Geochemical and sedimentary evidence indicates that Earth experienced as many as four extreme cooling events between 750 million and 580 million years ago.
Geologists have proposed that Earth’s oceans and land surfaces were covered by ice from the poles to the Equator during these events. This “Snowball Earth” hypothesis is a subject of intense study and discussion.
Two important questions arise from this hypothesis. First, how, once frozen, could Earth thaw? Second, how could life survive periods of global freezing?
A proposed solution to the first question involves the outgassing of massive amounts of carbon dioxide by volcanoes, which could have warmed the planetary surface rapidly, especially given that major carbon dioxide sinks (rock weathering and photosynthesis) would have been dampened by a frozen Earth.
A possible answer to the second question may lie in the existence of present-day life-forms within hot springs and deep-sea vents, which would have persisted long ago despite the frozen state of Earth’s surface.
A counter-premise known as the “Slushball Earth” hypothesis contends that Earth was not completely frozen over. Rather, in addition to massive ice sheets covering the continents, parts of the planet (especially ocean areas near the Equator) could have been draped only by a thin, watery layer of ice amid areas of open sea.
Under this scenario, photosynthetic organisms in low-ice or ice-free regions could continue to capture sunlight efficiently and survive these periods of extreme cold.
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