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Earth's original building blocks discovered in diamond-bearing rocks by Staff Writers Edmonton, Canada (SPX) Oct 18, 2019
Scientists have detected primordial chemical signatures preserved within modern kimberlites, according to new research by a multi-national team involving a University of Alberta scientist. The results provide critical insight for understanding the formation of Earth. "Knowing the chemical signature of Earth's original building blocks is the holy grail of geochemistry," said Graham Pearson, author on the study. "This knowledge can help us understand the formation of the planets in the solar system as well as their relationship to each other." The research team analyzed kimberlites - a type of rock formed by cooling magma that sometimes carries diamonds - from around the world, including many from Canada. "We found that kimberlites' chemical signatures are remarkably uniform and very like the chondritic building blocks thought to have formed the Earth 4.55 billion years ago," added Pearson, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Henry Marshall Tory Chair, and Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate. "We think this is the cleanest signal of this primordial signature found in any group of rocks on Earth."
Never-ending cycle The discovery of these ancient, primordial signatures suggest that reflect the melting of deep, isolated regions of pristine material within the Earth that have remained untouched by billions of years of tectonic plate recycling - revealing a glimpse of the holy grail that will shed new light on how Earth, and planets like it, formed.
Grand ideas, global reverberations: Grand Canyon at its 6 millionth anniversary Phoenix AZ (SPX) Oct 17, 2019 Etched onto the steep walls of Arizona's 6,000-foot-deep, 277-mile-long Grand Canyon are clues that chronicle the sweeping changes the region has experienced during the past two billion years. The canyon's colorful layers narrate tales of ancient environments come and gone, from lofty mountain ranges and tropical seas to a Saharan-scale desert that once stretched across much of western North America. The Grand Canyon was carved by the Colorado River, a ribbon of life-giving water that flows throug ... read more
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