Invited review Plate tectonics, flood basalts and the evolution of Earth's oceans

The chemical composition of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) indicates that the present-day thermal budget of Earth is likely to be characterized by a significant excess of surface heat loss over internal heat generation, indicating an important role of secular cooling in Earth’s history. When combined with petrological constraints on the degree of secular cooling, this thermal budget places a tight constraint on permissible heatflow scaling for...