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Hadean zircons reveal crust recycling and continent formation more than 4 billion years ago
- February 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
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Parts of ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought. 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 Hadean Eon, more than 4 billion years ago.
Originally published at Phys.org