Such phenomena lead to the creation of coastlines and the movement of tides, scientists say.
Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York State studied tiny time capsules found in the oldest crystals to determine when Earth’s tectonic plates began to move. New Atlas reported this.
“The dynamic tectonic nature of the modern Earth is one of the reasons for the existence of life today. Studying the geodynamics and lithological diversity of the early Earth can lead to the discovery of how life began on our planet,” said by study author Vriju Chowdhury.
Gadea zircon crystals from the Jack Hills in the Midwest of Western Australia were studied. They are the oldest surviving crustal material from Earth’s Hadean eon and formed about 4.39 billion years ago. Therefore, the crystals are called time capsules.
“Source magmas are more direct and reliable because they are closer to the source – the actual tectonic style. Our study describes the content of silicon and oxygen isotopes in zircons and the content of trace elements in source magmas, which was not before. combined and represented,” added the scientist.
Thus, chemical similarities were discovered between Earth’s first magmas and modern magmas created by active tectonic plates in Alaska, Japan and the Andes, allowing a comparison between them then and now.
“This indicates tectonic continuity from ancient times to the present day. That is, our study shows that the Earth billions of years ago may have functioned in the same way as it does today,” said study co-author Dustin Trail.
It is hypothesized that plate tectonics may have occurred over 4.2 billion years ago.
Recall that early researchers said that the tectonic plates of Africa and Arabia collided in the desert and gradually drifted apart over about 30 million years. According to them, the same movement divided the Red Sea.
Scientists have shown the movement of Earth’s tectonic plates over a billion years
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Source: korrespondent
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