VolcanoesSpitOut4.

5BillionYearOld
PiecesofEarth
ByLauraGeggel,SeniorWriter|May13,201607:19amET

Canada'sBaffinIsland,whereresearchersfoundthegeochemicalsignatureof
materialleftoverfromEarth'searlydevelopment,about4.5billionyearsago.
Credit:CourtesyofDonFrancis|McGillUniversity
MaterialsfromEarth'smantlethatwerecreatedwithinthefirst50millionyearsofthe
solarsystem'sbirthhavebeendiscovered.

Infact,thematerialfoundwithinvolcanicrockonCanada'sBaffinIslandandina
regionneartheSolomonIslandsintheSouthPacificisabout4.5billionyearsold,
researcherssaidinanewstudy.

"Thefactthatthesematerialshavesurvivedthrough4.5billionyearsofdynamicEarth
activitytellsussomethingaboutthenatureandlimitsofmotioninEarth'sinterior,the
sourceofflood[volcanic]basalteventsandeventuallyabouttheprocessesthatformed
theEarth,"saidstudycoresearcherRichardCarlson,directoroftheDepartmentof
TerrestrialMagnetismattheCarnegieInstitutionforScienceinWashington,D.C.[Photo
Timeline:HowtheEarthFormed]

TheEarth,whichformedbetween4.5billionand4.6billionyearsago,tookshapeas
mattersurroundingtheyoungsunbegantoclumptogether.Theheatofthismatter
comingtogethermadethedevelopingorbmelt,andEarthsoonseparatedintotwomain
layers:anironmetalcoreontheinsideandasilicaterichmantleontheoutside.

Foryears,researchersthoughtthattheearlymantlehadbeendestroyedasitmelted
andmixedintoother,newerrock.Butnow,newchemicalanalysesshowthatsomeofit
survivedinrockformationscalledfloodbasalts,whichwerecreatedbyenormouslava
eruptions.

BaffinIslandishometo
4.5millionyearoldplanetary
material.
Credit:CourtesyofDonFrancis
McGillUniversity
Theselavarocksareonly60
millionto120millionyearsold,
butsomeofthematerialwithin
themcontainspiecesoftheearlymantle,theresearchersfound.

Toinvestigate,theresearcherslookedatdifferentisotopeswithintheancientlavaflows.
(Isotopesarevariationsofanelementthathavedifferentnumbersofneutrons.)In
particular,theylookedatisotopesoftungsten,anelementthat'scommonlyusedinthe
filamentsofincandescentlightbulbs.

Tungstenhasespeciallyusefulisotopes,theresearcherssaid.Whenanisotopeofthe
elementhafnium(hafnium182)undergoesradioactivedecay(thatis,givesoff
radiation),itcreatestungsten182.Hafnium182wentextinctwithinlessthan50million
yearsaftertheformationofthesolarsystem,about4.567billionyearsago,Carlson
said.

Moreover,ittakesabout9millionyearsforhafnium182todecayintotungsten182,
makingitagoodmeasureofextremelyoldrocks,Carlsonsaid.

Aftermuchresearch,theteamfoundbasaltonBaffinIslandfroma60millionyearold
volcaniceruption,andbasaltontheOntongJavaPlateau(justnorthoftheSolomon
Islands)fromanapproximately120millionyearoldvolcaniceruption.Bothofthese
basaltshadslightlymoretungsten182thanyoungervolcanicrocks,theyfound.[In
Photos:TheWorld'sOldestLivingThings]

Theresearcherswereabletomeasurethesesmalldifferencesintungsten182thanks
toimprovementsmadetomassspectrometers,toolsthatcanmeasurethemassofan
element.(Becauseisotopeshaveadifferentnumberofneutrons,eachisotopehasa
uniquemassthatthemassspectrometercandetect.)

"Wehaveonlyhadtheabilitytodothisforaboutadecade,"CarlsontoldLiveScience
inanemail."Andinthatdecade,wearegettingamuchclearerpictureoftheevents
thatoccurredoverthefirsttenstohundredsofmillionsofyearsofEarthhistory."