4.5 Billion Years Old Rocks Found In North Canada

Researchers are continuously studying the composition of the Earth to find new data on our planet’s genesis. One of the peaks of their discoveries was in 2012.  Now, a group of scientists has just published updated information on the 4.5 billion years old rocks.

The age of the rocks has been tested by using radioactive isotopes. Considering the date of the creation of our solar system, the rocks were dated to be 4.5 billion years old. This was long before the first form of life appeared on Earth, which occurred approximately 400,000 years later.

The rocks contained silicon, which is believed to be a secondary product of the Earth cooling down process. Researchers say that our planet needed tens of millions of years to form today’s internal structure and consistency.

Another chemical element found in these rocks is tungsten, a metal that is rare today, yet it was abundant during the birthdays of our solar system. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all the chemical elements, and it’s a dense and very hard metal.

These two pieces of scientific material were placed in a volcanic area, and the most interesting fact is that they are much older than the cold volcano lava found in the surroundings.

The rocks are believed to be a part of the Earth’s mantle, which is a layer between the core of the planet and its crust on the surface. This layer is supposed to be composed of a large variety of materials which got mixed because of the multiple impacts underwent by our planet.

This discovery had lead scientist to consider that our planet’s layers remained constant in structure and consistency over time. Having found Earth materials that have been dated so early in our Solar System’s time is a new and surprising fact for geologists all over the world.

The Baffin Islands, situated in the northern part of Canada, are part of one of the oldest rock chains in the world. A similar area is in the Pacific Ocean, the Ontong Java Plateau. Researchers have been investigating these areas hoping to gain more knowledge on the creation of our planet.

Image Source: Wikipedia