Researchers have determined from stones in Canada that they are likely the oldest in the world. The stones on the northeastern coast of the country are at least 4.16 billion years old, making them 160 million years older than any other stones.
It has been known since 2008 that the stones on the so-called Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in Quebec are very old. Geologists then claimed that the rocks were 4.3 billion years old. That was disputed by other scientists.
The same geologists from the University of Ottawa say that their latest research confirms that the stones are at least 4.16 billion years old. Slightly younger than they previously claimed, but still very old. The rocks are said to have formed only a few hundred million years after the Earth was formed.
“It’s not a matter of ‘my stone is older than your stone,’ it’s simply a unique way to study that era,” says lead researcher Jonathan O’Neil.
The stones date from the Hadean, the first geological era of the Earth. It would mean that they were part of what can be called the first earth crust. The earth is now in its fourth geological era, the Phanerozoic.
