New Zealand geologists from Victoria University of Wellington have found traces of the oldest and most devastating earthquakes in Earth history. According to experts, high-power seismic tremors occurred during the Paleoarchaean period, about 3.3 billion years ago. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Geology.
Scientists made these discoveries while studying the Barberton Greenstone Belt, a complex geological formation in South Africa. They noticed that the belt was quite similar to much younger rocks affected by seismic tremors in New Zealand.
“The energy of ancient earthquakes was absolutely enormous and shook the entire region,” said geologist Simon Lamb, lead author of the study.
The Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago and later cooled to become a water world. According to the research, there is no scientific consensus on when plate tectonics began, but it most likely occurred around 2 billion years ago.
Scientists believe that the first earthquakes on our planet began to occur before the beginning of tectonics and coincided with the origin of life on Earth. Perhaps they provided the energy needed to create the first organisms, researchers say.
happened before knownSinkholes threaten 25% of the world’s population.