Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 09:31am on 28 Jun 2025,Saturday Weather & Environment
A new study published in Science reports that streaked grey volcanic rocks from Canada’s Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, along Hudson Bay in Quebec, are approximately 4.16 billion years old, making them potentially the oldest known intact rocks on Earth . Researchers used two independent radiometric dating methods (samarium-neodymium) that converged on the same age, resolving previous discrepancies ranging from 3.8 to 4.3 billion years . These pristine samples offer invaluable insight into the planet’s earliest crust formation, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and conditions conducive to early life . Located on tribal Inukjuak lands, the site is now protected, with plans for a provincial park to ensure ethical research and local collaboration. (PC: AP)
