en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craton
1 correction found
The Archeon eon makes approximately around 3% of the Earth's current surface
This confuses a geologic time interval with a physical part of Earth’s surface. The Archean is an eon lasting roughly 4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago; the source literature says that continental crust formed during the Archean makes up less than 3% of Earth’s surface today.
Full reasoning
The statement is incorrect because the Archean eon is a span of geologic time, not something that literally occupies part of Earth's surface. Authoritative geologic references describe the Archean as an eon lasting from about 4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago.
The likely intended claim is about Archean-age continental crust, not the eon itself. A Geological Society of America article on Archean cratons states: "Continental crust that formed in the Archean eon ... makes up less than 3% of Earth's surface today". In other words, the rocks formed during the Archean cover less than 3% of Earth's surface today—not the Archean eon itself.
So this sentence appears to have dropped key words and turned a correct statement about Archean-age crust into a false statement about the Archean eon.
2 sources
- Creating Continents: Archean Cratons Tell the Story
Continental crust that formed in the Archean eon (2.5 billion years or older) makes up less than 3% of Earth's surface today, but all continents contain crust of this age.
- The oldest igneous rocks in Yellowstone | U.S. Geological Survey
The largest blocks of geologic time are the eons, of which there are four... The Archean eon lasted from about 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago.