Ancient Sediments from Greenland
Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
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Part of Hall of Planet Earth.
The rocks were once sediments formed by chemical precipitation from ocean water. Intermittent eruptions from nearby volcanoes added other sediment layers. The Isua rocks tell geologists important things about the early Earth: there already was an ocean in which the sedimentary laters were laid down; volcanoes already existed; and erosion of the rocks was promoted by an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide and water vapor. The rocks also contain geochemical evidence of the earliest life.