CO2 Drop Tied to Earth’s Severe Ice Age

Geologists have provided fresh insights into Earth’s natural temperature regulation system. They suggest that the movement of tectonic plates, which resulted in decreased volcanic activity, is the probable cause of the severe ice age that transformed the planet into a massive snow-covered sphere more than 700 million years ago.

In recent decades, there has been significant focus on atmospheric carbon dioxide. As the most abundant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere, its anthropogenic emissions have led to a substantial and relatively swift increase in global temperatures.

While contemporary concerns focus on the surplus of CO2 warming our atmosphere, geologists propose that millions of years ago, a deficiency of this gas had the opposite effect. Published in the journal Geology, researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Adelaide elucidate a period around 700 million years ago when the ancient supercontinent Rodina began fracturing, generating new oceanic crust that curbed CO2 release from underwater volcanoes.

Volcanic Weathering in Canada

Concurrently, a substantial mass of volcanic silicate rocks in what is now Canada underwent weathering, further sequestering CO2 from the air. These combined processes, the researchers assert, lowered atmospheric CO2 levels to below 200 parts per million—half of today’s concentrations—ushering in the Sturtian glaciation, a 57-million-year ice age characterized as “the most extreme interval of icehouse climate in Earth’s history,” according to the study.

Notably, around a decade ago, another group of scientists posited that the Sturtian glaciation stemmed from volcanic activity. However, Harvard researchers at the time suggested that cooling was primarily driven by aerosols ejected into the atmosphere from volcanoes, rather than by diminished volcanic activity.

Confirming the hypothesis, the commencement of this ice age occurred devoid of any organic life forms on Earth, indicating that only geological processes could have influenced atmospheric carbon levels.

“Geology governed climate during this period,” explained Dietmar Müller, co-author of the study from the University of Sydney. “We propose that the Sturtian ice age was instigated by a dual effect: a reorganization in plate tectonics minimized volcanic degassing, while concurrently, a volcanic province in Canada began weathering away, absorbing atmospheric CO2.”

Geological Clues to Future Climate

These findings, according to the geologists, may provide insight into future temperature shifts on Earth. Current trends show that increased continental collisions are again slowing CO2 emissions from volcanic sources, potentially steering the planet toward another ice age in the distant future. However, such a trajectory would unfold over millions of years, contrasting sharply with the rapid climate changes driven by human activities witnessed today.

“Regardless of future scenarios, it’s crucial to recognize that geological climate transformations, like the one examined here, occur at an exceedingly gradual pace,” emphasized Adriana Dutkiewicz, the study’s lead author from the University of Sydney. “NASA reports that human-induced climate change is occurring ten times faster than historical rates.”

Read the original article on: News Atlas

Read more: A Computer Science Technique Might Assist Determine When The Pandemic is ‘Over’