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 environment hospitable to life.
What's been less apparent is when it began.
A team of Harvard University-led scientists has analyzed some very rare, ancient, and nearly indestructible crystals the size of small grains of sand called zircons for chemical clues about the onset of plate tectonics. The research study, published in recently in the journal AGU Advances, suggests that 3.8 billion years ago there was a major transition in the geochemistry of these zircons that make them look much more like the zircons that are formed today in the red-hot environments where plate tectonics happen.
"Prior to 3.8 billion years ago, the planet doesn't seem to be as dynamic," said Nadja Drabon, a Harvard assistant professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the paper's first author. "Today, there's lots of crust that gets constantly destroyed in what are called subduction zones, and new crust is created. Many [previous] zircons showed that back then once the early crust formed, it lived for a really long time —about 600 million years in this case. While there was some internal reworking, we never created new granitic crust.... Then 3.8 billion years ago, everything changes."
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.
[...] Today, the Earth's outer shell consists of about 15 shifting blocks of crust, which hold the planet's continents and oceans. The process was key to the evolution of life and the development of the planet because the process exposed new rocks to the atmosphere, which led to chemical reactions that stabilized Earth's surface temperature over billions of years.
Evidence of when the change began is hard to come by because it's so scarce. Only 5 percent of all rocks on Earth are older than 2.5 billion years old, and no rock is older than about 4 billion years.
This is where the zircons come in.
The team of scientists [...] gathered 3,936 new zircons from a 2017 expedition in South Africa. Thirty-three of them were at least 4 billion years old. It was quite the haul because zircons from that time period are difficult to find because of their size.
Researchers essentially have to get lucky after grinding down rocks they've collected into sand and separating the resulting finds. The South African zircons ranged from 4.1 billion to 3.3 billion years old. The team looked at three different geochemical features of the zircon crystals they found: the hafnium isotope, oxygen isotope, and trace element compositions. Each gave them a different piece of the puzzle.
For instance, the hafnium isotope offered hints about the formation and evolution of the Earth's crust; the oxygen isotopes about whether there were oceans; and the trace elements about the composition of the crust. The data suggested that the rate of crust formation started picking up almost 4 billion years ago.
Journal Reference:
Nadja Drabon, Benjamin L. Byerly, Gary R. Byerly, et al., Destabilization of Long-Lived Hadean Protocrust and the Onset of Pervasive Hydrous Melting at 3.8 Ga, AGU Advances, 2022. DOI: 10.1029/2021AV000520
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 28 2022, @05:59PM (1 child)
With a
Pair of heavy-duty
Zircon-encrusted tweezers in my hand
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2022, @01:24AM
reply to myself
Am I the only Frank Zappa fan here?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 29 2022, @04:27PM
Diamonds slowly turn to graphite.
But Zircons are forever, relative to Earth's lifespan; at the surface they are the oldest Earth minerals we have. I think it's the Jack Hills zircons in Australia that are 4.4b years old - just ~200Ma younger than Earth herself!
So for geologists, geochronologists, astrogeologists, etc., finding more zircons over 4 billion years of age is fabulous.
Soylents, consider reading Timefulness, by Bjornerud. It's a brilliant book which provides extremely valuable perspective. "One of the best science books I've ever read!" is the feedback I consistently get when I loan my copy out.
Also it's extremely informative viz articles like this!
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2022, @12:36AM
Your signature's YOUR UNDOING:
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss hosts files"
You must be a NO-MIND: Especially as I SHOT YOU DOWN discussing hosts making YOU the SMALLEST NO MIND since I easily tore you apart with FACTS (i.e./e.g. - Paralyzing botnets is EASY if you have the C2 & other servers it uses information - FACT & why security articles post Indicators of Compromise (IOC)).
---
Dalek EXTERMINATED by APK (again)!
No small wonder he got rid of his OLD SIGNATURE of "exterminate", lol - especially after ALL of the below FACTS:
FACT: Hosts work vs. Symbiote C2 server(s) per this line from a MUCH better article than the one used here from bradley13 per "configuration in the binary that used the git[.]bancodobrasil[.]dev domain as its C2 server" from https://www.intezer.com/blog/research/new-linux-threat-symbiote/ [intezer.com]
& did I block that in my original posts here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=49835&page=1&cid=1253504#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] on this BOGUS sockpuppet upmodding yourselves shithole website (which also noted FIREWALLS are invaluable here too, per wildcards (or even IP address use, URL domain/subdomain too in many as well))?
YES I DID! I was correct!
FACT: hosts files block symbiote C2 servers which is all you really need to do to nullify their communication.
FACT: Exfiltration isn't possible without orders either.
FACT: Orders come from C2 servers!
And what did you say to ME hypocrite?
I showed real results doctors had on video stating it themselves.
YET All you do is cite MSM VERY FAKE NEWS!
Proven TONS of times to be so in fact along with their "fact checkers" !
I put up what PHD and MDs by the truckload literally let us see (not just YOUR MSM "russia, Russia, RUSSIA" disproven in COURTS vs. Trump very fake news)?
Do as I say not as I do right dalek?
You are a hypocrite BS artist that CONTRADICTS himself!
More from your losing attempt @ DEBATING me (you = IGNORANT FOOL in this area of genetics & TOTALLY undereducated in it - whereas by COMPARISON I am not):
THIS IS ALL ABOUT GENETICS!
WHAT IS mRNA after all?
ANSWER = A part of protein synthesis involving mRNA, tRNA, & rRNA for the creation of DNA!
IF RNA single helix strands JOIN improperly into a NEW double-helix DNA (via Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine & Thymine) it creates ERRORS (cancer is 1 possible bad one, mutations another etc.)
See NHEJ below.
dalek - have you taken any genetics coursework?
I have & got A's (as my science elective requirement during my CS degreework)!
1st of all, TONS of vaccines have used poisonous Graphene oxide (or dioxide) as ADJUVANTS over time.
Secondly: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY EXPERT Dr. Young SHOWS POISONOUS GRAPHENE IN VACCINES ALSO:
https://www.brighteon.com/9e58bf44-05e7-4b71-97e5-b243f6cf890c [brighteon.com]
&
https://www.brighteon.com/9fbd7735-b49d-4e31-a146-f67d7eb54d75 [brighteon.com]
GRAPHENE OXIDE's in Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) + AstraZeneca:
https://www.brighteon.com/6d8fcfd7-4811-4e64-90c9-bd5585b59ff5 [brighteon.com]
&
A major cause of myocarditis, clotting, CANCER MALIGNANCY etc.? That's right: GRAPHENE OXIDE.
Graphene Oxide Promotes Cancer Metastasis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31877027/ [nih.gov]
An Israeli study PROVES that the NHEJ (non-homologous end joining) mechanism in your cells is DAMAGED by SPIKE PROTEINS in the death vax & IT IS LINKED TO CANCER per https://naturalnews.com/2021-11-02-covid-vaccines-inhibit-dna-repair-cause-cancer.html [naturalnews.com]
All FROM my +5 upmodded post on COVID killshots (which they HAVE proven to be on TONS of levels) https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46034&page=1&cid=1197563#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
LOL: Well, there's the BS you state WHERE YOU ATTACKED ME only to DESTROY YOURSELF for me - thank you, lol!
HOW IRONIC!
(Dalek "EXTERMINATED" not only by FACTS from experts in microscopy, but DALEK'S own WORDS he has to EAT, lol!)
NOW THE "ICING ON THE CAKE" EXPOSING YOU, sockpuppeteer UPMODDING YOURSELF obviously + downmod bombing scumbag - RIGHT FROM YOU once more:
* THANKS FOR SHOWING US YOUR "MODUS OPERANDI" SOCKPUPPETEER troll! Fakename & all for a FAKE like you!
APK
P.S.=> THIS? This was just "too, Too, TOO EASY - just '2ez'" & it always IS vs. hypocrites like you, fakename... apk
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30 2022, @05:10AM
Dalek Your signature's YOUR UNDOING! Dalek EXTERMINATED by APK (again)! No small wonder he got rid of his OLD SIGNATURE of "exterminate", lol - especially after ALL of the below FACTS:
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss hosts files"
Then obviously You're an ALL-TALK mere CHATTERING do-NOTHING & no viable solution offering NO-MIND since I SHOT YOU DOWN discussing hosts as I easily tore you apart w/ FACTS (i.e./e.g. - Paralyzing botnets is EASY if you have the C2 & other servers it uses information - FACT & why security articles post Indicators of Compromise (IOC)).
---
FACT: Hosts work vs. Symbiote C2 server(s) per this line from a MUCH better article than the one used here from bradley13 per "configuration in the binary that used the git[.]bancodobrasil[.]dev domain as its C2 server" from https://www.intezer.com/blog/research/new-linux-threat-symbiote/ [intezer.com]
& did I block that in my original posts here https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=49835&page=1&cid=1253504#commentwrap [soylentnews.org] on this BOGUS sockpuppet upmodding yourselves shithole website (which also noted FIREWALLS are invaluable here too, per wildcards (or even IP address use, URL domain/subdomain too in many as well))?
YES I DID! I was correct!
FACT: hosts files block symbiote C2 servers which is all you really need to do to nullify their communication.
FACT: Exfiltration isn't possible without orders either.
FACT: Orders come from C2 servers!
And what did you say to ME hypocrite?
I showed real results doctors had on video stating it themselves.
YET All you do is cite MSM VERY FAKE NEWS!
Proven TONS of times to be so in fact along with their "fact checkers" !
I put up what PHD and MDs by the truckload literally let us see (not just YOUR MSM "russia, Russia, RUSSIA" disproven in COURTS vs. Trump very fake news)?
Do as I say not as I do right dalek?
You are a hypocrite BS artist that CONTRADICTS himself!
More from your losing attempt @ DEBATING me (you = IGNORANT FOOL in this area of genetics & TOTALLY undereducated in it - whereas by COMPARISON I am not):
THIS IS ALL ABOUT GENETICS!
WHAT IS mRNA after all?
ANSWER = A part of protein synthesis involving mRNA, tRNA, & rRNA for the creation of DNA!
IF RNA single helix strands JOIN improperly into a NEW double-helix DNA (via Guanine, Adenine, Cytosine & Thymine) it creates ERRORS (cancer is 1 possible bad one, mutations another etc.)
See NHEJ below.
dalek - have you taken any genetics coursework?
I have & got A's (as my science elective requirement during my CS degreework)!
1st of all, TONS of vaccines have used poisonous Graphene oxide (or dioxide) as ADJUVANTS over time.
Secondly: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY EXPERT Dr. Young SHOWS POISONOUS GRAPHENE IN VACCINES ALSO:
https://www.brighteon.com/9e58bf44-05e7-4b71-97e5-b243f6cf890c [brighteon.com]
&
https://www.brighteon.com/9fbd7735-b49d-4e31-a146-f67d7eb54d75 [brighteon.com]
GRAPHENE OXIDE's in Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) + AstraZeneca:
https://www.brighteon.com/6d8fcfd7-4811-4e64-90c9-bd5585b59ff5 [brighteon.com]
&
A major cause of myocarditis, clotting, CANCER MALIGNANCY etc.? That's right: GRAPHENE OXIDE.
Graphene Oxide Promotes Cancer Metastasis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31877027/ [nih.gov]
An Israeli study PROVES that the NHEJ (non-homologous end joining) mechanism in your cells is DAMAGED by SPIKE PROTEINS in the death vax & IT IS LINKED TO CANCER per https://naturalnews.com/2021-11-02-covid-vaccines-inhibit-dna-repair-cause-cancer.html [naturalnews.com]
All FROM my +5 upmodded post on COVID killshots (which they HAVE proven to be on TONS of levels) https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=46034&page=1&cid=1197563#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
YOU ATTACK ME FIRST? I annihilate you with FACTS that make you EAT YOUR WORDS you SMARMY little bitch!
PUBLICLY HUMILIATING YOU!
Fact is, ABOVE here in this post's the BS you state I quote above WHERE YOU ATTACKED ME 1st only to DESTROY YOURSELF for me - thank you, lol!
HOW IRONIC!
(Dalek "EXTERMINATED" not only by FACTS from experts in microscopy, but DALEK'S own WORDS he has to EAT, lol!)
NOW THE "ICING ON THE CAKE" EXPOSING YOU, sockpuppeteer UPMODDING YOURSELF obviously + downmod bombing scumbag - RIGHT FROM YOU once more:
* THANKS FOR SHOWING US YOUR "MODUS OPERANDI" SOCKPUPPETEER troll! Fakename & all for a FAKE like you!
APK
P.S.=> THIS? This was just "too, Too, TOO EASY - just '2ez'" & it always IS vs. hypocrites like you, fakename... apk