The story of Earth
Tuesday 27 April 2021 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm
How have the planet’s minerals evolved?
If we want to understand the origins of life on earth, and how early life developed, we need to understand the earth itself and what it was made of. When US mineralogist Robert Hazen was asked if he knew what minerals existed on early Earth, he started a research journey that led to a new idea – mineral evolution – a theory that proposes that the mineralogy of terrestrial planets and moons evolves because of the varied physical, chemical, and biological processes that lead to the formation of new minerals.
Join Robert Hazen in discussion with UNSW Sydney geologist and astrobiologist Martin Van Kranendonk as they discuss the story of Earth, mineral evolution, where carbon fits into all of this, and the rich challenges of doing science and being able to study nature.