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Eoarchean

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Eoarchean
4031 ± 3 – 3600 Ma
Chronology
Etymology
Name formalityFormal
Alternate spelling(s)Eoarchaean
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unitEra
Stratigraphic unitErathem
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionTen oldest U-Pb zircon ages
Lower boundary GSSAAlong the Acasta River, Northwest Territories, Canada
65°10′26″N 115°33′14″W / 65.1738°N 115.5538°W / 65.1738; -115.5538
Lower GSSA ratified2023[1]
Upper boundary definitionDefined Chronometrically
Upper GSSA ratified1991[citation needed]
Eoarchaean (3.8 b.y.) Greenlandite specimen (fuchsite-quartz gneiss), Nuup Kangerlua, Greenland.
Garnet paragneiss, Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt, Canada. 4.28 Ga old: the oldest known Earth rock of which direct samples are available.

The Eoarchean (IPA: /ˌiːoʊ.ɑːrˈkiːən/ EE-oh-ar-KEE-ən; also spelled Eoarchaean) is the first era of the Archean Eon of the geologic record. It spans 431 million years, from the end of the Hadean Eon 4031 Mya to the start of the Paleoarchean Era 3600 Mya. Some estimates place the beginnings of life on Earth in this era, while others[2] place it earlier. Evidence of archaea and cyanobacteria date to 3500 Mya, comparatively shortly after the Eoarchean. At that time, the atmosphere was without oxygen and the pressure values ranged from 10 to 100 bar (around 10 to 100 times the atmospheric pressure today).[3][4][5]

Chronology

The Eoarchean Era was formerly officially unnamed and informally referred to as the first part of the Early Archean Eon (which is now an obsolete name) alongside the Paleoarchean Era.

The International Commission on Stratigraphy now officially recognizes the Eoarchean Era as the first part of the Archaean Eon, preceded by the Hadean Eon, during which the Earth is believed to have been essentially molten.

The Eoarchaean's lower boundary or starting point of 4.031 Gya (4031 million years ago) is officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.[6]

The name comes from two Greek words: eos (dawn) and Archaios (ancient). The first supercontinent candidate Vaalbara appeared around the end of this period at about 3,600 million years ago.

Geology

Main article: Eoarchean geology

The beginning of the Eoarchean is characterized by heavy asteroid bombardment within the Inner Solar System: the Late Heavy Bombardment. The largest Eoarchean rock formation is the Isua Greenstone Belt on the south-west coast of Greenland, which dates from 3.8 billion years. The Acasta Gneiss within the Canadian Shield have been dated to be 4,031 Ma and are therefore the oldest preserved rock formations. In 2008, another rock formation was discovered in the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in northern Québec, Canada, which has been dated to be 4,280 million years ago.[7] These formations are presently under intense investigation.[clarification needed][8] Oxygen isotope ratios show that the hydrological cycle had begun by the early Eoarchaean and possibly earlier.[9] Carbonate precipitation (caused by heating of sea water by hydrothermal vents) acted as an important sink regulating the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during this era.[10]

Atmosphere

3,850 million years old apatite from Greenland shows evidence of Carbon-12 enrichment. This has sparked a debate whether there might have been photosynthetic life before 3.8 billion years ago.[11][needs update?]

Proposed subdivisions

  • Eoarchean Era — 4031–3600 Mya
    • Acastan Period — 4031–3810 Mya
    • Isuan Period — 3810–3600 Mya[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point". International Commission of Stratigraphy. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  2. ^ Moody, Edmund; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Mahendrarajah, Tara (12 July 2024). "The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system". Nat. Ecol. Evol. doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02461-1. PMC 11383801. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  3. ^ Mulkidjanian, Armen Y. (August 2009). "On the origin of life in the zinc world: 1. Photosynthesizing, porous edifices built of hydrothermally precipitated zinc sulfide as cradles of life on Earth". Biol. Direct. 4: 26–. doi:10.1186/1745-6150-4-26. PMC 3152778. PMID 19703272.
  4. ^ Mulkidjanian, A. Y.; Bychkov, A. Y.; Dibrova, D. V.; Galperin, M. Y.; Koonin, E. V. (2012). "Origin of first cells at terrestrial, anoxic geothermal fields". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 109 (14): E821–30. Bibcode:2012PNAS..109E.821M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1117774109. PMC 3325685. PMID 22331915.
  5. ^ Mulkidjanian, A. Y. (2011). "Energetics of the First Life". In Egel, R.; Lankenau, D.-H.; Mulkidjanian, A. Y. (eds.). Origins of Life: The Primal Self-Organization. Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. pp. 3–33. ISBN 978-3-642-21625-1.
  6. ^ "International Chronostratigraphic Chart v.2023/09" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. September 2023. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  7. ^ O'Neil, J.; Carlson, R. W.; Francis, D.; Stevenson, R. K. (2008). "Neodymium-142 Evidence for Hadean Mafic Crust". Science. 321 (5897): 1828–1831. Bibcode:2008Sci...321.1828O. doi:10.1126/science.1161925. PMID 18818357. S2CID 206514655.
  8. ^ David, J.; Godin, L.; Stevenson, R. K.; O'Neil, J.; Francis, D. (2009). "U-Pb ages (3.8–2.7 Ga) and Nd isotope data from the newly identified Eoarchean Nuvvuagittuq supracrustal belt, Superior Craton, Canada". Geological Society of America Bulletin. 121 (1–2): 150–163. doi:10.1130/B26369.1.
  9. ^ Gamaleldien, Hamed; Wu, Li-Guang; Olierook, Hugo K. H.; Kirkland, Christopher L.; Kirscher, Uwe; Li, Zheng-Xiang; Johnson, Tim E.; Makin, Sean; Li, Qiu-Li; Jiang, Qiang; Wilde, Simon A.; Li, Xian-Hua (3 June 2024). "Onset of the Earth's hydrological cycle four billion years ago or earlier". Nature Geoscience. 17 (6): 560–565. doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01450-0. ISSN 1752-0894. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  10. ^ Antonelli, Michael A.; Kendrick, Jillian; Yakymchuk, Chris; Guitreau, Martin; Mittal, Tushar; Moynier, Frédéric (5 May 2021). "Calcium isotope evidence for early Archaean carbonates and subduction of oceanic crust". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22748-2. hdl:20.500.11850/484746.
  11. ^ Mojzsis, S. J.; Arrhenius, G.; McKeegan, K. D.; Harrison, T. M.; Nutman, A. P.; Friend, C. R. L. (1996). "Evidence for life on Earth before 3,800 million years ago" (PDF). Nature. 384 (6604): 55–59. Bibcode:1996Natur.384...55M. doi:10.1038/384055a0. hdl:2060/19980037618. PMID 8900275. S2CID 4342620.
  12. ^ Van Kranendonk, Martin J. (2012). "16: A Chronostratigraphic Division of the Precambrian: Possibilities and Challenges". In Gradstein, Felix M.; Ogg, James G.; Schmitz, Mark D.; Ogg, Gabi M. (eds.). The geologic time scale 2012 (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp. 359–365. ISBN 978-0-44-459425-9.

Further reading

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