Rock of ages: what this geological site in Canada is telling researchers about Earth’s history

A barren, wind-scoured strip of rock along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in northern Quebec is forcing scientists to rethink what we know about the Earth’s beginnings. This isolated formation, called the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, might be the oldest surviving piece of Earth’s crust ever found, clocking in at 4.16 billion years old.

That puts it in the Hadean eon – Earth’s chaotic infancy, when the planet’s surface simmered with volcanic fury and asteroid impacts were frequent enough to ruin any early landscaping efforts.

Debate over Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt age ended?

Until recently, geologists argued over the belt’s true age, with previous estimates ranging from 3.75 to 4.3 billion years. Part of the issue was the lack of zircon, the hardy mineral often used for dating ancient rocks. So Jonathan O’Neil and his team turned to samarium and neodymium isotopes – elements better suited for this kind of geological detective work. Two isotope systems gave matching ages, strengthening the case that this rock is genuinely from the Hadean.

What was previously the oldest part?

If confirmed, it would make the Nuvvuagittuq belt the oldest known chunk of Earth’s crust, edging out the Acasta Gneiss formation in the Northwest Territories (4.03 billion years old). That might sound like hair-splitting, but when you’re talking about the first 500 million years of Earth’s 4.6 billion-year existence, even a few hundred million years matter.

Researchers believe the site was once ancient oceanic crust, transformed under immense heat and pressure. And that’s where it gets even more interesting – nearby sedimentary rocks contain structures that may be microfossils, hinting that life began not long after Earth itself.

Not everyone’s fully convinced, but the evidence is stacking up. One thing’s certain: this rocky outcrop may be one of the last living witnesses of Earth’s earliest chapter.

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