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A WA-led international team of researchers has made an important discovery about geological processes that were active in the early Earth, more than 2.7 billion years ago. The researchers were able to pinpoint the timing of a large-scale convection process, which now causes plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes.  The convection process involved meteorite debris rich in platinum being stirred into the interior of the earth.

The research paper, “Progressive mixing of meteoric veneer into the early Earth’s deep mantle” was published in the prestigious international science journal Nature. The team includes two researchers from The University of Western Australia, Dr Marco Fiorentini and Dr Wolfgang Maier, who is now working at the University of Oulu in Finland. Dr Fiorentini, from UWA’s Centre for Exploration Targeting (School of Earth and Environment), said the research provided a significant insight into the formation of the planet. “During this study we were able to collect a large amount of data on the platinum content of lava flows called komatiites,” he said.“Komatiites are ancient volcanic rocks that formed through high degrees of partial melting of the earth’s mantle.  They also host some of the biggest nickel deposits in the world.“By focusing on the variation of platinum-group element concentrations in the komatiites, the research has given us a good understanding of the way the planet was formed. Significantly, this is a completely academic outcome that came out of an industry-funded project.  And we are now confident that it will lead to further discoveries about the geological evolution of the early Earth.” The study was partly funded by the Australian Research Council, AMIRA, The University of Western Australia, CSIRO, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and supported by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK).

Media references

Dr Marco Fiorentini (UWA Centre for Exploration Targeting) +61 8) 6488 3465/(+61 4) 0925 4445
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8) 6488 5563/(+61 4) 3263 7716