Author: Simon Turner, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University

Earth is the only known planet which has plate tectonics today. The constant movement of these giant slabs of rock over the planet’s magma creates continents – and may have even helped create life. In a new paper published in Nature today, colleagues and I reveal secrets of Earth’s crust 4.5 billion years ago. In the process, we also provide a new way to approach one of the biggest enduring scientific mysteries: when did plate tectonics begin? Intimately connected to the development of life Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old. Some scientists argue that in its early form, the…