Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (PA)
New scientific research has dramatically revised the geological timeline for Northern Ireland’s iconic Giant’s Causeway.
Scientists now believe the volcanic activity that formed the 40,000 basalt columns occurred over a significantly condensed period of just 5.5 million years, eight million years less than earlier estimations.
The cutting-edge research was conducted by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI) and the British Geological Survey (BGS).
This updated timeline allows researchers to more confidently connect Northern Ireland’s volcanic events to a broader global context, including formations in Scotland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
The findings link the processes that created the Giant’s Causeway to a globally significant volcanic event that also affected other North Atlantic regions around 60 million years ago.
