Credit: Curtin University Curtin University's Dr. Hugo Olierook with a rock from the Jack Hills in Western Australia, which contained the zircon crystals analyzed in this research. Credit: Curtin UniversityNew Curtin-led research has found evidence that fresh water on Earth, which is essential for life, appeared about 4 billion years ago—5 hundred million years earlier than previously thought. Such light oxygen isotopes are typically the result of hot, fresh water altering rocks several kilometers below Earth's surface. "Evidence of fresh water this deep inside Earth challenges the existing theory that Earth was completely covered by ocean 4 billion years ago." Study co-author Dr. Hugo Olierook, from Curtin University's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said the discovery was crucial for understanding how Earth formed and how life emerged.

Source: The Nation June 03, 2024 15:05 UTC