Meet Jane, the Zircon Grain—Geochronology’s New Mascot

By Alka Tripathy-Lang

August 27, 2021

There is no “once upon a time” in the children’s book Jane’s Geological Adventure, but if there were, that time was 400 million years ago, in a world replete with creepy-crawly creatures threading their way through a lush verdure of unfamiliar plants. As a volcano’s magma chamber seethed, a zircon grain named Jane was born, growing until she erupted onto Earth for a full life of metamorphism, multiple mountain-building adventures, sundry erosion styles, and her most recent phase: display at a museum.

Eos has the rest of the story.