Technique Used To Study 4-Billion-Year-Old Piece Of Earth's Crust

The world has developed and had come a far with the help of techniques and methods. Similarly, without really having to do any digging, scientists can employ a variety of cues, such as directing ultra-fine lasers smaller than a human hair at minerals present in beach sand. This method was applied in a recent study that identifies a 4-billion-year-old chunk of Earth's crust, roughly the size of Ireland, that has been residing under Western Australia for millions of years and impacting the region's geological evolution.

It might be able to offer hints as to how life became possible on our planet after it was once uninhabitable. The vast area of crust, which first arose as one of the planet's first protocrust formations and survived many mountain-building processes, is believed to have had a significant impact on the development of rocks as old components were mixed with fresh.

Geology PhD student and lead author Maximilian Droellner, from Curtin University in Australia said that many areas around the world experienced a similar timing of early crust creation and preservation when comparing our findings to available data. The waning of meteorite bombardment, the stabilisation of the crust, and the emergence of life on Earth around 4 billion years ago all point to a profound transition in the evolution of Earth.