Rare Record of Snowball Earth Confirmed in Scottish and Irish Rocks

Researchers examine rocks from before and after a major glaciation event called Snowball Earth to describe an evolutionary transition.

By Paul Smaglik
Aug 15, 2024 11:01 PM
Garbh Eileach, the largest island in the Garvellach island chain
A view of Garbh Eileach, the largest island in the Garvellach island chain where the gradational transition into snowball Earth is recorded. (Credit: Graham Shields)

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The years between 662 million years and 700 million years ago — just before and after glaciers left a half-mile thick rock layer — were mysterious.

There is little information about the planet's conditions just before the period of the deep freeze, which covered the planet in ice and is sometimes referred to as Snowball Earth.

Now, researchers have examined a rock feature showing what life on the planet was like — both before the freeze and after the subsequent thaw. The report in the Journal of the Geological Society of London shows how those events may have given rise to complex life forms.

Glacial Rock Formations

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