The tectonic plates have played a significant role in the geological evolution of the planet. Moreover, researchers think that Earth’s activity was also crucial in the development of life; it’s actually essential for the habitability of the planet. And for this reason, researchers had looked for answers on how and when the surface of Earth changed from molten rocks to a pretty solid crust. The latest theory says that extraterrestrial objects hitting the Earth formed our planet’s tectonic plates.
Extraterrestrial Objects That Hit the Earth Might Have Created the Tectonic Plates
And they put up good work, and they made incredible efforts, but it’s still one of the most unanswered questions. As per a new study, conducted by a team of geologists from Australia and the US, the transition was triggered by extraterrestrial objects that hit the surface of Earth at one point. If that is true, the results have surprising implications for the study of extrasolar planets and the search for life beyond our planet.
This international team started to look beyond Earth to get possible explanations of how the tectonic activity began in the first place. The director of the Macquarie University Planetary Research Centre from Australia, Craig O’Neill, stated that we all tended to believe that Earth is an isolated system, where it only matters what’s inside. But, as time passes, we see the effect that of solar system dynamics on the behavior of our planet.
Such Impacts Also Formed The Earth-Moon System
As per the commonly known theory about planet formation, the Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, from material which came from the Solar Nebula. Based on the studies and different comparisons with lunar impacts, scientists and astronomers have a theory that Earth experienced some massive impacts for hundreds of millions of years.
The most important of these took place about 100 million years later, and it was the reason behind the Earth-Moon system. We are talking about the Giant Impact Hypothesis. All of these impacts with extraterrestrial objects slowed down in time, but they did leave the evidence in the shape of spherule beds, which are round particles formed from rock vaporizing and condensing.