The zircon we studied is 4.45 billion years old. Within it, iron, aluminum and sodium are preserved in abundance patterns like concentric layers, similar to an onion.

Dating individual eruptions in large igneous provinces can be challenging given the rapid emplacement (5 Myr) of the erupted material. Even with suitable minerals for dating (i.e., zircon, sanidine), ...

The core and rim domains yield patterns consistent with trends identified for igneous and metamorphic growth (Rubatto, 2002). However, the transition zone domain yields distinctly different, ...

The scientists dated the rocks using zircon, a mineral in gneiss, the GSA said. "Dating zircon grains using ... techniques is now celebrated as the optimal method for determining when igneous ...

By conducting an atom-by-atom analysis on crystals that were brought back by Apollo astronauts in 1972, a team of geochemists and plenary scientists now calculate that the igneous orb is at least ...

Unusual oxygen isotope ratios in a 4.43 billion-year-old Martian zircon were previously interpreted as evidence for an early hydrosphere. It has even been suggested that Mars may have had an early ...

The zircon we studied is 4.45 billion years old. Within it, iron, aluminum, and sodium are preserved in abundance patterns like concentric layers, similar to an onion. This pattern, called oscillatory ...