Latest news with #ChrisKirkland
Daily Record
03-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Meteorite that struck Scotland 990 million years ago may have brought life to land
New evidence shows a meteorite struck Scotland 990 million years ago, reshaping Earth's timeline and possibly helping early life reach land New geological findings from Scotland have upended previous assumptions about the planet's ancient past, and hint that a colossal meteorite impact may have played a surprising role in life's first move onto land. Scientists now believe a huge space rock slammed into what is now northwestern Scotland 990 million years ago, revising earlier estimates that placed the event at 1.2 billion years ago. The findings, published in the journal Geology, offer fresh insights into how meteorites may have helped shape Earth's early ecosystems. The ancient impact created the Stac Fada Member, a distinctive layer of rock that has long intrigued researchers. Thanks to advanced analysis of microscopic zircon crystals within the rocks, experts were able to narrow down the timing of the impact with remarkable precision. 'These microscopic crystals recorded the exact moment of impact, with some even transforming into an incredibly rare mineral called reidite, which only forms under extreme pressures,' said lead author Chris Kirkland from Curtin University in Western Australia. 'This provided undeniable proof that a meteorite strike caused the Stac Fada deposit.' Kirkland explained that meteor strikes partially reset the atomic clocks inside zircon crystals. 'These 'broken timepieces' are often unable to be dated, but we developed a model to reconstruct when the disturbance occurred, confirming the impact at 990 million years ago,' he said. Although the location of the impact crater remains undiscovered, the study has offered promising new clues that could eventually pinpoint its site. These details may ultimately lead to the discovery of the crater, giving scientists an even clearer understanding of the meteorite's role in shaping the Earth's geological landscape. Beyond reworking the geological timeline, the discovery also opens the door to intriguing questions about the evolution of early life. While plants are believed to have first colonised land around 470 million years ago, followed by arthropods such as insects and spiders about 425 million years ago, the first vertebrates, ancestors of humans, appeared on land roughly 400 million years ago. But long before any of these organisms emerged, single-celled eukaryotes, the ancestors of plants, animals and fungi, had already begun venturing out of Earth's oceans. This transition marks one of the earliest steps in the story of life on land, but it happened long before the more complex organisms such as plants and arthropods made their way onto solid ground. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Kirkland's team found evidence of freshwater eukaryotes in the region dating back to the same time as the newly dated impact, suggesting a potential link between the two events. This discovery adds a compelling layer to the ongoing narrative of how life evolved and adapted to the changing conditions of our planet. 'The revised dating suggests these life forms in Scotland appeared at a similar time to a meteorite impact,' Kirkland said. 'This raises fascinating questions about whether large impacts may have influenced environmental conditions in ways that affected early ecosystems. 'Understanding when meteorite impacts occurred helps us explore their potential influence on Earth's environment and the expansion of life beyond the oceans.'
BBC News
01-05-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Billion year old meteorite 'influenced early life'
Scientists say a massive meteorite struck north-west Scotland 200 million years later than previously thought - and may have influenced early life on Earth. The meteorite, which created a layer of rock in parts of the Highlands called the Stac Fada Member, was believed to have occurred 1.2bn years ago. But new research led by the University of St Andrews and Australia's Curtin University suggests it actually happened 990 million years ago. The study also suggests the impact came at a similar time to the emergence of early lifeforms called freshwater eukaryotes - ancient ancestors of plants, animals and fungi. The scientists used tiny zircon crystals in rocks as geological "time capsules" to date the meteorite impact. The research has been published in the journal Geology. Prof Chris Kirkland, of Curtin University, said: "The revised dating suggests these life forms in Scotland appeared at a similar time to a meteorite impact. "This raises fascinating questions about whether large impacts may have influenced environmental conditions in ways that affected early ecosystems." He added: "While the impact crater itself has yet to be found, this study has collected further clues that could finally reveal its location." Prof Tony Prave, from the University of St Andrews, said the impact occurred on a landscape sculpted by rivers, lakes and estuaries with thriving microbial ecosystems. He said: "Impacts typically blow away the land surface and create deep craters. "What makes Stac Fada unique is that it preserves not only the record of the impact event but also of the actual land surface across which those ancient ecosystems existed prior to the impact and, importantly, how they recovered from such a natural disaster." NASA Johnson Space Centre and the University of Portsmouth also collaborated on the research.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Billion year old meteorite 'influenced early life forms'
Scientists say a massive meteorite struck north-west Scotland 200 million years later than previously thought - and may have influenced early life on meteorite, which created a layer of rock in parts of the Highlands called the Stac Fada Member, was believed to have occurred 1.2bn years new research led by the University of St Andrews and Australia's Curtin University suggests it actually happened 990 million years study also suggests the impact came at a similar time to the emergence of early lifeforms called freshwater eukaryotes - ancient ancestors of plants, animals and fungi. The scientists used tiny zircon crystals in rocks as geological "time capsules" to date the meteorite research has been published in the journal Geology. Prof Chris Kirkland, of Curtin University, said: "The revised dating suggests these life forms in Scotland appeared at a similar time to a meteorite impact."This raises fascinating questions about whether large impacts may have influenced environmental conditions in ways that affected early ecosystems."He added: "While the impact crater itself has yet to be found, this study has collected further clues that could finally reveal its location." Prof Tony Prave, from the University of St Andrews, said the impact occurred on a landscape sculpted by rivers, lakes and estuaries with thriving microbial said: "Impacts typically blow away the land surface and create deep craters. "What makes Stac Fada unique is that it preserves not only the record of the impact event but also of the actual land surface across which those ancient ecosystems existed prior to the impact and, importantly, how they recovered from such a natural disaster."NASA Johnson Space Centre and the University of Portsmouth also collaborated on the research.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'The past week will have taken a lot out of this squad'
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland says recent results "will have taken a lot out of Arne Slot's squad".In recent weeks, the Reds have been knocked out of the Champions League last 16 and fell short in the Carabao Cup the setbacks, Kirkland believes the Premier League is "the big one" for the club's to BBC Radio Merseyside about the push for the Premier League title this season, Kirkland said: "At the start of the season, if you had said 'We are going to win the Premier League' then everyone would have snapped your hands off."Losing in the Carabao Cup final will be forgotten about come May, as that's when we will be lifting the Premier League title."Yes we could've gone through against PSG in the Champions League, yes we could've won the Carabao Cup on the weekend, but the Premier League is the big one."The past week will have taken a lot out of this squad - that is facts. But they will be determined to put things right in their next league game."The Merseyside derby awaits Slot's side after the two-week March international break and Kirkland is expecting it to be "a hell of a game".He added: "Everton have been doing amazing under David Moyes. The transformation has been incredible since he has gone in there, so all credit to him."Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth's Oldest Crater May Have Jumpstarted All Life
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Geologists have now unearthed evidence of a 3.5 billion-year-old crater found in a layer of Australian rock. Shatter cones, which are features caused by the shockwave of a hypervelocity meteorite impact, are evidence that something hit this region when Earth was young. Impact craters this old have the potential to tell us not only how Earth evolved but how the earliest impacts created the conditions for life to emerge. Long before the asteroid that ended the dinosaurs crashed to Earth, our planet was being bombarded by space rocks that left behind enormous craters. The reign of T. rex and Co. ended around a measly 66 million years ago, but geologists just discovered that what is now considered the oldest impact crater on Earth is nearly 3.5 billion years old. Earth itself formed only a billion years prior to an ancient collision that slammed what is now Australia. The earliest known fossils of single-celled organisms date from around the time the crater was formed, the Archaean era, which overlapped with the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment. It is thought, that during this epoch, a disruption in planetary orbits threw asteroids from the asteroid belt towards the planets of the inner Solar System. Lunar craters that are relics of the Late Heavy Bombardment are mostly obvious, since the Moon has hardly any weather phenomena (because of the lack of atmosphere), no plate tectonics, no liquid water, and no life. These craters are much more difficult to find on Earth. Eons of erosion and shifting of continents may have buried them and possibly erased them, which is why they are so rare, but not only can we add this new one to our list, but it's the oldest one we've ever found. Led by Curtin University geologists Chris Kirkland and Tim Johnson, a research team unearthed this primeval crater beneath rock layers in the East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia. The oldest Archaean crater before this discovery went back only 2.2 billion years. 'On Earth, this early impact record has seemingly been lost, reflecting the destructive efficiency of erosion and subduction in recycling primary (basaltic, oceanic) crust back into the convecting mantle,' Kirkland and Johnson said in a study recently published in Nature Communications. Meteorite impacts are said to have triggered plate tectonics and volcanic activity on a young Earth, forming cratons, or huge chunks of crust that were the beginnings of the continents. Part of the Pilbara Craton, the East Pilbara Terrane is a nearly pristine fragment of crust around 200 km (124 miles) in diameter. The crater was unearthed near the center of this region and identified by shatter cones and spherules. These features, found in a 3.5 billion-year-old layer of silicate rocks mashed up with older rocks, suggest at least two Archaean impacts. When a meteorite hits the surface, shock waves from the impact propagate through layers of rock, cracking the rock in such a way that creates cone formations. The ridges left in these shatter cones capture a permanent reminder of the shockwave. Particles of melted and re-solidified rock (spherules) were kicked up by the impact and fell onto the surrounding area. Whether the spherules found at East Pilbara Terrane have a cosmic or terrestrial origin is debatable, but they are still evidence that something plummeted through the atmosphere and crashed to Earth. Whatever hit Australia billions of years ago possibly did more than just leave an enormous scar. Meteorite impacts might have made it possible for life to survive. Some of the oldest fossils of microbial life are close in age or just slightly older than the Pilbara crater. 'Impact craters may have provided the physical and chemical environments required for life to emerge on Earth and elsewhere,' the researchers said in the same study. Could that 'elsewhere' have been Mars? There is no evidence yet, but NASA's Perseverance rover keeps searching as it crawls across the barren expanse of Jezero Crater, which used to be an ancient crater lake that has long since dried up. Finding more of the most ancient craters on Earth might tell us something about Archaean remnants beyond our planet. You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50
