Abstract After assembly, supercontinents are shaped by internal rifting and peripheral subduction. However, the geodynamic relationship between these two processes and their respective contributions to supercontinent breakup remain poorly understood. Here, we document episodic early Neoproterozoic rifting events in the southwestern Tarim Craton, an ancient continental block that constituted a key component of the Rodinia Supercontinent. Zircon U‐Pb dating reveals that meta‐rhyolites from the bimodal volcanic rocks of the lower Sailajiazitage Group formed between 923 and 864 Ma, while meta‐tuffs interbedded with meta‐basalts in the upper Sailajiazitage Group yielded ages of 827–813 Ma. Geochemical data indicate that these volcanic rocks formed in a continental rifting setting. When combined with previous data, our results reveal two distinct phases of continental rifting in southern Tarim at 930–860 Ma and 830–800 Ma, respectively, which broadly coincide with two episodes of mantle plume upwelling within Rodinia. These rifting events also coincide with subduction‐related magmatism and metamorphism in northern Tarim, which likely formed part of the circum‐Rodinia subduction‐accretion system. Notably, the earliest rifting appears to predate the earliest subduction‐related magmatism in Tarim, suggesting that intracontinental extension may have triggered subduction initiation along Rodinia's margins. We propose that episodic rifting within Rodinia, likely driven by mantle plumes, was geodynamically coupled with the circum‐Rodinia subduction‐accretion system, and that the interplay between interior rifting and peripheral subduction ultimately led to the dispersal of the supercontinent.
Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.