Scientists say they have identified Earth’s oldest rocks. It could reveal an unknown chapter in our planet’s history
A rocky outcrop in a remote corner of northern Quebec appears serene in its eerie isolation on the eastern shore of Canada’s Hudson Bay.But over the past two decades, this exposed remnant of ancient ocean floor, known as the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, has been a heated scientific battleground in the quest to identify Earth’s oldest rock.
New research suggests that the geological site harbors the oldest known surviving fragments of Earth’s crust, dating back to 4.16 billion years ago. It’s the only rock determined to be from the first of four geological eons in our planet’s history: the Hadean, which began 4.6 billion years ago when the world was hot, turbulent and hell-like.
“Rocks are books for geologists … and right now we’re missing the book (on the Hadean). The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt would be at least one page of that book, so that’s why it’s so important,” said geologist Jonathan O’Neil, author of the research published Thursday in the journal Science.