Posted on Dec 29, 2022
To peer into Earth’s deep time, meet a hardy mineral known as the Time Lord
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The oldest known Earth stuff that remains on the surface of our planet is a mineral that’s been called the “Time Lord” because it’s so incredibly good at keeping geologic time.
The mineral is zircon, and scientists have found bits of it that formed 4.37 billion years ago, not too long after the proto-Earth's epic collision with a Mars-sized object that spawned our moon.
Tiny crystals of zircon can look like sand, or useless crud. But don't be fooled. With a radioactive tick-tock that marks the passing of billions of years, these small but mighty minerals offer us a peek into the Earth's early development.
"They are really the best markers of Earth's time, or the history of the Earth," says Michael Ackerson, a geologist with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
The mineral is zircon, and scientists have found bits of it that formed 4.37 billion years ago, not too long after the proto-Earth's epic collision with a Mars-sized object that spawned our moon.
Tiny crystals of zircon can look like sand, or useless crud. But don't be fooled. With a radioactive tick-tock that marks the passing of billions of years, these small but mighty minerals offer us a peek into the Earth's early development.
"They are really the best markers of Earth's time, or the history of the Earth," says Michael Ackerson, a geologist with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
To peer into Earth’s deep time, meet a hardy mineral known as the Time Lord
Posted from opb.org
Geology
Time
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."And he says scientists used to think that Earth was a hot, glowing hellscape for its first first 500 million years. But the oldest zircons found on Earth show that's not so.
"We know from just this one collection of zircon crystals that the Earth had continents, which we didn't think was possible, that were interacting with liquid water oceans," he says. "We're starting to understand how and when the continents arose, how and when the oceans arose, and how that might have helped us set the groundwork for the propagation of life on our planet."
These are big philosophical questions that require looking back into deep time, he says – which is only possible thanks to tiny zircons."
..."And he says scientists used to think that Earth was a hot, glowing hellscape for its first first 500 million years. But the oldest zircons found on Earth show that's not so.
"We know from just this one collection of zircon crystals that the Earth had continents, which we didn't think was possible, that were interacting with liquid water oceans," he says. "We're starting to understand how and when the continents arose, how and when the oceans arose, and how that might have helped us set the groundwork for the propagation of life on our planet."
These are big philosophical questions that require looking back into deep time, he says – which is only possible thanks to tiny zircons."
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