Their age is around 4 billion years. They may shed light on the question of the origin of life
Avi Blizovsky
Direct link to this page: https://www.hayadan.org.il/vulkan_quibeck.html
The oldest volcanic rocks found on Earth were discovered by geologists in Canada. According to the tests, the age of the rocks is around 4 billion years.
By examining the rocks, the scientists hope to discover details that will shed light on the question of how life was created on Earth. Also, by comparing the rocks to similar rocks found in Greenland, the scientists hope to learn more about the planet's first billion years.
The rocks were found by chance on the shores of Hudson Bay in northern Quebec. At first, geologists believed that they were 2.8 billion years old, but more careful tests revealed that they are a billion years older. Samples of the rocks were taken to the University of Quebec in Montreal. From their examination it emerged that their age is 3.825 billion years, with a possible error of 16 million years, an age that greatly surprised the researchers.
The rocks were formed from magma that came from the Earth's mantle. Thus, they can provide clues about the first quarter of Earth's life. It is estimated that the Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago.
Immediately after these rocks were formed, the moon was formed. This was almost certainly due to a collision between the Earth and a large planetary body. Then the Earth's mantle and core were also re-formed as a result of the two bodies merging and losing material from the mantle from which the moon was formed.
Then the oceans and simple life forms like bacteria were formed. Currently, scientists know very little about how life originated.
As mentioned, these rocks are very similar to those discovered in the Isua sequence in Greenland. These rocks (from Greenland) have been studied quite a lot and the scientists even found carbon compounds in them that could only have been formed due to biological activity.
These rocks now allow scientists to compare two similar rocks from a similar period and get more accurate data.
Dr. Rosalinda White from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom studied the rocks in Garland and she says that: "Until recent work, the rocks in Isoa were considered unique, but the 35-kilometer sequence represents only a glimpse of what happened in a small area so it was difficult to reach conclusions about everything that happened in the sphere the land."
The rocks were discovered in Porpoise Cove in northern Quebec as part of a mapping project by the Center for Natural Resources in the Quebec government.
They knew the beginning of life
For news at the BBC
Idan Earth - the stalwarts of nature
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~392465584~~~138&SiteName=hayadan
