Zircon Archives

Hadean Earth - Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Ancient Rocks Reveal Evidence Of The First Continents And Crust Recycling Processes On Earth

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2026March 3, 2026

New research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has uncovered chemical signatures in zircons, the planet’s oldest minerals, that are consistent with subduction and extensive continental crust during […]

The noble gas laboratory in Cologne used to analyse the crypton for the study. Credit Tibor Dunai - University of Cologne

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

Cosmogenic Krypton Enables Reconstruction Of Landscapes Millions Of Years Old

by Keith CowingJanuary 15, 2026January 15, 2026

An international research team involving the University of Cologne has found a new way to reconstruct how landscapes developed tens of millions of years ago and how long sediments remained […]

An artistic reconstruction of Earth during the Hadean eon (~4.5 billion years ago). Intense volcanic activity, heat from accretion, and frequent impacts kept the young Earth in a molten state. This fiery landscape set the stage for the earliest formation of the crust and the eventual emergence of stable continents. Credit ©Science China Press

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Uncovering The Rock Record Of Earth’s Earliest Continental Crust

by Keith CowingJuly 14, 2025July 14, 2025

This study was led by Professor Jia Liu and Professor Qunke Xia from the School of Earth Sciences at Zhejiang University; researchers have taken a major step toward uncovering Earth’s […]

A radar image showing the Gamburtsev mountain range under layers of ice. Creyts et al., Geophysical Research Letters (2014), CC BY-SA

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Recon: Antarctica Has A Huge, Completely Hidden Mountain Range

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2025May 14, 2025

Have you ever imagined what Antarctica looks like beneath its thick blanket of ice? Hidden below are rugged mountains, valleys, hills and plains.

Snowball Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Neoproterozoic Glacial Broom

by Keith CowingMarch 10, 2025March 9, 2025

Neoproterozoic snowball Earth events reflect globally frigid conditions thought to have stimulated changes in geochemical cycling with planetary biotic response. We investigated the impact of these events on sediment dynamics, […]

One exposed outcrop of the formation, found on Scottish islands called the Garvellachs, is unique as it shows the transition into “snowball Earth” from a previously warm, tropical environment.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Scottish And Irish Rocks Confirmed As Being A Rare Record Of Snowball Earth

by Keith CowingAugust 17, 2024August 17, 2024

The study, published in the Journal of the Geological Society of London, found that the Port Askaig Formation, composed of layers of rock up to 1.1km thick, was likely laid […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Fresh Findings: Earliest Evidence Of Life-bringing Freshwater On Earth

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2024June 5, 2024

New Curtin-led research has found evidence that fresh water on Earth, which is essential for life, appeared about four billion years ago – five hundred million years earlier than previously […]

Billions of years ago, a version of our Earth that looks very different than the one we live on today was hit by an object about the size of Mars, called Theia – and out of that collision the Moon was formed. -- NASA (larger image)

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Impact events, Moon, Status Report

A Giant Impact Origin For The First Subduction on Earth

by Keith CowingMay 8, 2024May 8, 2024

Hadean zircons provide a potential record of Earth’s earliest subduction 4.3 billion years ago. It remains enigmatic how subduction could be initiated so soon after the presumably Moon-forming giant impact […]

Photograph of the Ediacaran biota from the Llangynog Inlier. Ediacaria-type morph of Aspidella s.l. -- Journal of the Geological Society

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

A Key Moment In The Evolution Of Life On Earth Captured In Fossils

by Keith CowingJanuary 16, 2024January 16, 2024

Curtin-led research has for the first time precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history […]

Flowchart of the procedure used for Lu-Hf analysis of extraterrestrial zircons. 1. The zircons are thermally annealed and then subjected to chemical abrasion2, 69. Two leachates (L1 and L2) and one residue (R) solutions are retrieved for further processing. The solutions are passed on chromatography columns filled with AG1-X8 resin to separate U+Pb from a solution containing Lu, Hf, Zr, and other trace elements. The U+Pb elutions are analyzed using a Phoenix TIMS at Princeton University. The solution containing Lu, Hf, Zr, and other trace elements is split into two, with 30% used for Lu/Hf determination using an iCAP at Princeton University, and 70% used for Hf purification and Hf isotopic analysis at the Origins Lab of the University of Chicago. 2. The "Lu, Hf, Zr" 70% split solution is passed on a column filled with TODGA resin 52, 53 to separate Zr+Hf from most other elements. 3. The Zr+Hf cut is passed on a second column filled with LnSpec resin (Fig. 2) to separate Hf from Zr 27, 50. 4. The isotopic composition of purified Hf is analyzed with a Neptune MC-ICP-MS at the University of Chicago. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Status Report

Methodologies for 176Lu-176Hf Analysis of Zircon Grains from the Moon and Beyond

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2023

Zircons are found in extraterrestrial rocks from the Moon, Mars, and some differentiated meteorite parent-bodies. These zircons are rare, often of small size, and have been affected by neutron capture […]