Accretionary orogens form along continental margins where oceanic lithosphere is subducted. They are primary sites of juvenile continental crust production and have been active on Earth since the earliest Archean. Orogen lifetimes expressed as accretion intervals range from 50 to over 300 m.y. The short duration of Late Archean accretionary orogens (<70 m.y.) may reflect the short duration of a global mantle plume event at 2.7 and 2.5 Ga. Although there is no simple relationship between the onset or duration of accretionary orogens and the supercontinent cycle, many post-Archean orogens terminate with continent-continent collisions during supercontinent assembly.

Average terrane lifespan...