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 […]
snowball earth
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 […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
Earth's Oldest Asteroid Strike Linked to Snowball Earth Thaw
Curtin University scientists have discovered Earth’s oldest asteroid strike occurred at Yarrabubba, in outback Western Australia, and coincided with the end of a global deep freeze known as a Snowball […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
No Snowball on Habitable Tidally Locked Planets with a Dynamic Ocean
Terrestrial planets orbiting within the habitable zones of M-stars are likely to become tidally locked in a 1:1 spin:orbit configuration and are prime targets for future characterization efforts. An issue […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
The Snowball Stratosphere
According to the Snowball Earth hypothesis, Earth has experienced periods of low-latitude glaciation in its deep past. Prior studies have used general circulation models (GCMs) to examine the effects such […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Habitability Of Earth-like Stagnant Lid Planets: Climate Evolution And Recovery From Snowball States
Coupled models of mantle thermal evolution, volcanism, outgassing, weathering, and climate evolution for Earth-like (in terms of size and composition) stagnant lid planets are used to assess their prospects for […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
How Did Snowball Earth Happen?
A major volcanic event could have triggered one of the largest glaciations in Earth’s history – the Gaskiers glaciation, which turned the Earth into a giant snowball approximately 580 million […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Orbital Variations Can Trigger Snowball States In Habitable Zones Around Sunlike Stars
Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, […]