Molecular signatures in
ancient rocks show the microorganisms may have existed on Earth around 3.5 billion years ago, producing some of the greenhouse gases needed to stabilise the early Earth's climate.
Not exact matches
At the western edge of the rotunda, however, some
ancient rock - hewn tombs are still to be seen,
showing conclusively that the area was used as a burial ground before it was enclosed within the city wall.
What they discovered stunned them: The meteorites
showed evidence of
ancient magnetic fields similar to those of
rocks formed on Earth within the planet's magnetic field.
Ancient rocks and mountain ranges
show that the constant movement of Earth's crust has assembled and ripped apart supercontinents several times before, in a roughly half - billion - year cycle.
Their results, published online May 15 by Nature Geoscience, indicate that the carbon contained in such
ancient rocks should not be assumed to be as old as the
rocks, unless it can be
shown to have had the same metamorphic history as the host
rock.
FOSSILS Traces and preserved remains of
ancient life found within
rock layers Fossils
show Biodiversity How species have changed over time Correlation 4 Ways to tell the age of a
rock Absolute Dating All you need is a tiny sample of material (mineral, bone) no larger than a grain of rice.
Above: Installation view of the Smart's Asian art gallery,
showing ancient and contemporary works including Zhan Wang's Ornamental
Rock (1996).
Magnetic minerals aligned in
ancient rocks on continents also
showed that the continents have shifted relative to one another.