Snowball Earth
Snowball Earth or Icehouse Earth refers to times when the Earth's surface was nearly or entirely frozen. The occurrence of Snowball (or Slushball) Earths is still controversial. However, it is probable that widespread glaciation occurred in periods of the Proterozoic.
What is debatable is how widespread those glaciations were. Proponents claim the theory explains sedimentary deposits of glacial origin at tropical latitudes and other strange features of the geological record.
Opponents do not draw the same inferences from the geological evidence, and doubt the geophysical feasibility of an entirely ice or slush-covered ocean.[1]
Palaeoproterozoic
- Huronian glaciation 2,400 – 2,100 million years ago (mya)
The Snowball Earth hypothesis explains glacial deposits in the Huronian supergroup of Canada. The palaeomagnetic evidence, which suggests ice sheets at low latitudes, is contested.[2][3] The glacial sediments of the Makganyene formation of South Africa are slightly younger than the Huronian glacial deposits (~2.25 billion years old) and were deposited at tropical latitudes.[4]
The rise of free oxygen occurred during this part of the Paleoproterozoic. Perhaps purple bacteria removed methane from the atmosphere through oxidation. As the Sun was notably weaker at the time, methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, had kept surface temperatures above freezing. In the absence of this methane greenhouse, temperatures plunged and a snowball event could have occurred.[3]
Neoproterozoic
- Kaigas ice age 825 – 730 mya
- Sturtian ice age 720 – 635 mya
- Marinoan ice age 650 – 635 mya
There were three or four significant ice ages during the late Neoproterozoic.[5] Of these, the Marinoan was the most significant, and the Sturtian glaciations were also truly widespread. These were both in the Cryogenian period, before the Ediacaran.[6] The million year long Gaskiers glaciation did not lead to global glaciation,[7] although it was probably as intense as the late Ordovician glaciation. The status of the Kaigas glaciation or "cooling event" is unclear. Some do not recognise it as glacial, and others believe it may indeed be a third ice age. It was certainly less significant than the Sturtian or Marinoan glaciations, and probably not global in extent. Evidence does suggest that the Earth underwent a number of glaciations during the Neoproterozoic.[8]
Snowball Earth Media
Artist's rendition of a fully-frozen Snowball Earth with no remaining liquid surface water.
Diamictite of the Neoproterozoic Pocatello Formation, a "snowball Earth"-type deposit
Elatina Fm diamictite below Ediacaran GSSP site in the Flinders Ranges NP, South Australia. A$1 coin for scale.
2.1 billion-year-old rock with black-band ironstone
Grosser Aletschgletscher (Bernese Alps), view from Eggishorn (2.927 m), in the background Jungfrau (4.158 m), Jungfraujoch (3.454 m), Mönch (4.099 m), Trugberg and Eiger (3.970 m). For camera information and shooting conditions see the EXIF info fields, contained in the file.
Volcanoes may have had a role in replenishing Template:Co2, possibly ending the global ice age of the Cryogenian Period.
Global ice sheets may have created the bottleneck required for the evolution of multicellular life.
A black smoker, a type of hydrothermal vent
Dickinsonia costata, an Ediacaran organism of unknown affinity, with a quilted appearance
.jpg)
References
- ↑ Harland, W.B. (2007). "Origin and assessment of snowball Earth hypotheses". Geology Magazine. 144 (4): 633–642. Bibcode:2007GeoM..144..633H. doi:10.1017/S0016756807003391. S2CID 10947285.
- ↑ Williams G.E. & Schmidt P.W. (1997). "Paleomagnetism of the Paleoproterozoic Gowganda and Lorrain formations, Ontario: low palaeolatitude for Huronian glaciation" (PDF). EPSL. 153 (3): 157–169. Bibcode:1997E&PSL.153..157W. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(97)00181-7.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Robert E. Kopp, Joseph L. Kirschvink, Isaac A. Hilburn, and Cody Z. Nash (2005). "The Paleoproterozoic snowball Earth: a climate disaster triggered by the evolution of". PNAS. 102 (32): 11131–11136. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10211131K. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504878102. PMC 1183582. PMID 16061801.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Evans D.A. Beukes N.J. & Kirschvink J.L. 1997. Nature 386, 262–266.
- ↑ "New evidence supports three major glaciation events in the distant past". ScienceDaily. 2004-04-22. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ↑ Stern R.J. Avigad D. Miller N.R. Beyth, M. (2006). "Geological Society of Africa Presidential Review: Evidence for the Snowball Earth hypothesis in the Arabian-Nubian shield and the East African orogen". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 44: 1–20. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.10.003.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) - ↑ Hoffman P.F. (2005). "On Cryogenian (Neoproterozoic) ice-sheet dynamics and the limitations of the glacial sedimentary record". South African Journal of Geology. 108: 557–577. doi:10.2113/108.4.557.
- ↑ Allen, Philip A. (2008). "Sedimentary challenge to Snowball Earth". Nature Geoscience. 1 (12): 817–825. Bibcode:2008NatGe...1..817A. doi:10.1038/ngeo355.