Zircon by Vicente Teran

1 of 5

Slide Notes

Zircon

Published on Nov 18, 2015

No Description

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

A zircon crystal has recently been found in Australia, it has the record for the oldest piece of the Earth’s crust to be discovered.

According to scientist this Zircon crystal is about 4.4 billion years old.Zircon crystals are composed mainly of the elements zirconium, silicon and oxygen. Small amounts of uranium also appear in zircon.

Photo by NCSSMphotos

The Valley team used a new technique called atom-probe tomography, which allowed them to confirm the accuracy of the crystal’s age.Scientists can use the lead and any remaining uranium in a zircon crystal to calculate the age.

Photo by EMSL

Zircon is mostly found in young rocks.Scientists have theorized that one of the crucial early events occurred when an asteroid roughly the size of Mars struck a glancing blow to the Earth, vaporizing the mantle and crust. Dust from the collision merged to form the moon.

The enormous energy from the collision transformed the surfaces of the Earth and moon into oceans of molten rock. Both subsequently cooled. Zircon was one of the minerals formed when the planet cooled.

Photo by Emily Lakdawalla, Planetary Society Blogger

END

Vicente Teran