Ancient Rocks Suggest Water Has Shaped Earth for 3.1 Billion Years

Ancient rocks suggest water has shaped earth for 3.1 billion years

Some of the planet's oldest volcanic rocks can still be found in Western Australia.

3.1 billion-year-old rocks in Australia reveal a forgotten chapter of Earth’s water cycle

Pillow lavas in the Whundo Group. Eric VandenburgIn the 45°C heat of the midday April sun, I swing my sledgehammer into the terracotta-varnished lobes of pillow basalt overlooking a sparse, almost Martian landscape. Up close, the rock is freckled with small spheres or varioles, a texture that forms in wet magmas. It’s hard to fathom that this lava cooled when Earth was young, and has barely changed since. Western Australia’s Pilbara Craton is pr…

Ancient rocks reveal how water reshaped Earth's interior 3.1 billion years ago

Geologists studying some of the planet's oldest volcanic rocks have uncovered new evidence that water was playing a major role in shaping Earth's interior and driving volcanic activity more than 3 billion years ago.

Ancient rocks reveal how water shaped early Earth

Ancient Australian rocks rewrite the story of Earth's evolution. Continue reading Ancient rocks reveal how water shaped early Earth on Tech Explorist.

Ancient Rocks Suggest Earth Was Sending Water Underground 3.1 Billion Years Ago

Long before Earth had continents as we know them, or an atmosphere with oxygen, or anything alive to breathe it, the planet may have already been running a version of the deep-water plumbing system that shapes it today. That’s the implication of a new study of some of the oldest volcanic rocks on the planet, published this week in Nature Communications. The rocks come from the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, a slab of ancient crust that has…

Ancient rocks show water shaped Earth 3.1 bln years ago

CANBERRA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Geologists have found new evidence that water was already influencing Earth's interior and volcanic activity more than 3 .....