In a revolutionary discovery, scientists in South Africa have stumbled upon traces of ancient glaciers in the rocks that underlie the world's largest gold deposits on the continent. This discovery highlights the existence of glaciers in the region and sheds light on the Earth's climatic history.
The research team, led by University of Johannesburg geologist-archaeologist Axel Hofmann, analyzed the rock layers of the eastern coast of the region with glacial deposits. According to their estimates, the age of the deposits is about 2.9 billion years, which makes them among the oldest on our planet.
The scientists measured the levels of oxygen isotopes in the sandstone and shale samples and found that they have the lowest levels of oxygen-18 of all similar deposits. A high amount of oxygen-17 indicates that the rocks were formed at lower temperatures.
According to scientists, this is one of the untouched and unexplored territories on Earth. The reason for this was "conservation", as a result of inundation by the waters of the inland sea.
Further analysis of the glacial deposits will allow us to understand the climate of the region at that time. The researchers hope to reconstruct the environmental conditions, including temperature, precipitation and landscape dynamics, that contributed to the formation and maintenance of these ancient glaciers.
The discovery of the oldest glaciers in South Africa not only expands our knowledge of the Earth's climatic history, but also adds to the global understanding of past glaciations. This highlights the dynamic nature of our planet and the significant changes it has undergone over millions of years.
Source: geochemicalperspectivesletters.org
