Earth’s churning mantle may have created the Great Unconformity
Summary
Geologists are investigating a mysterious gap in the rock record known as the Great Unconformity. This geological boundary separates ancient crystalline formations from younger sandstones that formed during the Cambrian explosion. Recent scientific findings suggest that movements within the Earth's mantle could be responsible for creating this missing span of time.
In the Grand Canyon, there is a line in the rock where time seems to have gone missing. Ancient crystalline rocks mark its bottom, while sandstones laid down as life started to diversify during the Cambrian explosion mark the top. “It’s called the Great Unconformity, and it’s a gap in the geologic record,” says Nicolas Flament, a geoscientist at the…
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