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Neodymium and Hafnium Isotopes Provide Evidence of Magma Ocean

The rare earth element - neodymium and hafnium isotopes providing evidence of the existence of the ancient magma ocean, and most of the earth was once entirely molten rock, which comes from old rocks found in southern Greenland. Researchers say that people know very little about the Earth and the conditions of the Hadean Eon, which is characterized by the initial formation of the Earth and the stability of the Earth's core and crust.

The early Earth's atmosphere was formed during the Hadean Eon. This study shows the results of an analysis of billion-year-old rocks from the Isua supercrustal belt, which contains the oldest known rock on the Earth. In the investigation of these rocks, scientists found chemical traces of the magma ocean.

The samples in which the chemical traces were found date back to 3.7 billion years ago and show high levels of heavy iron isotopes measured using chromatography and mass spectrometry. The research team also discovered hafnium and neodymium isotopes along with rarer tungsten isotopes, which they say stems from an "ancient parent isotope" that only existed in the first 45 million years of life on Earth.

The researchers said that hafnium and rare earth element - neodymium are the most interesting isotopes discovered because they are difficult to modify and their chemical composition needs to be investigated in detail. In the end, the researchers found that these iron isotopes confirmed that the Isua rocks were composed of parts of the Earth's interior formed by the crystallization of the magma ocean 4.5 billion years ago.

When the crystalline residue moves to the upper mantle of the earth, it melts and mixes with other lava, carrying the neodymium and hafnium isotopes and moving with the rocks in the lower and upper mantles. As for how these substances appear on the surface, it is not yet clear. Some scientists believe that during the formation of the Earth and the Moon, catastrophic impacts may have generated enough energy to melt the inside of the Earth. These materials will eventually cool and crystallize, forming the kind of rocks the scientists have discovered.

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