Discover the oldest surface on Earth

In terms of geology, the earth's surface is very primitive.

Weather elements such as wind and water, ice freezing and melting of ice have eroded the surface of the earth. The long-term transformation caused by volcanic activity and the displacement of strata - known as geological tectonics - can be buried at any time.

The frequent movement of strata takes place most rapidly in mountainous terrain and slower in desert areas - where geology is less variable.

The natural desert surface in the Israeli Negev desert is dated to about 1.8 million years.This is the largest, most ancient surface ever known on earth.(Source: Ari Matmon, Hebrew University)

Ari Matmon and colleagues at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said a recent study of the ancient desert surface in the Negev desert in Israel found a large area formed about 1.8 million years ago or maybe longer.

According to an article on the website of the American Association for the Development of Science, that large area is known as the oldest area today. In fact, this area is 'older' more than four times the second ancient desert surface after it in Nevada.

However, this newly discovered desert surface does not represent the oldest material on earth. A lot of other individual stone models with much older dates have been found.

However, Matmon's team dated the entire surface as a geological whole. 'Because of the early formation of the desert surface (the kind of material we date) is closely related to the age of the surface, we only calculate the date of the surface. We did not choose the unusual rock form ', Matmon revealed with Livescience.

The desert surface formed long ago in extremely flat and arid areas, where geological tectonic activity was slow and the rock there was highly resistant to weather erosion.(The pencil in the picture is used to indicate the scale).(Source: Ari Matmon, Hebrew University)

The research results show that: in extremely flat and arid areas, where geological tectonic activity takes place slowly and the rock there has high resistance to weathering, the surface these places can be preserved for thousands of years."That's something we didn't dare to be sure of," Matmon said.

The results of this study are detailed in the current issue of the American Geographic Association Journal (GSA Bulletin).

The dating is conducted by measuring the concentration of a certain isotope called 10Be. This substance is only produced on the surface and will indicate how long an object has been exposed.

Matmon said: 'The surface we dated is likely to represent large areas in the Sahara and Arabia deserts. We hope to collect more specimens from other places in the Sahara and Arabia deserts and can establish a global scale of these ancient surfaces'.