Earth’s continents were formed after the fall of a large asteroid. Article about it published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
“We investigated zircon crystals, one of the oldest rocks in the Earth’s crust that occur in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Curtin Tim Johnson, one of the authors of Curtin’s study, said: “The ratios of oxygen isotopes in them are the result of a giant celestial body falling to Earth about 3.6 billion years ago, resulting in crustal rocks. It shows that it has partially melted,” he said. University in Perth.
Earth’s crust is divided into several tectonic plates floating on the surface of liquid magma. One of the most important questions of earth science is when these plates formed and started to move. Zircon is a refractory material often used to analyze the age of deposits. An analysis of the Australian samples showed that about 3.6-3.4 billion years ago, the planet experienced at least one or two powerful asteroid collisions on modern Australian soil that partially melted a significant portion of Earth’s crustal rock. Most likely, the diameter of the falling asteroid reached 25-30 kilometers. Its fall led to the formation of a giant depression and a general splitting of the crust, which started plate tectonics and geological processes.
To test these results, it is necessary to examine similar samples from other parts of the Earth.
Former climatologists warnedHe said warm nights could increase the global death rate by 60%.