"Discovering Earth's Planetary History Through Iron-Rich Rocks"

Banded iron formations, sedimentary rocks containing iron oxides, may connect ancient changes at Earth's surface to planetary processes like volcanism and plate tectonics, according to a study from Rice University. The study suggests that subducted chunks of the formations could have settled in the lowest region of the mantle near the top of Earth's core, where they would have undergone profound changes and aided the formation of mantle plumes. The study could reframe scientists' understanding of Earth's early history and provide insight into processes that could produce habitable exoplanets far from our solar system.