Storiascopio · Era 1 of 12 · primary year 3
The first oceans
about 4.3 billion years ago · The whole Earth
In short
When the Earth's surface cooled down, water vapour could condense and fall as rain. The water gathered in the lowest areas and formed the first oceans, perhaps as early as 4.4 billion years ago. Some of it came from inside the Earth, and some may have been brought by water-rich asteroids.
Why it matters The oceans created the places where the first living things appeared and developed.
Source: Nature, 2001, “Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago”
Where we are in the era “The Earth before us”
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about 13.8 billion years agoEvent 8 of 25about 66 million years ago
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/the-first-oceans/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class