Parameterized Thermal History Model of the Earth Including Continental Growth

We present a parametrized thermal history model of the Earth including continental growth. This model demonstrates a long-term evaluation of the impact of continental insulation on the thermal evolution of the Earth. Our model follows the approach of Grigné & Labrosse, 2001, but uses a different relationship for continental extent and global heat loss. Grigné & Labrosse, 2001 assumes that continents lower the global mantle heat flux proportionally to surface area. However, previous work demonstrates that the relationship between mantle heat flux and continental surface area does not follow a linear reduction. The relaxation of that assumption will allow the mantle heat flux to track the global heat source as follows from the previous work for continental coverage of <50% (e.g., Lenardic et al., 2005; Cooper et al., 2006; Cooper et al., 2012). This feedback could significantly influence how the mantle's temperature changes with time and could provide an alternative for avoiding the potential for thermal catastrophes within thermal evolution models. Thus, the connection between continental insulation and oceanic heat flux should be included and explored within a parametrized thermal history model.