Science shows tectonic plates began shifting 3.2 billion years ago

Some geologists speculate the Earth's continents and tectonic plates began to shift one billion years ago, while others postulate the the start of the shifts was four billion years ago.

Harvard University scientists, funded by National Scientists, studied rocks in Australia and South Africa to research one of the oldest portions of the Earth's crust, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation. This portion, Pilbra Craton, is found in Western Australia. 

They discovered a longitudinal shift of continents and tectonic plates of 2.5 cm a year. Using this measurement, geologists said the shift in the tectonic plates began about 3.2 billion years ago, according to the National Science Foundation.

“This is one piece of geologic evidence to extend the record of plate tectonics on Earth farther back in history," Alec Brenner, one lead author of the study, said in the press release. "Based on the evidence we found, it looks like plate tectonics is much more likely to have occurred on the early Earth. That argues for an Earth that looks a lot more similar to today's than a lot of people think."