Huronian glaciation

The Huronian glaciation (or Makganyene glaciation) extended from 2400 Mya to 2100 Mya, during the Siderian and Rhyacian periods of the Paleoproterozoic era, triggered by the oxygen catastrophe, which oxidised the atmospheric methane (a greenhouse gas). It was one of the most severe and longest ice ages in geologic history, similar to the Snowball Earth ice ages that happened in the Neoproterozoic era.[1][2][3][4] It was named due to evidence collected from Lake Huron region in North America where three separate horizons of glacial deposits are separated by non-glacial sediment.

The cause of the Huronian glaciation is not settled:

  1. perhaps triggered by the oxygen catastrophe;
  2. perhaps by a 250 million year lull in volcanic activity, resulting in lesser carbon dioxide levels and a reduced green house effect;
  3. perhaps due to the tilting of the Earth at the time. 2.5 billion years ago, the Earth had a much larger tilt than today. Earth is currently tilted on its axis at about 23.5 degrees.

References

  1. ^ First breath: Earth's billion-year struggle for oxygen New Scientist, #2746, 05 February 2010 by Nick Lane. A snowball period, c2.4 - c2.0 Gya, triggered by the Oxygen catastrophe [1]
  2. ^ Williams G.E.; Schmidt P.W. (1997). "Paleomagnetism of the Paleoproterozoic Gowganda and Lorrain formations, Ontario: low palaeolatitude for Huronian glaciation" (PDF). EPSL 153 (3): 157–169. Bibcode 1997E&PSL.153..157W. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(97)00181-7. http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EAE03/08262/EAE03-J-08262.pdf. 
  3. ^ Evans, D. A., Beukes, N. J. & Kirschvink, J. L. (1997), Low-latitude glaciation in the Palaeoproterozoic era, Nature 386, 262–266.
  4. ^ Robert E. Kopp, Joseph L. Kirschvink, Isaac A. Hilburn, and Cody Z. Nash (2005). "The Paleoproterozoic snowball Earth: A climate disaster triggered by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (32): 11131–6. Bibcode 2005PNAS..10211131K. doi:10.1073/pnas.0504878102. PMC 1183582. PMID 16061801. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0504878102v1. 
Proterozoic Eon
Paleoproterozoic Era Mesoproterozoic Era Neoproterozoic Era
Siderian Rhyacian Orosirian Statherian Calymmian Ectasian Stenian Tonian Cryogenian Ediacaran
Quaternary glaciation
Current glaciation
Pleistocene glaciation
1st • 2nd • 3rd–5th • 7th
Pre-Quaternary glaciations
Huronian • Cryogenian • Andean-Saharan • Karoo
Greenhouse Earth

(Tropical temperatures may reach poles)

 Icehouse Earth

(Global climate when ice ages are possible)

 Snowball Earth

(Earth's surface became nearly or entirely frozen over)
Warm period Interglacial Stadial (cooler period in an Interglacial, like the Little Ice Age) and Interstadials (warmer period within a Glacial) Glacial Cold period