Frozen Earth: How Ancient Volcanoes Triggered a Global Ice Age
Scientists studying the so-called “Snowball Earth” period say the event may have been set off by the Franklin eruptions, a series of massive volcanic events that occurred roughly 720 million years ago across what is now northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland.
While other volcanic episodes of similar scale have occurred in Earth’s history, this one was different: it coincided with an already cold global climate and took place before land plants had evolved. Without plant cover to slow erosion, newly formed volcanic rock was rapidly weathered, pulling large amounts of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
“Chemical weathering acts like a thermostat for Earth’s climate,” researchers explained. “But if that thermostat removes too much CO₂ too quickly, the planet cools rapidly.”
The sharp drop in atmospheric CO₂, a key greenhouse gas, is believed to have pushed Earth over a tipping point, resulting in a planet-wide deep freeze even in equatorial regions.
The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, used climate models to test the effects of large-scale erosion caused by the eruptions. It found that similar volcanic activity during warmer periods in Earth’s history did not cause global glaciation, in part because vegetation helped stabilize the climate.
Researchers say the findings highlight how closely Earth’s climate is tied to geological and biological processes and how seemingly small changes in conditions can lead to dramatic consequences.
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