Think rocks take millions of years to form? Wrong: it could be just decades | Geology

ROcks takes thousands to millions of years to do, right? Fake. The researchers discovered that industrial waste has been forged in the rock for a few decades. This amazing discovery, made in Derwent Howe on the Combrienne coast of the United Kingdom, questions theories about the way the rocks are formed.

The rocks, which are a glass texture and a blue-gray color, are made from slag, remaining from the iron and steel foundries that operated near Derwent Howe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The samples show that rocks contain many chemicals found in ordinary sedimentary rocks, but in this case hardened in solid rock in the 35 years. An aluminum drinks tab dating from 1989 or later and a 1934 George V piece, merged into the new rock, are proof of its rapid training.

Reporting in the journal Geology, scientists say that new rocks are a clear marker proving that we are at the time of the anthropocene – where human activity modifies the planet. These rocks are likely to be common in industrial areas around the world (Great Britain alone has 120 km of coastal laises deposits) and probably has an impact on marine ecosystems and coastal erosion. Researchers now use drones and a radar penetrating to the ground to better understand the rock manufacturing process and its effect on the environment.