Continents: the result of a Moon-forming collision?

Looking for references on this.

I'm particularly interested in the possibility that today's continents might
be, at least in part, remnants of the crust of the smaller, pre-collision
Earth. The plates on which the continents ride today might be crust that
was formed after the collision, upon which the old crustal fragments ride in
the transportational dance of continental drift.

Strange notion, this -- the modern continents being fractured and displaced
scabs of an ancient planetary surface. Has anyone seriously investigated
this idea?


Jim McCauley

"Jim McCauley" wrote:

Strange notion, this -- the modern continents being fractured and displaced
scabs of an ancient planetary surface. Has anyone seriously investigated
this idea?

It's been in the air since the collision hypothesis got traction in
the 1970s, but it's hard enough finding bits of crust as old as the
collision that haven't been processed out of all recognition. I'm not
sure there's a sample large enough to detect even older bits within
that, but wouldn't be surprised if we got there eventually...

"Jim McCauley" wrote in message
...
Looking for references on this.

I'm particularly interested in the possibility that today's continents might
be, at least in part, remnants of the crust of the smaller, pre-collision
Earth. The plates on which the continents ride today might be crust that
was formed after the collision, upon which the old crustal fragments ride in
the transportational dance of continental drift.

Strange notion, this -- the modern continents being fractured and displaced
scabs of an ancient planetary surface. Has anyone seriously investigated
this idea?

No the continents are being formed continuously by processes at plate margins.

However the you could investigate whether the Ring of Fire is a remnant of the
lunar forming collision.

Cheers, Alastair.