Remnants from Earth’s birth linger 4.5 billion years later
Traces of a long-extinct isotope give insight into planet’s origin

LOTTA LAVA The 60-million-year-old flood basalts of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (an area that includes the rocky outcroppings in Baffin Bay, shown) contain isotope traces that originated over 4.5 billion years ago.
Don Francis
This article is only available to Science News subscribers.
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.
