Florida Citizen for Science’s very own Joe Meert (currently our vice president) can be found on the National Geographic website. Congratulations, Joe!
India’s Vindhyan Basins have hidden their age well—by as much as 500 million years, according to controversial new research.
The basins, which stretch across a 39,000-square-mile (100,000-square-kilometer) swath of central India, were initially believed to have formed about 500 to 700 million years ago after Earth’s crust stretched, thinned, and then faulted.
Six of the basins studied, however, show evidence that they were created a billion years ago, said study lead author Joseph Meert, a geology professor at the University of Florida.
WooHoo! Congrats! 🙂
Yaaaay, Joe! And Gooooooo, Gators! 🙂
Great article Joe.
“The scientists also documented the rocks’ magnetic orientation, since rocks containing magnetic, iron-bearing minerals typically orient themselves with Earth’s magnetic poles as they crystallize.”
I’d actually forgotten this basic fact! (*blush*) I initially came across it in biogeography studies in both evolutionary biology and botany.
Also had a quick look at the Precambrian Research journal and there are some interesting articles there. Bookmarked. 🙂