These may be the oldest rocks on Earth

Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks in the Earth of rocky training in Canada.

The Greenstone Nuvvuactuq belt has long known for its old rocks – gray stone plains striated on the eastern bank of Hudson in Quebec. But researchers do not agree on exactly their age.

Apparently settled dispute

The work of two decades ago suggested that the rocks could have 4.3 billion years, placing them in the first period in the history of the earth. But other scientists using a different meeting method have challenged the observation, arguing that long -standing contaminants distorted at the age of the rocks and that they were in fact slightly younger – to 3.8 billion years.

In the new study, the researchers sampered a different section of rock of the belt and estimated its age using the two previous dating techniques – measuring how a radioactive element is disintegrated in another over time. The result: the rocks had around 4.16 billion years.

The different methods “have given exactly the same age,” said the author of the study Jonathan O’Neil with the University of Ottawa.

The new research was published Thursday in the journal Science.

Ancient rocks could shed light on the first days of the earth

The earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and collapsed gas shortly after the existence of the solar system. The primordial rocks are often melted and recycled by the mobile tectonic plates of the earth, which makes them extremely rare on the surface today. Scientists discovered $ 4 billion rocks in another training in Canada called the Acasta Gneiss complex, but Nuvvuaguactuq rocks could be even older.

The study of the rocks of the first history of the earth could give an overview of the appearance of the planet – how its Magma Rowling oceans gave way to tectonic plates – and even how life has started.

“Having a sample of what was happening on Earth at the time is really precious,” said Mark Reagan of the University of Iowa, who studies volcanic rocks and lava and was not involved in the new study.

The Inuit community wants steps to prevent rocks from being exploited

The rocky training is on Inukjuak tribal lands and the local Inuit community temporarily prevented scientists from taking samples from the site due to the damage caused by previous visits.

After some geologists visited the site, large rock pieces were missing and the community noticed parts for sale online, said Tommy Palliser, who manages the field with the Pivik Landholding Corp. The Inuit community wishes to work with scientists to create a provincial park that would protect the ground while allowing researchers to study it.

“There is a lot of interest for these rocks, which we understand,” said Plean, a member of the community. “We just don’t want any damage.”