Scientists have uncovered a massive fault in Australia’s Pilbara Craton, dating back 3 billion years, providing evidence of horizontal plate movement during that period. This discovery fuels the ongoing debate about the origins of plate tectonics and challenges the ‘stagnant lid’ hypothesis, which theorized a rigid outer crust on early Earth. The new findings suggest that plate tectonics may have been active even earlier, potentially dating back to the Hadean eon, over 4 billion years ago.
Results for: Pilbara Craton
A new study reveals that the world’s largest iron ore deposits in Western Australia formed during the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Columbia around 1.4 billion years ago. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the deposits’ age and provides insights into the formation of mineral wealth linked to tectonic events.