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The oldest hole in the world was found in Bilbara, western Australia. | Credit: Tim Johnson/Cortin University
Geologists have discovered the oldest known effect hole in the world. He sits in the heart of the old Bilbara region in western Australia.
An analysis of the rock layers in the region indicates a hole of at least 62 miles (100 km) that was carved after the large Earth’s space rock struck about 3.47 billion years ago, when our planet was completely covered with water. The discovery pays the record for the oldest hole on the ground for more than a billion years – the previous record holder, Jesus The structure of the effect, is also in western Australia.
“Looking at the rare extent of such evidence [Earth’s] “Geological recycling, this is a major penetration in the early land understanding,” said this geological recycling, and this is a major penetration in the early understanding of the Earth, “said Chris Kurkland from the University of Kurtin in Australia, who led this discovery, to Space.com.
The researchers estimate the rock of the space responsible for the hole, which was traveling at a speed of 36,000 km per hour, with the debris of a collision spread throughout the planet. Despite its global influence, the event was not just a devastating power, according to Kurchland. He said that the hole that I left had played a decisive role in promoting early life and thus providing an insight into how life arose on our planet.
It is known that the high pressure from the shock waves issued in the wake of the traces of the meteorite Change minerals within rocksSometimes it is converted into transparent glass. In principle, this provides more sunlight to penetrate the cracks that break the rocks, creating the physical and chemical conditions needed for early life to flourish. As Kurchland explains, the effects of the meteorite also lead to the formation of a mineral -rich water pools that could have been an blown to early microbial life, which enhances the conditions needed for life as we know it.
In May 2021, a little more than an hour after its arrival around an area in the Bilbara area called the Northern Dome, Kirkland and its colleagues Specific evidence For the hole: the distinctive rocks that resemble the inverted feather shutters, with the peaks that came out, known to scientists as “destroying cone.” Kurchland said that the presence of these cottage -like structures, which are exceptionally well -preserved and extending to several hundred meters, “is a direct and frankly evidence of an old event.” “to set [these] The destroying cone was really great. “
The researchers returned to the region to obtain more detailed field work in May last year, and after that, the geological survey of Western Australia is due to the rock layers above and under the discovered cones. The classes were estimated at 3.47 billion years, confirming the hole as the largest in the world. If future field work confirmed that these cones are in Qatar, the Arctic Dome from 40 to 45 km (25 to 28 miles), this is lined with the size of the hole 62 miles (100 km) proposed by the new study.
“Their discovery in the northern dome confirmed what has been suspected long ago based on the evidence of isotope,” Kurchland told Space.com.
“Serendipity is a wonderful thing,” he and his team wrote in an article about Conversation. “As we know, unlike traditional owners, the people of Niamal, no geology has placed on these amazing features since their formation.”
However, not everyone is convinced of the estimated size of the modern CRATER and its importance in the progress of our understanding of early life on Earth. Mark Norman, an honorary colleague at the Faculty of Earth Sciences Research at the Australian National University, said, Australian broadcasting company The study lacks strong evidence regarding the size of this particular hole and how it is linked to the role of effects on the early Earth.
He said: “While the discovery of the old influence hole is interesting, it does not really advance to our understanding of how the effects of the effects on how to form the land and developed over billions of years.”
Kirkend said that, along with the effects of early life on our planet, the newly discovered hole hints to a population that does not exceed it from similar ancient excavations. This discovery “highlights the importance of re -examining ancient geological terrain to obtain evidence of early influence events.”
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The best opportunity to locate more ancient pits such as The Nenfound One is to search for shattered cones and similar features that would survive the geological activities that rotate the planet.
“The challenge lies in finding them, as most of them were destroyed or deeply buried,” Kurchland said.
This discovery is shown in a paper Published Thursday (March 6) in Nature Communications.
