Earth's First Continents Sank Into The Planet Before Rising Up Again

Some of the oldest rocks in the world suggest that the first continents on Earth were unstable and sank back into the mantle before they reformed.

Some of the more puzzling characteristics of cratons, extremely old and stable parts of the lithoosphere, that have survived continental changes over the course of millions of years, could be explained by this.

New findings could help us understand Earth's geology over the next 4.5 billion years.

The rocks in the center of the continents are more than three billion years old, according to geologists.

The secret to how continents and the planet changed over time is held by them.

We have no idea how the continents formed. It seems clear that there must be a specific set of circumstances since no other planet in the solar system has anything like them.

Several lines of evidence show that the continents may have formed from the inside out. The formation mechanism of the cratons is a topic of intense debate.

The rigidity of the cratons has given them their stability compared to other parts of the lithoosphere. Their composition is not the same as the more recent lithoosphere, which is made up of a mix of materials and minerals.

Heterogeneity is suggestive of recycling and reworking.

The evolution of Earth during the first billion years of its existence was modeled by Capitanio and his team. They used a set of test simulations to figure out how sensitive their model was.

The first continental blocks were unstable and sank into the mantle. They were mixed in with the molten material.

It is possible for pieces to stay down there for a long time before floating back up.

The cratonic composition can be explained by the fact that some older rocks can stay in the mantle for a long time.

There are some pieces that are still down there waiting to be floated up.

There is a mechanism named 'MRR'. The team believes that it may have been a key component of the formation of the continents.

The emergence and ongoing existence of life on Earth is thought to be very important for figuring out how the continents formed.

The work is important in two ways.

Crypts are where important metals and other minerals are found and stored. They explain how the planets formed and changed in the past, including how the continents came to be, and how the atmosphere changed as a result of the planets' tectonics.

The research was published in a journal.