Impact heating and the hidden Hadean.
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| Title: | Impact heating and the hidden Hadean. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Johnson, Tim E. (AUTHOR), O'Neill, Craig (AUTHOR), Turner, Simon (AUTHOR), Kirkland, Christopher L. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Science. 6/25/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6805, p1408-1412. 5p. |
| Subjects: | Hadean, Crust of the earth, Heat engineering, Earth (Planet), Geodynamics, Continental crust |
| Abstract: | The nature of Earth's crust during the Hadean eon [≥4.03 billion years ago (Ga)] is uncertain. Numerical models of early Earth geodynamics emphasize the control of mantle temperature but generally consider only internally derived heat, despite empirical evidence for an intense Hadean impact flux. Using a stochastic model of that flux, we show that the time-integrated heat due to impacts would have dwarfed that produced internally throughout the Hadean. Earth's Hadean crust would have been extensively molten at depths below a few kilometers, causing gravitational segregation of dense, iron- and magnesium-rich material and driving average crustal compositions to become increasingly silica rich. Globally, impact heating would have become much less important after 3.9 Ga, allowing the crust to thicken. That enduring continental crust appeared around this time is likely not a coincidence. Editor's summary: There are few crustal remnants from Earth's first 500 million years. The delayed generation and preservation of the crust has been mostly linked to early tectonic modes, as driven by internal heat. Impacts, however, would have also raised the temperature, a process Johnson et al. modeled based on rescaled lunar flux in one- and two-dimensional geodynamic simulations (see the Perspective by Yuan). Their results showed that until about 4.0 billion years ago, the heat from impacts was at least an order of magnitude higher than the internal heat and was capable of keeping the crust thin and partially molten at depths of just a few kilometers. —Angela Hessler [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 194869303 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Impact heating and the hidden Hadean. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Johnson%2C+Tim+E%2E%22">Johnson, Tim E.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22O'Neill%2C+Craig%22">O'Neill, Craig</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Turner%2C+Simon%22">Turner, Simon</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kirkland%2C+Christopher+L%2E%22">Kirkland, Christopher L.</searchLink> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science%22">Science</searchLink>. 6/25/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6805, p1408-1412. 5p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hadean%22">Hadean</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crust+of+the+earth%22">Crust of the earth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heat+engineering%22">Heat engineering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Earth+%28Planet%29%22">Earth (Planet)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geodynamics%22">Geodynamics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Continental+crust%22">Continental crust</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The nature of Earth's crust during the Hadean eon [≥4.03 billion years ago (Ga)] is uncertain. Numerical models of early Earth geodynamics emphasize the control of mantle temperature but generally consider only internally derived heat, despite empirical evidence for an intense Hadean impact flux. Using a stochastic model of that flux, we show that the time-integrated heat due to impacts would have dwarfed that produced internally throughout the Hadean. Earth's Hadean crust would have been extensively molten at depths below a few kilometers, causing gravitational segregation of dense, iron- and magnesium-rich material and driving average crustal compositions to become increasingly silica rich. Globally, impact heating would have become much less important after 3.9 Ga, allowing the crust to thicken. That enduring continental crust appeared around this time is likely not a coincidence. Editor's summary: There are few crustal remnants from Earth's first 500 million years. The delayed generation and preservation of the crust has been mostly linked to early tectonic modes, as driven by internal heat. Impacts, however, would have also raised the temperature, a process Johnson et al. modeled based on rescaled lunar flux in one- and two-dimensional geodynamic simulations (see the Perspective by Yuan). Their results showed that until about 4.0 billion years ago, the heat from impacts was at least an order of magnitude higher than the internal heat and was capable of keeping the crust thin and partially molten at depths of just a few kilometers. —Angela Hessler [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=194869303 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1126/science.aeb5402 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 5 StartPage: 1408 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Hadean Type: general – SubjectFull: Crust of the earth Type: general – SubjectFull: Heat engineering Type: general – SubjectFull: Earth (Planet) Type: general – SubjectFull: Geodynamics Type: general – SubjectFull: Continental crust Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Impact heating and the hidden Hadean. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Johnson, Tim E. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: O'Neill, Craig – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Turner, Simon – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kirkland, Christopher L. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 25 M: 06 Text: 6/25/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00368075 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 392 – Type: issue Value: 6805 Titles: – TitleFull: Science Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
