The History of Ice on Earth by Michael Marshall
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Formation of Most of Our Coal Brought Earth Close to Global Glaciation
Formation of most of our coal brought Earth close to global glaciation Georg Feulnera,1 aPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Leibniz Association, D–14473 Potsdam, Germany Edited by Mark H. Thiemens, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, and approved September 5, 2017 (received for review July 7, 2017) The bulk of Earth’s coal deposits used as fossil fuel today was period (297–298 Ma), even lower values (19) of 100 ± 80 ppm formed from plant debris during the late Carboniferous and early are reached, coinciding with a maximum of the late-Palaeozoic Permian periods. The high burial rate of organic carbon corre- glaciations (14). Despite this evidence for orbital variations and lates with a significant drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide very low CO2 concentrations, the sensitivity of the climate dur- (CO2) at that time. A recent analysis of a high-resolution record ing the latest Carboniferous and earliest Permian to changes in reveals large orbitally driven variations in atmospheric CO2 con- orbital parameters and atmospheric CO2 has never been sys- centration between ∼150 and 700 ppm for the latest Carbonifer- tematically investigated. Earlier modeling efforts for the late- ous and very low values of 100 ± 80 ppm for the earliest Permian. Palaeozoic have primarily focused on ice-sheet growth (20–23) Here, I explore the sensitivity of the climate around the Carbonif- or precipitation patterns (24, 25). erous/Permian boundary to changes in Earth’s orbital parameters Here, I use a coupled climate model (26)—consisting of and in atmospheric CO2 using a coupled climate model. -
Cryogenian Glaciation and the Onset of Carbon-Isotope Decoupling” by N
CORRECTED 21 MAY 2010; SEE LAST PAGE REPORTS 13. J. Helbert, A. Maturilli, N. Mueller, in Venus Eds. (U.S. Geological Society Open-File Report 2005- M. F. Coffin, Eds. (Monograph 100, American Geophysical Geochemistry: Progress, Prospects, and New Missions 1271, Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of Planetary Union, Washington, DC, 1997), pp. 1–28. (Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, 2009), abstr. Geologic Mappers, Washington, DC, 2005), pp. 20–21. 44. M. A. Bullock, D. H. Grinspoon, Icarus 150, 19 (2001). 2010. 25. E. R. Stofan, S. E. Smrekar, J. Helbert, P. Martin, 45. R. G. Strom, G. G. Schaber, D. D. Dawson, J. Geophys. 14. J. Helbert, A. Maturilli, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 285, 347 N. Mueller, Lunar Planet. Sci. XXXIX, abstr. 1033 Res. 99, 10,899 (1994). (2009). (2009). 46. K. M. Roberts, J. E. Guest, J. W. Head, M. G. Lancaster, 15. Coronae are circular volcano-tectonic features that are 26. B. D. Campbell et al., J. Geophys. Res. 97, 16,249 J. Geophys. Res. 97, 15,991 (1992). unique to Venus and have an average diameter of (1992). 47. C. R. K. Kilburn, in Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, ~250 km (5). They are defined by their circular and often 27. R. J. Phillips, N. R. Izenberg, Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 1617 H. Sigurdsson, Ed. (Academic Press, San Diego, CA, radial fractures and always produce some form of volcanism. (1995). 2000), pp. 291–306. 16. G. E. McGill, S. J. Steenstrup, C. Barton, P. G. Ford, 28. C. M. Pieters et al., Science 234, 1379 (1986). 48. -
The Eemian - Local Sequences, Global Perspectives: Introduction
Geologie en Mijnbouw / Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 79 (2/3): 129-133 (2000) The Eemian - local sequences, global perspectives: introduction Thijs van Kolfschoten1 & Philip L. Gibbard2 1 Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA LEIDEN, the Netherlands; Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] 2 Godwin Institute of Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EN, England; e-mail:[email protected] Received: May 2000; accepted in revised form: 20 June 2000 G The history of this special issue gation and discussion on the Middle/Late Pleistocene boundary on the original type area of the Eemian in The history of this volume goes back to a 1973 IN- the Netherlands. The Eemian sequence was often QUA congress in New Zealand, where an INQUA used as reference and furthermore the term 'Eemian' Commission of Stratigraphy working group on major was widely used to identify the last interglacial far be subdivisions of the Pleistocene was established. The yond western central Europe. Examination of the Pleistocene series/epoch was hitherto generally subdi available data from the Eemian type area showed that vided into the Lower/Early, Middle and Upper/Late a re-evaluation of existing data and collection of criti Pleistocene (see, among others, Zeuner, 1935, 1959) cal new data were needed to define an unambiguous but the boundaries between these subseries/sube- stratigraphical boundary. Although the identification pochs were not formally defined. The boundary be of boundaries is central to stratigraphical subdivision, tween the Early and Middle Pleistocene was, in the it is nevertheless the Eemian as an entity that is of European literature, put at the base of the Cromerian particular interest for understanding the development Complex (Zagwijn, 1963) or at the Brunhes/Matuya- of a complete interglacial cycle. -
The Huronian Glaciation
Brasier, A.T., Martin, A.P., Melezhik, V.A., Prave, A.R., Condon, D.J., and Fallick, A.E. (2013) Earth's earliest global glaciation? Carbonate geochemistry and geochronology of the Polisarka Sedimentary Formation, Kola Peninsula, Russia. Precambrian Research, 235 . pp. 278-294. ISSN 0301-9268 Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge Content must not be changed in any way or reproduced in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holder(s) When referring to this work, full bibliographic details must be given http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/84700 Deposited on: 29 August 2013 Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 1 Earth’s earliest global glaciation? Carbonate geochemistry and geochronology of the 2 Polisarka Sedimentary Formation, Kola Peninsula, Russia 3 4 A.T. Brasier1,6*, A.P. Martin2+, V.A. Melezhik3,4, A.R. Prave5, D.J. Condon2, A.E. Fallick6 and 5 FAR-DEEP Scientists 6 7 1 Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081HV 8 Amsterdam 9 2 NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey, Environmental Science 10 Centre, Keyworth, UK. NG12 5GG 11 3 Geological Survey of Norway, Postboks 6315 Slupen, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway 12 4 Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen, Postboks 7803, NO-5020 Bergen, Norway 13 5 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 14 9AL, Scotland, UK 15 6 Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride, Scotland. -
Vegetation and Fire at the Last Glacial Maximum in Tropical South America
Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research VOLUME 14 Aims and Scope: Paleoenvironmental research continues to enjoy tremendous interest and progress in the scientific community. The overall aims and scope of the Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research book series is to capture this excitement and doc- ument these developments. Volumes related to any aspect of paleoenvironmental research, encompassing any time period, are within the scope of the series. For example, relevant topics include studies focused on terrestrial, peatland, lacustrine, riverine, estuarine, and marine systems, ice cores, cave deposits, palynology, iso- topes, geochemistry, sedimentology, paleontology, etc. Methodological and taxo- nomic volumes relevant to paleoenvironmental research are also encouraged. The series will include edited volumes on a particular subject, geographic region, or time period, conference and workshop proceedings, as well as monographs. Prospective authors and/or editors should consult the series editor for more details. The series editor also welcomes any comments or suggestions for future volumes. EDITOR AND BOARD OF ADVISORS Series Editor: John P. Smol, Queen’s University, Canada Advisory Board: Keith Alverson, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), UNESCO, France H. John B. Birks, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway Raymond S. Bradley, University of Massachusetts, USA Glen M. MacDonald, University of California, USA For futher -
Timeline of Natural History
Timeline of natural history This timeline of natural history summarizes significant geological and Life timeline Ice Ages biological events from the formation of the 0 — Primates Quater nary Flowers ←Earliest apes Earth to the arrival of modern humans. P Birds h Mammals – Plants Dinosaurs Times are listed in millions of years, or Karo o a n ← Andean Tetrapoda megaanni (Ma). -50 0 — e Arthropods Molluscs r ←Cambrian explosion o ← Cryoge nian Ediacara biota – z ←Earliest animals o ←Earliest plants i Multicellular -1000 — c Contents life ←Sexual reproduction Dating of the Geologic record – P r The earliest Solar System -1500 — o t Precambrian Supereon – e r Eukaryotes Hadean Eon o -2000 — z o Archean Eon i Huron ian – c Eoarchean Era ←Oxygen crisis Paleoarchean Era -2500 — ←Atmospheric oxygen Mesoarchean Era – Photosynthesis Neoarchean Era Pong ola Proterozoic Eon -3000 — A r Paleoproterozoic Era c – h Siderian Period e a Rhyacian Period -3500 — n ←Earliest oxygen Orosirian Period Single-celled – life Statherian Period -4000 — ←Earliest life Mesoproterozoic Era H Calymmian Period a water – d e Ectasian Period a ←Earliest water Stenian Period -4500 — n ←Earth (−4540) (million years ago) Clickable Neoproterozoic Era ( Tonian Period Cryogenian Period Ediacaran Period Phanerozoic Eon Paleozoic Era Cambrian Period Ordovician Period Silurian Period Devonian Period Carboniferous Period Permian Period Mesozoic Era Triassic Period Jurassic Period Cretaceous Period Cenozoic Era Paleogene Period Neogene Period Quaternary Period Etymology of period names References See also External links Dating of the Geologic record The Geologic record is the strata (layers) of rock in the planet's crust and the science of geology is much concerned with the age and origin of all rocks to determine the history and formation of Earth and to understand the forces that have acted upon it. -
Sea Level and Global Ice Volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene
Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene Kurt Lambecka,b,1, Hélène Roubya,b, Anthony Purcella, Yiying Sunc, and Malcolm Sambridgea aResearch School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia; bLaboratoire de Géologie de l’École Normale Supérieure, UMR 8538 du CNRS, 75231 Paris, France; and cDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China This contribution is part of the special series of Inaugural Articles by members of the National Academy of Sciences elected in 2009. Contributed by Kurt Lambeck, September 12, 2014 (sent for review July 1, 2014; reviewed by Edouard Bard, Jerry X. Mitrovica, and Peter U. Clark) The major cause of sea-level change during ice ages is the exchange for the Holocene for which the direct measures of past sea level are of water between ice and ocean and the planet’s dynamic response relatively abundant, for example, exhibit differences both in phase to the changing surface load. Inversion of ∼1,000 observations for and in noise characteristics between the two data [compare, for the past 35,000 y from localities far from former ice margins has example, the Holocene parts of oxygen isotope records from the provided new constraints on the fluctuation of ice volume in this Pacific (9) and from two Red Sea cores (10)]. interval. Key results are: (i) a rapid final fall in global sea level of Past sea level is measured with respect to its present position ∼40 m in <2,000 y at the onset of the glacial maximum ∼30,000 y and contains information on both land movement and changes in before present (30 ka BP); (ii) a slow fall to −134 m from 29 to 21 ka ocean volume. -
Stratigraphy and Correlation of Glacial Deposits of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Plateau and the Ranges of the Great Basin
STRATIGRAPHY AND CORRELATION OF GLACIAL DEPOSITS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, THE COLORADO PLATEAU AND THE RANGES OF THE GREAT BASIN Gerald M. Richmond u.s. Geological Survey, Box 25046, Federal Center, MS 913, Denver, Colorado 80225, U.S.A. INTRODUCTION glaciations (Charts lA, 1B) see Fullerton and Rich- mond, Comparison of the marine oxygen isotope The Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and Basin record, the eustatic sea level record, and the chronology and Range Provinces (Fig. 1) together occupy much of of glaciation in the United States of America (this the western interior United States. These regions volume). include approximately 140 mountain ranges that were glaciated during the Pleistocene. Most of the glaciers Historical Perspective were valley glaciers, but ice caps formed on uplands Following early recognition of deposits of two alpine locally. Discussion of the deposits of all of these ranges glaciations (Gilbert, 1890; Ball, 1908; Capps, 1909; would require monographic analysis. To avoid this, Atwood, 1909), deposits of three glaciations gradually representative ranges in each province are reviewed. became widely recognized (Alden, 1912, 1932, 1953; Atwood and Mather, 1912, 1932; Alden and Stebinger, Purpose and Scope 1913; Blackwelder, 1915; Atwood, 1915; Fryxell, 1930; This report summarizes the evidence for correlation Bradley, 1936). Subsequently drift of the intermediate of the Quaternary glacial deposits in 26 broadly glaciation was shown to represent two glacial advances distributed mountain ranges selected on the basis of (Fryxell, 1930; Horberg, 1938; Richmond, 1948, 1962a; availability of detailed information and length of glacial Moss, 1951a; Nelson, 1954; Holmes and Moss, 1955), record. and the older drift was shown to include deposits of Because the glacial deposits rarely are traceable from three glaciations (Richmond, 1957, 1962a, 1964a). -
Neoproterozoic Glaciations in a Revised Global Palaeogeography from the Breakup of Rodinia to the Assembly of Gondwanaland
Sedimentary Geology 294 (2013) 219–232 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Sedimentary Geology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sedgeo Invited review Neoproterozoic glaciations in a revised global palaeogeography from the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of Gondwanaland Zheng-Xiang Li a,b,⁎, David A.D. Evans b, Galen P. Halverson c,d a ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (CCFS) and The Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR), Department of Applied Geology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia b Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8109, USA c Earth & Planetary Sciences/GEOTOP, McGill University, 3450 University St., Montreal, Quebec H3A0E8, Canada d Tectonics, Resources and Exploration (TRaX), School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia article info abstract Article history: This review paper presents a set of revised global palaeogeographic maps for the 825–540 Ma interval using Received 6 January 2013 the latest palaeomagnetic data, along with lithological information for Neoproterozoic sedimentary basins. Received in revised form 24 May 2013 These maps form the basis for an examination of the relationships between known glacial deposits, Accepted 28 May 2013 palaeolatitude, positions of continental rifting, relative sea-level changes, and major global tectonic events Available online 5 June 2013 such as supercontinent assembly, breakup and superplume events. This analysis reveals several fundamental ’ Editor: J. Knight palaeogeographic features that will help inform and constrain models for Earth s climatic and geodynamic evolution during the Neoproterozoic. First, glacial deposits at or near sea level appear to extend from high Keywords: latitudes into the deep tropics for all three Neoproterozoic ice ages (Sturtian, Marinoan and Gaskiers), al- Neoproterozoic though the Gaskiers interval remains very poorly constrained in both palaeomagnetic data and global Rodinia lithostratigraphic correlations. -
A Community Effort Towards an Improved Geological Time Scale
A community effort towards an improved geological time scale 1 This manuscript is a preprint of a paper that was submitted for publication in Journal 2 of the Geological Society. Please note that the manuscript is now formally accepted 3 for publication in JGS and has the doi number: 4 5 https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2020-222 6 7 The final version of this manuscript will be available via the ‘Peer reviewed Publication 8 DOI’ link on the right-hand side of this webpage. Please feel free to contact any of the 9 authors. We welcome feedback on this community effort to produce a framework for 10 future rock record-based subdivision of the pre-Cryogenian geological timescale. 11 1 A community effort towards an improved geological time scale 12 Towards a new geological time scale: A template for improved rock-based subdivision of 13 pre-Cryogenian time 14 15 Graham A. Shields1*, Robin A. Strachan2, Susannah M. Porter3, Galen P. Halverson4, Francis A. 16 Macdonald3, Kenneth A. Plumb5, Carlos J. de Alvarenga6, Dhiraj M. Banerjee7, Andrey Bekker8, 17 Wouter Bleeker9, Alexander Brasier10, Partha P. Chakraborty7, Alan S. Collins11, Kent Condie12, 18 Kaushik Das13, Evans, D.A.D.14, Richard Ernst15, Anthony E. Fallick16, Hartwig Frimmel17, Reinhardt 19 Fuck6, Paul F. Hoffman18, Balz S. Kamber19, Anton Kuznetsov20, Ross Mitchell21, Daniel G. Poiré22, 20 Simon W. Poulton23, Robert Riding24, Mukund Sharma25, Craig Storey2, Eva Stueeken26, Rosalie 21 Tostevin27, Elizabeth Turner28, Shuhai Xiao29, Shuanhong Zhang30, Ying Zhou1, Maoyan Zhu31 22 23 1Department -
The Climate of the Last Glacial Maximum: Results from a Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model Andrew B
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 104, NO. D20, PAGES 24,509–24,525, OCTOBER 27, 1999 The climate of the Last Glacial Maximum: Results from a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model Andrew B. G. Bush Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada S. George H. Philander Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Abstract. Results from a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulation of the Last Glacial Maximum reveal annual mean continental cooling between 4Њ and 7ЊC over tropical landmasses, up to 26Њ of cooling over the Laurentide ice sheet, and a global mean temperature depression of 4.3ЊC. The simulation incorporates glacial ice sheets, glacial land surface, reduced sea level, 21 ka orbital parameters, and decreased atmospheric CO2. Glacial winds, in addition to exhibiting anticyclonic circulations over the ice sheets themselves, show a strong cyclonic circulation over the northwest Atlantic basin, enhanced easterly flow over the tropical Pacific, and enhanced westerly flow over the Indian Ocean. Changes in equatorial winds are congruous with a westward shift in tropical convection, which leaves the western Pacific much drier than today but the Indonesian archipelago much wetter. Global mean specific humidity in the glacial climate is 10% less than today. Stronger Pacific easterlies increase the tilt of the tropical thermocline, increase the speed of the Equatorial Undercurrent, and increase the westward extent of the cold tongue, thereby depressing glacial sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Pacific by ϳ5Њ–6ЊC. 1. Introduction and Broccoli, 1985a, b; Broccoli and Manabe, 1987; Broccoli and Marciniak, 1996]. -
The Ice Age in North Hertfordshire
The Ice Age in North Hertfordshire What do we mean by ‘the Ice Age’? Thinking about ‘the Ice Age’ brings up images of tundra, mammoths, Neanderthals and great sheets of ice across the landscape. This simple picture is wrong in many ways. Firstly, there have been many different ‘Ice Ages’ in the history of the earth. The most dramatic happened between 2.4 and 2.1 billion years ago, known as the Huronian Glaciation. About the same time, earth’s atmosphere suddenly became rich in oxygen, and some scientists believe that the atmospheric changes reduced the temperature so much that the whole planet became covered in ice. 1: an Arctic ice sheet (© Youino Joe, USFWS, used under a Creative Commons licence) Another global cover of ice happened 650 million years ago when the first multi-celled animals were evolving. Geologists sometimes refer to this period as the ‘Snowball Earth’ and biologists know it as the Proterozoic. Temperatures were so low that the equator was as cold as present-day Antarctica. They began to rise again as concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose to about 13%, 350 times greater than today. Some carbon dioxide came from volcanic eruptions, but some was excreted by microbial life, which was beginning to diversify and increase in numbers. Neither of these Ice Ages is the one that dominates the popular imagination. Both happened many millions of years before life moved on to land. There were no humans, no mammals, no dinosaurs: none of the creatures familiar from The Flintstones. The period most people think about as the ‘real’ Ice Age is the geologists’ Pleistocene era, from more than two-and-a-half million years ago to the beginning of the Holocene, almost 12,000 years ago.