*Evidence that early Antarctic Circumpolar Current development affected global climate*
Thirty-eight million years ago, tropical jungles thrived in what are now the cornfields of the American Midwest and furry marsupials wandered temperate forests in what is now the frozen Antarctic.
The temperature differences of that era, known as the late Eocene, between the equator and Antarctica were half what they are today. (more…)
Geologist Noah Plavansky examines rocks deposited after a "Snowball Earth" glacial event. Image credit: Lyons Lab, UC-Riverside
*Spike in ancient marine phosphorus concentrations linked to emergence of complex life*
Biogeochemists have found new evidence linking “Snowball Earth” glacial events to the rise of early animals. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Study results appear in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.
The controversial Snowball Earth hypothesis posits that, on several occasions, the Earth was covered from pole to pole by a thick sheet of ice lasting for millions of years.
These glaciations, the most severe in Earth history, occurred from 750 to 580 million years ago. (more…)
