An asteroid may have turned ancient Earth into a snowball

A depiction of how Earth may have looked 650 million years ago during a period when snow and ice may have covered most, if not all, of the Earth's surface and oceans. New science suggests an asteroid may have triggered this"snowball" state.: a frigid, dry air would sweep over a world of endless ice, covering almost every inch of land and sea. This state of global refrigeration, known as Snowball Earth, has happened at least twice, both times more than 600 million years ago.

“The effects of a large impact followed by global glaciation would be disastrous to complex life and could lead to the extinction of humanity,” says study authorBlock out sunlight for long enough, the planet cools and its icy areas grow. Ice reflects sunlight back into space, so as you get more of it, the planet cools further, triggering more ice formation—and if this reaches a certain icy threshold, the planet inexorably becomes a snowball.

Volcanoes have been considered prime Snowball-making suspects: perhaps they erupted too much sulfur dioxide , engendering a cooling effect—or maybe, another theory suggests, Earth once had far fewer volcanoes belching carbon dioxide into the sky,, a climate modelling expert at Yale University. But it isn’t clear if volcanoes could erupt such high quantities of sulfur dioxide quickly enough, or experience a dramatic drop in carbon dioxide output, to kickstart Snowball Earth.

A fully frosted world did not occur in the balmy pre-Industrial and Cretaceous eras under any conditions. But adding 200 billion tonnes of sulfur dioxide to a cooler version of the Neoproterozoic era, and to the“It is a hell of a lot more difficult to induce a Snowball when it’s so warm on Earth,” says Köberl. But this study suggests that when the planet is already cold, “it’s possible.”

For now, this remains a theoretical exercise. “Impacts don’t explain everything,” says Köberl. “But you’ve still got to keep an open mind,” because this study, and events like Chicxulub, demonstrate just how forcefully asteroids can change Earth’s fate.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Sheltering Science at the End of the Earth: Part 3No one can be voted off the island, so scientists found ways to keep spirits high and relationships strong.
Source: NOAA - 🏆 160. / 63 Read more »

China Dominates Rare Earth Elements Supply Chain, Raising National Security ConcernsRare Earth Elements, or REEs, are found in items we use every single day in the United States, but before they reach our products, they must go through China’s supply chain. The administration has been pushing for increased U.S. production of Rare Earth Elements and other critical minerals, as part of its economic agenda. But for years, efforts like the complex separation process and battery manufacturing have been dominated by China. "It is a national security concern for a couple of reasons. The first being, probably a lot of those minerals are important in the fighting or defending of your country," Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said
Source: FoxBusiness - 🏆 458. / 53 Read more »

How Earth's new Rubin Observatory will usher in the next era of asteroid space missionsRobert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »

Examining Digital Twin Technology for Earth System ModelingNESDIS is assessing the maturity of Earth observation digital twin technology and its integration into NOAA's systems. This report by Science and Technology Corp. (STC) presents a prototype digital twin and future studies by Orion Space Solutions and Lockheed Martin.
Source: NOAASatellites - 🏆 415. / 53 Read more »

Massive European Satellite to Plummet Back Down to Earth UncontrollablyScience and Technology News and Videos
Source: futurism - 🏆 85. / 68 Read more »

All Of Zendaya’s 'Dune: Part 2' Press Tour Looks So FarSo far, it's all about earth tones and midsection.
Source: wmag - 🏆 723. / 51 Read more »