logoalt Hacker News

tokai • today at 2:55 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

I'm surprised that we do not have any chaos terrain on Earth. Can't find any explanation why. We have had large sudden flood events on Earth, but maybe weathering orders the 'chaos' over time?


Replies

card_zero • today at 3:32 PM

The suggested mechanism is that sedimentary rocks form over ice. That puzzles me in itself, because it implies a river with ice at the bottom. But anyway, then some heat source arrives and melts the ice, causing a sort of rug pull that means the rock layer drops down and breaks up. Kaboom.

➕ show 1 reply
1970-01-01 • today at 3:48 PM

We almost certainly did at one point, but life and tides can fill-in the gaps. We also truly do not know what terrain is underneath Antarctica, Greenland, etc.

➕ show 1 reply