Crustal rejuvenation stabilised Earth's first cratons.

The formation of stable, evolved (silica-rich) crust was essential in constructing Earth's first cratons, the ancient nuclei of continents. Eoarchaean (4000-3600 million years ago, Ma) evolved crust occurs on most continents, yet evidence for older, Hadean evolved crust is mostly limited to rare Hadean zircons recycled into younger rocks. Resolving why the preserved volume of evolved crust increased in the Eoarchaean is key to understanding how the first cratons stabilised.