Did an asteroid impact cause temporary warming during snowball Earth?
Did an asteroid impact cause temporary warming during snowball Earth?
The ca. 717 Ma low-latitude Sturtian “snowball Earth” glaciation lasted ∼56 Myr. However, sedimentological evidence for transient, open ocean conditions during the glaciation appears to contradict the concept of a global deep freeze. We demonstrate multiple lines of geologic evidence from five continents for a temporary, localized sea-ice retreat during the middle of the Sturtian glaciation, which coincides with one, perhaps two, asteroid impacts, and arguably more terrestrial impacts as inferred from the lunar impact record. The well-dated Jänisjärvi impact (ca. 687 Ma) is synchronous with repeated volcanic ash falls whose deposition is most parsimoniously interpreted to indicate a partially ice-free ocean. Temporary greenhouse warming caused by the vaporization of sea ice can explain localized glacial retreat within restricted seaways between these continents, where ice flow would have been constricted and sea ice thinnest before impact.
Sturtian glaciation, asteroid impact, greenhouse warming, slushball, snowball Earth
Lan, Zhongwu
4526d3e1-2a26-4136-a047-4d8a9394763f
Mitchell, Ross
4697e046-5853-4611-8143-b64b65923a97
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
Nordsvan, Adam
d50a2594-a913-467f-88ce-16af0a131b61
1 March 2022
Lan, Zhongwu
4526d3e1-2a26-4136-a047-4d8a9394763f
Mitchell, Ross
4697e046-5853-4611-8143-b64b65923a97
Gernon, Thomas
658041a0-fdd1-4516-85f4-98895a39235e
Nordsvan, Adam
d50a2594-a913-467f-88ce-16af0a131b61
Lan, Zhongwu, Mitchell, Ross, Gernon, Thomas and Nordsvan, Adam
(2022)
Did an asteroid impact cause temporary warming during snowball Earth?
Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 581, [117407].
(doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117407).
Abstract
The ca. 717 Ma low-latitude Sturtian “snowball Earth” glaciation lasted ∼56 Myr. However, sedimentological evidence for transient, open ocean conditions during the glaciation appears to contradict the concept of a global deep freeze. We demonstrate multiple lines of geologic evidence from five continents for a temporary, localized sea-ice retreat during the middle of the Sturtian glaciation, which coincides with one, perhaps two, asteroid impacts, and arguably more terrestrial impacts as inferred from the lunar impact record. The well-dated Jänisjärvi impact (ca. 687 Ma) is synchronous with repeated volcanic ash falls whose deposition is most parsimoniously interpreted to indicate a partially ice-free ocean. Temporary greenhouse warming caused by the vaporization of sea ice can explain localized glacial retreat within restricted seaways between these continents, where ice flow would have been constricted and sea ice thinnest before impact.
Text
EPSL-D-20-01685_accepted
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Accepted/In Press date: 29 January 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 February 2022
Published date: 1 March 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by NSFC grants to R.N.M. ( 41888101 ) and Z.W.L. ( 41673016 ), a Key Research Program of the Institute of Geology & Geophysics, CAS , grant to R.N.M. ( IGGCAS-201905 ), a State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution , Institute of Geology & Geophysics, CAS grant to Z.W.L. ( SKL-Z202001 ), and a NERC grant to T.M.G. ( NE/R004978/1 ). This is a contribution to IGCP 648. The manuscript benefited from constructive reviews from Bill Bottke and an anonymous reviewer, as well as the insightful editorial guidance of Bill McKinnon.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
Keywords:
Sturtian glaciation, asteroid impact, greenhouse warming, slushball, snowball Earth
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 454684
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/454684
ISSN: 0012-821X
PURE UUID: b2821aad-5c90-4344-b32e-89de26f19e12
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Date deposited: 21 Feb 2022 17:34
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 07:06
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Author:
Zhongwu Lan
Author:
Ross Mitchell
Author:
Adam Nordsvan
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