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Monday, November 9, 2009

Photo: Harsh Climate Scoured Early Earth, Study Says


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Scientists say microscopic zircon crystals extracted from red quartzites and other rock substances (pictured) in Western Australia's Jack Hills suggests Earth's early atmosphere was highly corrosive.

"The Jack Hills zircons are the oldest objects from Earth and the only geochemical evidence we have of the earliest Earth history," said geologist Takayuki Ushikubo of the University of Wisconsin, who led the recent study.

Photograph by SA Wilde/University of Wisconsin