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46-677: The Thompson Belt , also referred to as the Thompson Nickel Belt , is an Archean and early Proterozoic geologic feature in Manitoba , Canada . It contains gneiss related to deformation of the Trans-Hudson orogeny . This article about a specific Canadian geological feature is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Archean The Archean Eon ( IPA : / ɑːr ˈ k iː ə n / ar- KEE -ən , also spelled Archaean or Archæan ), in older sources sometimes called

92-463: A feature in later, more oxic oceans. Despite the lack of free oxygen, the rate of organic carbon burial appears to have been roughly the same as in the present. Due to extremely low oxygen levels, sulphate was rare in the Archean ocean, and sulphides were produced primarily through reduction of organically sourced sulphite or through mineralisation of compounds containing reduced sulphur. The Archean ocean

138-586: A hotter mantle, rheologically weaker plates, and increased tensile stresses on subducting plates due to their crustal material metamorphosing from basalt into eclogite as they sank. There are well-preserved sedimentary basins , and evidence of volcanic arcs , intracontinental rifts , continent-continent collisions and widespread globe-spanning orogenic events suggesting the assembly and destruction of one and perhaps several supercontinents . Evidence from banded iron formations, chert beds, chemical sediments and pillow basalts demonstrates that liquid water

184-456: A sample of iron–nickel alloy was subjected to the core-like pressure by gripping it in a vise between 2 diamond tips ( diamond anvil cell ), and then heating to approximately 4000 K. The sample was observed with x-rays, and strongly supported the theory that Earth's inner core was made of giant crystals running north to south. The composition of Earth bears strong similarities to that of certain chondrite meteorites, and even to some elements in

230-546: Is a distinct change of seismic wave velocity. This is caused by a change in the rock's density – immediately above the Moho, the velocities of primary seismic waves ( P wave ) are consistent with those through basalt (6.7–7.2 km/s), and below they are similar to those through peridotite or dunite (7.6–8.6 km/s). Second, in oceanic crust, there is a chemical discontinuity between ultramafic cumulates and tectonized harzburgites , which has been observed from deep parts of

276-499: Is about 6 × 10  kg . The average density of Earth is 5.515  g/cm . The structure of Earth can be defined in two ways: by mechanical properties such as rheology , or chemically. Mechanically, it can be divided into lithosphere , asthenosphere , mesospheric mantle , outer core , and the inner core . Chemically, Earth can be divided into the crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core. The geologic component layers of Earth are at increasing depths below

322-468: Is composed of silicate rocks richer in iron and magnesium than the overlying crust. Although solid, the mantle's extremely hot silicate material can flow over very long timescales. Convection of the mantle propels the motion of the tectonic plates in the crust. The source of heat that drives this motion is the decay of radioactive isotopes in Earth's crust and mantle combined with the initial heat from

368-453: Is estimated to measure 2.5 milliteslas (25 gauss), 50 times stronger than the magnetic field at the surface. The magnetic field generated by core flow is essential to protect life from interplanetary radiation and prevent the atmosphere from dissipating in the solar wind . The rate of cooling by conduction and convection is uncertain, but one estimate is that the core would not be expected to freeze up for approximately 91 billion years, which

414-477: Is evidenced by certain highly deformed gneisses produced by metamorphism of sedimentary protoliths . The moderate temperatures may reflect the presence of greater amounts of greenhouse gases than later in the Earth's history. Extensive abiotic denitrification took place on the Archean Earth, pumping the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Alternatively, Earth's albedo may have been lower at

460-512: Is generally composed primarily of iron and some nickel. Since this layer is able to transmit shear waves (transverse seismic waves), it must be solid. Experimental evidence has at times been inconsistent with current crystal models of the core. Other experimental studies show a discrepancy under high pressure: diamond anvil (static) studies at core pressures yield melting temperatures that are approximately 2000 K below those from shock laser (dynamic) studies. The laser studies create plasma, and

506-509: Is that rocks from western Australia and southern Africa were assembled in a continent called Vaalbara as far back as 3,600 Ma. Archean rock makes up only about 8% of Earth's present-day continental crust; the rest of the Archean continents have been recycled. By the Neoarchean , plate tectonic activity may have been similar to that of the modern Earth, although there was a significantly greater occurrence of slab detachment resulting from

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552-404: Is the age of the oldest known intact rock formations on Earth. Evidence of rocks from the preceding Hadean Eon are therefore restricted by definition to non-rock and non-terrestrial sources such as individual mineral grains and lunar samples. When the Archean began, the Earth's heat flow was nearly three times as high as it is today, and it was still twice the current level at the transition from

598-470: Is thought to have almost completely lacked free oxygen ; oxygen levels were less than 0.001% of their present atmospheric level, with some analyses suggesting they were as low as 0.00001% of modern levels. However, transient episodes of heightened oxygen concentrations are known from this eon around 2,980–2,960 Ma, 2,700 Ma, and 2,501 Ma. The pulses of increased oxygenation at 2,700 and 2,501 Ma have both been considered by some as potential start points of

644-563: Is well after the Sun is expected to expand, sterilize the surface of the planet, and then burn out. The layering of Earth has been inferred indirectly using the time of travel of refracted and reflected seismic waves created by earthquakes. The core does not allow shear waves to pass through it, while the speed of travel ( seismic velocity ) is different in other layers. The changes in seismic velocity between different layers causes refraction owing to Snell's law , like light bending as it passes through

690-572: The Archaeozoic , is the second of the four geologic eons of Earth 's history , preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozoic . The Archean represents the time period from 4,031 to 2,500 Mya (million years ago). The Late Heavy Bombardment is hypothesized to overlap with the beginning of the Archean. The Huronian glaciation occurred at the end of the eon. The Earth during

736-607: The Great Oxygenation Event , which most scholars consider to have begun in the Palaeoproterozoic ( c.  2.4 Ga ). Furthermore, oases of relatively high oxygen levels existed in some nearshore shallow marine settings by the Mesoarchean. The ocean was broadly reducing and lacked any persistent redoxcline , a water layer between oxygenated and anoxic layers with a strong redox gradient, which would become

782-433: The crust . The core is thus believed to largely be composed of iron (80%), along with nickel and one or more light elements, whereas other dense elements, such as lead and uranium , either are too rare to be significant or tend to bind to lighter elements and thus remain in the crust (see felsic materials ). Some have argued that the inner core may be in the form of a single iron crystal . Under laboratory conditions

828-405: The prebiotic atmosphere was a reducing atmosphere rich in methane and lacking free oxygen . The earliest known life , mostly represented by shallow-water microbial mats called stromatolites , started in the Archean and remained simple prokaryotes ( archaea and bacteria ) throughout the eon. The earliest photosynthetic processes, especially those by early cyanobacteria , appeared in

874-511: The Archean and become common late in the Archean. Cyanobacteria were instrumental in creating free oxygen in the atmosphere. Further evidence for early life is found in 3.47 billion-year-old baryte , in the Warrawoona Group of Western Australia. This mineral shows sulfur fractionation of as much as 21.1%, which is evidence of sulfate-reducing bacteria that metabolize sulfur-32 more readily than sulfur-34. Evidence of life in

920-528: The Archean spanned Earth's early history from its formation about 4,540 million years ago until 2,500 million years ago. Instead of being based on stratigraphy , the beginning and end of the Archean Eon are defined chronometrically . The eon's lower boundary or starting point of 4,031±3 million years ago is officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy , which

966-509: The Archean to the Proterozoic (2,500  Ma ). The extra heat was partly remnant heat from planetary accretion , from the formation of the metallic core , and partly arose from the decay of radioactive elements. As a result, the Earth's mantle was significantly hotter than today. Although a few mineral grains have survived from the Hadean , the oldest rock formations exposed on the surface of

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1012-404: The Archean was mostly a water world : there was continental crust , but much of it was under an ocean deeper than today's oceans. Except for some rare relict crystals , today's oldest continental crust dates back to the Archean. Much of the geological detail of the Archean has been destroyed by subsequent activity. The Earth's atmosphere was also vastly different in composition from today's:

1058-455: The Archean without leaving any. Fossil steranes , indicative of eukaryotes, have been reported from Archean strata but were shown to derive from contamination with younger organic matter. No fossil evidence has been discovered for ultramicroscopic intracellular replicators such as viruses . Fossilized microbes from terrestrial microbial mats show that life was already established on land 3.22 billion years ago. Structure of

1104-515: The Archean, the conditions necessary to sustain life could not have occurred until the Archean Eon. Life in the Archean was limited to simple single-celled organisms (lacking nuclei), called prokaryotes . In addition to the domain Bacteria , microfossils of the domain Archaea have also been identified. There are no known eukaryotic fossils from the earliest Archean, though they might have evolved during

1150-587: The Earth Scientific understanding of the internal structure of Earth is based on observations of topography and bathymetry , observations of rock in outcrop , samples brought to the surface from greater depths by volcanoes or volcanic activity, analysis of the seismic waves that pass through Earth, measurements of the gravitational and magnetic fields of Earth, and experiments with crystalline solids at pressures and temperatures characteristic of Earth's deep interior. Note: In chondrite model (1),

1196-1028: The Earth are Archean. Archean rocks are found in Greenland , Siberia , the Canadian Shield , Montana , Wyoming (exposed parts of the Wyoming Craton ), Minnesota (Minnesota River Valley), the Baltic Shield , the Rhodope Massif , Scotland , India , Brazil , western Australia , and southern Africa . Granitic rocks predominate throughout the crystalline remnants of the surviving Archean crust. These include great melt sheets and voluminous plutonic masses of granite , diorite , layered intrusions , anorthosites and monzonites known as sanukitoids . Archean rocks are often heavily metamorphized deep-water sediments, such as graywackes , mudstones , volcanic sediments, and banded iron formations . Volcanic activity

1242-464: The Late Hadean is more controversial. In 2015, biogenic carbon was detected in zircons dated to 4.1 billion years ago, but this evidence is preliminary and needs validation. Earth was very hostile to life before 4,300 to 4,200 Ma, and the conclusion is that before the Archean Eon, life as we know it would have been challenged by these environmental conditions. While life could have arisen before

1288-474: The alloy portion that corresponds to the core of Earth. Dynamo theory suggests that convection in the outer core, combined with the Coriolis effect , gives rise to Earth's magnetic field . The solid inner core is too hot to hold a permanent magnetic field (see Curie temperature ) but probably acts to stabilize the magnetic field generated by the liquid outer core. The average magnetic field in Earth's outer core

1334-502: The crust fall into two major categories – sial (aluminium silicate) and sima (magnesium silicate). It is estimated that sima starts about 11 km below the Conrad discontinuity , though the discontinuity is not distinct and can be absent in some continental regions. Earth's lithosphere consists of the crust and the uppermost mantle . The crust-mantle boundary occurs as two physically different phenomena. The Mohorovičić discontinuity

1380-463: The inner core and outer core is located approximately 5,150 km (3,200 mi) beneath Earth's surface. Earth's inner core is the innermost geologic layer of the planet Earth . It is primarily a solid ball with a radius of about 1,220 km (760 mi), which is about 19% of Earth's radius [0.7% of volume] or 70% of the Moon 's radius. The inner core was discovered in 1936 by Inge Lehmann and

1426-515: The light element in the core is assumed to be Si. Chondrite model (2) is a model of chemical composition of the mantle corresponding to the model of core shown in chondrite model (1). Measurements of the force exerted by Earth's gravity can be used to calculate its mass . Astronomers can also calculate Earth's mass by observing the motion of orbiting satellites . Earth's average density can be determined through gravimetric experiments, which have historically involved pendulums . The mass of Earth

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1472-412: The metamorphosed sediments represent deep-sea sediments eroded from the neighboring island arcs and deposited in a forearc basin. Greenstone belts, which include both types of metamorphosed rock, represent sutures between the protocontinents. Plate tectonics likely started vigorously in the Hadean , but slowed down in the Archean. The slowing of plate tectonics was probably due to an increase in

1518-555: The mid/late Archean and led to a permanent chemical change in the ocean and the atmosphere after the Archean. The word Archean is derived from the Greek word arkhē ( αρχή ), meaning 'beginning, origin'. The Pre-Cambrian had been believed to be without life (azoic); however, fossils were found in deposits that were judged to belong to the Azoic age . Before the Hadean Eon was recognized,

1564-423: The oceanic crust that have been obducted onto the continental crust and preserved as ophiolite sequences . Many rocks making up Earth's crust formed less than 100 million years ago; however, the oldest known mineral grains are about 4.4 billion years old, indicating that Earth has had a solid crust for at least 4.4 billion years. Earth's mantle extends to a depth of 2,890 km (1,800 mi), making it

1610-427: The outer portion of the Sun. Beginning as early as 1940, scientists, including Francis Birch , built geophysics upon the premise that Earth is like ordinary chondrites, the most common type of meteorite observed impacting Earth. This ignores the less abundant enstatite chondrites, which formed under extremely limited available oxygen, leading to certain normally oxyphile elements existing either partially or wholly in

1656-457: The oxygen isotope record by enriching seawater with isotopically light oxygen. Due to recycling and metamorphosis of the Archean crust, there is a lack of extensive geological evidence for specific continents. One hypothesis is that rocks that are now in India, western Australia, and southern Africa formed a continent called Ur as of 3,100 Ma. Another hypothesis, which conflicts with the first,

1702-430: The planet's formation (from the potential energy released by collapsing a large amount of matter into a gravity well , and the kinetic energy of accreted matter). Due to increasing pressure deeper in the mantle, the lower part flows less easily, though chemical changes within the mantle may also be important. The viscosity of the mantle ranges between 10 and 10 pascal-second , increasing with depth. In comparison,

1748-475: The planet's thickest layer. [This is 45% of the 6,371 km (3,959 mi) radius, and 83.7% of the volume - 0.6% of the volume is the crust]. The mantle is divided into upper and lower mantle separated by a transition zone . The lowest part of the mantle next to the core-mantle boundary is known as the D″ (D-double-prime) layer. The pressure at the bottom of the mantle is ≈140 G Pa (1.4 M atm ). The mantle

1794-466: The results are suggestive that constraining inner core conditions will depend on whether the inner core is a solid or is a plasma with the density of a solid. This is an area of active research. In early stages of Earth's formation about 4.6 billion years ago, melting would have caused denser substances to sink toward the center in a process called planetary differentiation (see also the iron catastrophe ), while less-dense materials would have migrated to

1840-465: The surface. Earth's crust ranges from 5 to 70 kilometres (3.1–43.5 mi) in depth and is the outermost layer. The thin parts are the oceanic crust , which underlies the ocean basins (5–10 km) and is mafic -rich (dense iron-magnesium silicate mineral or igneous rock ). The thicker crust is the continental crust , which is less dense and is felsic -rich (igneous rocks rich in elements that form feldspar and quartz ). The rocks of

1886-837: The time, due to less land area and cloud cover. The processes that gave rise to life on Earth are not completely understood, but there is substantial evidence that life came into existence either near the end of the Hadean Eon or early in the Archean Eon. The earliest evidence for life on Earth is graphite of biogenic origin found in 3.7 billion–year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland . The earliest identifiable fossils consist of stromatolites , which are microbial mats formed in shallow water by cyanobacteria . The earliest stromatolites are found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia . Stromatolites are found throughout

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1932-455: The viscosity of the mantle due to outgassing of its water. Plate tectonics likely produced large amounts of continental crust, but the deep oceans of the Archean probably covered the continents entirely. Only at the end of the Archean did the continents likely emerge from the ocean. The emergence of continents towards the end of the Archaean initiated continental weathering that left its mark on

1978-574: The viscosity of water at 300 K (27 °C; 80 °F) is 0.89 millipascal-second and pitch is (2.3 ± 0.5) × 10 pascal-second. Earth's outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) in height (i.e. distance from the highest point to the lowest point at the edge of the inner core) [36% of the Earth's radius, 15.6% of the volume] and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle . Its outer boundary lies 2,890 km (1,800 mi) beneath Earth's surface. The transition between

2024-511: Was considerably higher than today, with numerous lava eruptions, including unusual types such as komatiite . Carbonate rocks are rare, indicating that the oceans were more acidic, due to dissolved carbon dioxide , than during the Proterozoic. Greenstone belts are typical Archean formations, consisting of alternating units of metamorphosed mafic igneous and sedimentary rocks, including Archean felsic volcanic rocks . The metamorphosed igneous rocks were derived from volcanic island arcs , while

2070-511: Was enriched in heavier oxygen isotopes relative to the modern ocean, though δ18O values decreased to levels comparable to those of modern oceans over the course of the later part of the eon as a result of increased continental weathering. Astronomers think that the Sun had about 75–80 percent of its present luminosity, yet temperatures on Earth appear to have been near modern levels only 500 million years after Earth's formation (the faint young Sun paradox ). The presence of liquid water

2116-575: Was prevalent and deep oceanic basins already existed. Asteroid impacts were frequent in the early Archean. Evidence from spherule layers suggests that impacts continued into the later Archean, at an average rate of about one impactor with a diameter greater than 10 kilometers (6 mi) every 15 million years. This is about the size of the Chicxulub impactor. These impacts would have been an important oxygen sink and would have caused drastic fluctuations of atmospheric oxygen levels. The Archean atmosphere

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