Zircons (and the Secrets They Hold) Are Forever Scientists have long known that plate tectonics, the movement of distinct, rigid plates that make up the Earth’s crust, formed continents and mountains and was crucial to the evolution of the planet’s surface from one of molten lava and rock to an env
Artist’s illustration of uninhabitable conditions during the Hadean, an early geologic eon of Earth history. Credit: Alec BrennerScientists have long known that plate tectonics, the movement of distinct, rigid plates that make up the Earth’s crust, formed continents and mountains and was crucial to the evolution of the planet’s surface from one of molten lava and rock to an environment hospitable to life.
Think of Zircons as tiny time capsules that retain chemical clues of the Earth’s first 500 million years. Some were formed in the magma of the planet more than 4 billion years ago when the Earth, geologically speaking, was still in its infancy. It makes them the oldest known materials on Earth. Their secrets can be understood by zapping them with lasers, which is what the researchers did for their analysis.
The researchers say it’s not clear whether there were subduction zones 3.8 billion years ago, but what is known is that the new crust being formed was likely a result of some type of plate tectonics.that tectonic movement occurred relatively early in Earth’s 4.5 billion-year history. It offers hints about how the planet became habitable and the conditions under which the earliest forms of life developed.
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