Snowball Earth climate dynamics and Cryogenian geology-geobiology
Planetary Science Institute · Harvard University · +32 more institutions
Abstract
Rises but lose mass and become sensitive to orbital changes. Equatorial dust accumulation engenders supraglacial oligotrophic meltwater ecosystems, favorable for cyanobacteria and certain eukaryotes. Meltwater flushing through cracks enables organic burial and submarine deposition of airborne volcanic ash. The subglacial ocean is turbulent and well mixed, in response to geothermal heating and heat loss through the ice cover, increasing with latitude. Terminal carbonate deposits, unique to Cryogenian glaciations, are products of intense weathering and ocean stratification. Whole-ocean warming and collapsing peripheral bulges allow marine coastal flooding to continue long after ice-sheet disappearance. The…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 32.44
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 498
Authors
27Topics & keywords
- Snowball Earth
- Earth system science
- Glacial period
- Geobiology
- Earth science
- Earth (classical element)
- Ecology
- Geology
- Climate action