Data for: The combined Hf and Nd isotope evolution of the depleted mantle requires Hadean continental formation

The onset and rates of continental growth are first-order indicators of
early Earth dynamics, and whether substantial crust existed in the Hadean
or much later has long been debated. Here we present a theoretical
analysis of published Hf and Nd isotopic data representing the depleted
mantle and demonstrate that continental growth must have started in the
early Hadean. Whereas the traditional interpretation of depleted mantle
signatures in crustal rocks assumes unrealistic instantaneous mantle
mixing, our modeling incorporates the effect of a finite mixing time over
which these signatures are recorded in rocks produced through mantle
melting. This effect is shown to delay, by as much as 0.65 to 0.75 Gyr,
the appearance of the earliest depleted mantle signatures in continental
crust. Our results suggest that published observations of Hf, 143Nd, and
142Nd require Hadean growth of continental crust, with a minimum of 50% of
today’s continental volume already existing by the end of Hadean.