The zircon as an indicator of the first print of plate tectonics

2009/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

According to an article published in Nature, plate tectonics began more than four billion years ago, that is, before what was thought so far. This is what the authors of the article, geologists of the University of California, have deduced from the minerals found in some ancient rocks.

The research is conducted in Jack Hills, south of Australia. These rocks come from the eon hadear, from the first 600 million years since the creation of the Earth. And in these rocks a zircon has been found. The researchers have shown that this circus was formed at 700ºC, which means a temperature much lower than normal. To produce the zircon at this temperature, it should be saturated with water and extremely high pressure, which occurs in the subduction zones, where a tectonic plate enters under another. Thus, geologists have come to the conclusion that in those times, when the Earth was still very young, there was a plate tectonics.