A Yale-led research team has picked a side in the “Snowball Earth” debate over the possible cause of planet-wide deep freeze events that occurred in the distant past.
snowball earth
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
What Turned Earth Into A Giant Snowball 700 Million Years Ago?
Australian geologists have used plate tectonic modelling to determine what most likely caused an extreme ice-age climate in Earth’s history, more than 700 million years ago.
Posted inBiophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Physical Constraints During Snowball Earth Drive The Evolution Of Multicellularity
Molecular and fossil evidence suggest that complex eukaryotic multicellularity evolved during the late Neoproterozoic era, coincident with Snowball Earth glaciations, where ice sheets covered most of the globe.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Snowball Earth Might Have Been Slushball Earth
At least five ice ages have befallen Earth, including one 635 million years ago that created glaciers from pole to pole.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
New Research Strengthens Link Between Glaciers And Earth's 'Great Unconformity
New research provides further evidence that rocks representing up to a billion years of geological time were carved away by ancient glaciers during the planet’s “Snowball Earth” period, according to […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
Bacterial Bloom As Earth Thawed: Photosynthetic Organisms During Snowball Earth
Some researchers hypothesize that ice sheets enveloped the earth during the Marinoan glaciation (650-535 million years ago) in what is dubbed the “Snowball Earth.” The glaciation also impacted the climate […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
Snowball Earth: Changes in Earth's Orbit Enabled The Emergence Of Complex Life
Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered that changes in Earth’s orbit may have allowed complex life to emerge and thrive during the most hostile climate episode the planet […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
New Marine Sulfur Cycle Model After The Snowball Earth Glaciation
The Sturtian Snowball Earth glaciation (717~660 million years ago) represents the most severe icehouse climate in Earth’s history. Geological evidence indicates that, during this glaciation, ice sheets extended to low […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
A Decrease in Sunlight May Have Triggered "Snowball Earths"
At least twice in Earth’s history, nearly the entire planet was encased in a sheet of snow and ice. These dramatic “Snowball Earth” events occurred in quick succession, somewhere around […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Effect of Sea-ice Drift on the Onset of Snowball Climate on Rapidly Rotating Aqua-planets
Previous studies have shown that sea-ice drift effectively promote the onset of a globally ice-covered snowball climate for paleo Earth and for tidally locked planets around low-mass stars. Here, we […]