Heading to the beach is a popular option for lots of people on a hot summer's day. It's there that you'll find plenty of sand. But could sand be more important than we've ever realized? A team of scientists have found a very different use for the tiny grains that we like to play with on the beach.
They've come up with a type of measurement which will allow them to figure out what's known as the "age distribution fingerprint" of the mineral zircon, which is found within sand. The researchers believe this could provide them with new information on how the Earth's surface has changed over the last few thousand million years.
Some minerals, like zircon, have stood the test of time, and are thought to carry clues of Earth's history. By studying the zircon found in grains of sand from rivers and rocks, the scientists are able to work out previously hidden details about the Earth's past. "Strong and lasting minerals like zircon paint a vivid picture of the planet's history, including changing environments, the evolution of continents, and the accumulation of mineral resources at ancient p late boundaries," said Dr Milo Barham, who worked on the research. “The world's beaches faithfully record a detailed history of our planet's geological past, with billions of years of Earth's history marked in the geology (地质状况) of each grain of sand and our technique helps unlock the information.”
The scientists tried out their new technique by taking a look at sediment (沉淀物) in South America, East Antarctica, and Western Australia and they found some interesting differences. "The sediment on the west and east coasts of South America is completely different because there are many young grains on the west side that were created beneath the continent. However, on the east coast, all is relatively calm geologically and there is a mix of old and young grains," said professor Chris Kirkland, who also worked on this research.
【小题1】What do the underlined words "a very different use" in paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Sand can provide a geological history of the Earth's surface. |
| B．Sand can reconstruct the conditions of mineral formation. |
| C．Sand can help discover the age distribution fingerprint. |
| D．Sand can be used to kill time on a hot summer's day. |
| A．Its cost is extremely low. | B．Its zircon is hard and long-lasting. |
| C．It exists all over the world. | D．It's experienced many changes. |
| A．The west coast is relatively calm geologically. |
| B．The east coast is more active than the west one. |
| C．Its beaches have revealed the Earth's mysteries. |
| D．The grains on the west and east coast have different ages. |
| A．History of grains of sand |
| B．Interesting differences of sediment |
| C．A new technique will trace the human past |
| D．Sand can unlock what happened to Earth |
