Earth's first continents found to be far older than previously thought

Earth's first steps of becoming habitable may have started after 400 million years of volcanic activity that caused landmasses.

Published
Updated
58 seconds read time

A new study from researchers who have investigated rock sediments from east India believes they have found evidence that suggests Earth's first continents rose out of the ocean far earlier than previously thought.

Earth's first continents found to be far older than previously thought 01

The researchers looked at samples derived from Singhbhum, near the city of Kolkata, and extracted the minerals zircon, which was then blasted by a laser to measure the number of elements released. With these results, the scientists were able to estimate the age of when the first continents rose out of the water, placing the date anywhere between 3.3 to 3.2bn years ago - 700 million years earlier than previously estimated.

Dr. Priyadarshi Chowdhury of Monash University, the study's lead author, said, "We have plate tectonics today to control the elevation. When two continents' [plates] collide, you form Himalayas, you form Alps." However, this wasn't the case when the first landmasses emerged. Researchers hypothesize that 300 to 400 million years of violent volcanic activity of a continual build-up of lava from the seafloor caused the first continents to rise. The lava "becomes so thick and it just floats up above the water ... like an iceberg floating on water".

For more information on this story, check out this link here.

Buy at Amazon

Calhoun NASA I Need My Space Rocket Plush Throw 50' by 60' Blanket

TodayYesterday7 days ago30 days ago
$19.99$19.99$19.99
* Prices last scanned on 3/27/2024 at 6:15 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.
NEWS SOURCE:theguardian.com

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms. Instead of typical FPS, Jak holds a very special spot in his heart for RTS games.

Newsletter Subscription

Related Tags