Scientists have found evidence in ancient rocks from southern Greenland that much of the Earth was once completely melted.
Very little is known about what Earth looked like during the Hadean Eon, which is characterized by the planet’s initial formation, the stabilization of its core and crust, and the formation of its early atmosphere.
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In a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances, geochemists collaborating from around the world reported that their analysis of billions of years old rocks from the Isua Supracrustal Belt – which contains the oldest known rocks in the world – found chemical traces of a magma ocean.
Their samples from 3.7 billion year old basalt rocks were found to have high levels of heavy iron isotopes, which were measured by chromatography and mass spectroscopy.
The researchers identified hafnium and neodymium isotopes, as well as rare tungsten isotopes that come from an “ancient parent isotope” that, according to Live Science, only existed in Earth’s first 45 million years.
“It was a combination of some of the new chemical analyzes we did and the previously published data that gave us the impression that the Isua rocks may contain traces of ancient material. The hafnium and neodymium isotopes were really tempting because they isotopic systems are very difficult to modify – so we had to look at their chemistry in more detail, ”explained study co-author and associate professor at Carleton University Dr. Hanika Rizo.
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The iron isotopes confirmed to the team that the Isua rock consisted of parts of the Earth’s interior that formed 4.5 billion years ago as a result of magma ocean crystallization.
They reported that crystal debris had melted and mixed with other molten rock when moving to the Earth’s upper mantle, carrying the isotopes along with the rock from both the lower and upper mantles.
How they surfaced is less clear, but a Cambridge University publication notes that catastrophic collisions during the formation of the Earth and Moon would have generated enough energy to cool and crystallize the interior of the planet. – to melt with the isotopes. migrate by crystallizing and remelting.
Since then, tectonic shifts have “recycled” nearly all rocks older than four billion years.
Finding the geological evidence for Earth’s past molten state is extremely difficult. This is because magma-ocean crystallization events occurred over 4 billion years ago, and much of the geological record is from that period of Earth’s history. has since been lost. ”lead author Helen Williams, a professor of geochemistry at Cambridge, told Fox News Saturday.
In addition, because much of the deep Earth is inaccessible, Williams and the team had to rely on nature to support their research, although she noted that the chemistry of volcanic rock was essential to their conclusions.
“Our results provide tantalizing evidence for the presence of deep magma ocean crystals that formed at a time when the Earth was almost completely melted,” she said.
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“While the results of our research are very exciting, they also raise other questions. What processes were responsible for the melting events that spawned the volcanic rocks of Isua? Were all of the ancient volcanic rocks from regions of the mantle containing residual crystals that were formed during the period. “cooling of a magma ocean? Is some of this material still present in the interior of the modern Earth and if so, could it explain the unique chemistry of magmas erupting in hot spots such as Hawaii and Iceland?”
“Obviously, there is a lot more to be discovered,” she said.