The oldest glacier in the world could have appeared almost 3 billion years ago – research
[ad_1]
The oldest glacier in the world may be 2.9 billion years old. This is evidenced by a study published in the journal Geochemical Perspectives Letters, reports Live science. For their study, scientists dug up shale deposits and analyzed samples from deposits in northeastern South Africa. “We discovered remarkably well-preserved glacial deposits near the gold deposits of South Africa,” said study co-author Ilya Bindeman, a professor of isotope geochemistry and volcanology at the University of Oregon. Photo: Andrew Luyten/Gettyimages In the past, other researchers have discovered some physical patterns that indicate ancient glaciation in the region. However, evidence of glaciation during this epoch billions of years ago is hotly contested. For the study, scientists collected samples of sedimentary rocks in the Kaapvaal craton, an ancient mountain body located in the southeastern region of South Africa. In these samples, the researchers discovered the world’s oldest known glacial moraines, which are debris left by a glacier. The presence of this glacial material can provide clues about Earth’s climate and geography during that period. One theory is that this area of South Africa may have been close to one of the poles 2.9 billion years ago. “Another theory is that the entire Earth was in a ‘snowball’ period, when low concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere led to a ‘reverse greenhouse effect,’ causing much of the planet to freeze,” study co-author Axel Hofmann, an associate professor of geology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, said in a statement. Read also: Instead of ice – greenery. Ice from a secret mission has revealed new details about Greenland’s history
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
