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The climate of early Earth was no day at the beach, with stinging acid rains and an intensely warm surface, a new study suggests. These harsh conditions could explain why geologists today have found no rocks more than 4 billion years old: They were all weathered away.
The fate of all those rocks from the first 500 million years after Earth formed has been a longstanding question in geology. Scientists have floated various explanations for the missing rocks, including destruction by barrages of meteorites and the possibility that the early Earth was a sea of red-hot magma in which no rocks could form.
The analysis in the new study suggests a different scenario.
Clues from oldest crystals.
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The fate of all those rocks from the first 500 million years after Earth formed has been a longstanding question in geology. Scientists have floated various explanations for the missing rocks, including destruction by barrages of meteorites and the possibility that the early Earth was a sea of red-hot magma in which no rocks could form.
The analysis in the new study suggests a different scenario.
Clues from oldest crystals.
Premium Link Upgrade
