G'day mate: 1.7-billion-year-old chunk of North America found in Australia
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/01/23/australia-north-america-supercontinent-nuna/1058577001/
Eons ago, the land Down Under wasn't so far away after all.
Rocks recently discovered in Australia bear striking similarities to those found in North America, a study finds. The sandstone sedimentary rocks the scientists uncovered are not "native" to present-day Australia, but instead are common in eastern Canada.
The rocks were found in Georgetown, Queensland, Australia, which is some roughly 250 miles west of Cairns in the northeastern part of the continent.
Scientists believe that one region of what's now modern-day Australia was once attached to North America, but broke away 1.7 billion years ago. After drifting around for some 100 million years, the chunk eventually crashed into what's now Australia, forming the "supercontinent" Nuna.
Researchers then determined that when Nuna broke apart an estimated 300 million years afterward, that chunk of land did not drift away. It instead became a new piece of real estate permanently stuck to Australia.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/01/23/australia-north-america-supercontinent-nuna/1058577001/
Eons ago, the land Down Under wasn't so far away after all.
Rocks recently discovered in Australia bear striking similarities to those found in North America, a study finds. The sandstone sedimentary rocks the scientists uncovered are not "native" to present-day Australia, but instead are common in eastern Canada.
The rocks were found in Georgetown, Queensland, Australia, which is some roughly 250 miles west of Cairns in the northeastern part of the continent.
Scientists believe that one region of what's now modern-day Australia was once attached to North America, but broke away 1.7 billion years ago. After drifting around for some 100 million years, the chunk eventually crashed into what's now Australia, forming the "supercontinent" Nuna.
Researchers then determined that when Nuna broke apart an estimated 300 million years afterward, that chunk of land did not drift away. It instead became a new piece of real estate permanently stuck to Australia.
