate
tectonics. The assembly of continental blocks to form supercontinents is derived by plate
motions, which result into continental crustal growth by accretions of juvenile volcanicarcs,
recycling of oceanic crust into the mantle, volcanism and degassing at subduction
zones. This might result in a long term global climate change and, more of economic importance,
the creation of orogenic settings, which are important sites for metal deposits
such as gold, porphyry copper and the volcanogenic massive sulfide copper-zinc ores.