Search for meteoritic components in the 3800 million years old Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland

Abstract

The Isua supracrustal rocks of West Greenland have been in international focus ever since their earliest Archaean age was demonstrated in the early 1970s. For years they were highlighted as the Earth's oldest rocks. Although the 'oldest rocks' tag has now passed elsewhere, the well preserved Isua supracrustal sequence still attracts research projects directed towards understanding the Earth's history. This note refers to one such project, carried out by the Geological Survey of Greenland in collaboration with Centre de Recherches Petrographiques et Geochimiques, Nancy, France, concerning the recognition of cosmic material in the Isua rocks. Field work in 1993 concentrated on detailed sampling of a chert sequence.