Earth's 1st continents arose hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought
Lee
https://www.livescience.com/earth-first-continents-cratons-study
Andy Lloyd
Emerging from the Water World
We have long taken for granted the land masses on Earth. Perhaps less so now as our oceans begin their slow ascent due to anthropogenic global warming. Especially for those living along decaying coastlines or in sea-facing cities. however, scientists have known for some time that the landmasses weren't always there: Very early on in Earth's 4.6 billion year history, the planet transformed from convulsing molten rock to water world. For a long time, the surface of the early Earth was just water. At some point later, land masses began to rise above the planet's global water line. These first continents are known as 'cratons' by scientists.
New research suggests that these cratons emerged much earlier than previously thought. The consensus scientific opinion placed the emergence of landmasses to around 2.5 billion years ago. Now that timeline might be extended back to as early as 3.4 billion years.
"...scientists have found sedimentary rocks — which form from the broken-up bits of other rocks that have undergone erosion and weathering — that date back to that era. Such sedimentary rocks could only form once land broke through the surface of early Earth's oceans." (1)
This new timeline is now much closer to the Late, Heavy Bombardment (LHB) 3.9 billion years ago. Around the time of this extended bombardment the Earth was entirely covered in water. During the bombardment, asteroids/meteorites striking the Earth would have plunged into deep oceans, therefore leaving no surface cratering (not so on the Moon, of course, which still shows the monumental impact of this period of bombardment).
According to Zecharia Sitchin's interpretations of ancient Mesopotamian myth, Babylonian cosmology included a watery planet known as Tiamat (2). This watery planet was rendered asunder by the usurper planet Marduk (associated with a Planet X body often called Nibiru) and its moons. Sitchin asserts that the early, watery Earth was Tiamat; whilst Marduk has disappeared from view.
I've often argued that the LHB was the time of this great Cosmic Battle (3). So it's interesting that Earth's first landmasses arose sometime after the LHB. If Sitchin's account is correct, the early Earth lost a very significant amount of water during its encounter with Marduk (which involved a collision with a small moon described by the Babylonians as the 'North Wind', and an orbital shift inwards). The encounter resulted in vaporised oceans and a spillage of precious water into space. Less water, more likelihood of emerging landmasses...
Written by Andy Lloyd, 17th November 2021
References:
1) Nicoletta Lanese “Earth's 1st continents arose hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought” 8 November 2021 with thanks to Lee
https://www.livescience.com/earth-first-continents-cratons-study
2) Zecharia Sitchin "The Twelfth Planet" Avon Books 1976
3) Andy Lloyd 'Dark Star' Timeless Voyager Press 2005
Sent: 13 November 2021 17:12
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Subject: Earth's 1st continents arose hundreds of millions of years earlier than thought
https://www.livescience.com/earth-first-continents-cratons-study
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