@thebrainmaze

A snowball Earth. Scientists believe this happened at least twice in Earth's history. But what caused these extreme ice ages?

♬ original sound - The Brain Maze

Stillness in the Swing: Björk’s Icelandic Jazz Soul

Luktar‑Gvendur — Björk’s tender, jazz‑soaked collaboration with Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar — brings an Icelandic stillness that fits the article like a breath of cold, clean air. Born in Reykjavík and shaped by a landscape where volcanoes, glaciers, and ocean winds coexist, Björk has long used her voice to defend the planet that raised her. Her activism against environmental destruction in Iceland — from protecting the highlands to fighting for sustainable energy — echoes through the gentle swing of this track. The song’s warm upright bass, brushed drums, and Björk’s crystalline phrasing create a peaceful, Earth‑honoring atmosphere, as if the music itself were carved from basalt and mist. It’s jazz, yes, but jazz filtered through Iceland’s soul: intimate, organic, and deeply protective of the fragile world it celebrates.

🎶 🌋❄️ 🌬️ 🌅 ⏳ 🧭 🧊 🌌 🌍 🪨 🌊 🔥 🔊 Luktar‐Gvendur - Björk and Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar

---

---

Introduction — “The Earth is a living fire.” “La Terre est un feu vivant.” — Haroun Tazieff, Belgian volcanologist and geologist.

Few quotes capture the paradox of our planet better: a world shaped by fire, yet capable of freezing into a silent, glittering sphere of ice. New research finally explains how Earth once slipped into its longest deep freeze — a 57‑million‑year glaciation so extreme it turned the planet into a frozen marble from pole to equator.

❄️ The day Earth became a snowball

Around 700 million years ago, Earth entered the Sturtian glaciation, an ice age so severe that oceans froze and ice sheets reached the equator. Scientists long struggled to explain how such a dramatic freeze began — and how it lasted for tens of millions of years. Recent studies confirm that this was no ordinary cold spell but a planetary‑scale climate catastrophe.

🌋 Volcanic silence: the first trigger

Australian researchers discovered that the freeze began when volcanic CO₂ emissions plummeted to historic lows. Normally, mid‑ocean ridge volcanoes release enough carbon dioxide to maintain a greenhouse effect that keeps Earth warm. But around 717 million years ago, this natural heating system weakened dramatically, allowing global temperatures to collapse.

🪨 Canada’s ancient rocks delivered the second blow

At the same time, the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia exposed vast expanses of fresh volcanic rock — especially in what is now Canada’s Franklin large igneous province. These rocks underwent intense silicate weathering, a chemical process that absorbs atmospheric CO₂. With volcanic emissions low and weathering high, CO₂ levels fell below 200 ppm, locking Earth into a runaway ice‑albedo feedback loop.

🌊 Why this ice age lasted 57 million years

A complementary study shows that seafloor weathering also played a decisive role. During the Sturtian glaciation, acidic oceans and porous oceanic crust accelerated CO₂‑absorbing reactions on the seafloor — up to 25–53 times higher than modern rates. This prevented CO₂ from rebuilding in the atmosphere, prolonging the freeze for an astonishing 56–57 million years.

🌡️ A frozen world with no complex life

During this icy epoch, Earth hosted no plants, no animals, and no complex ecosystems — only simple microbial life clinging to survival beneath the ice. Geological evidence from places like the Garvellach Islands preserves finely layered sediments that formed under these extreme conditions, offering a rare window into a world locked in ice for geological ages.

⚠️ Lessons for today’s rapidly warming planet

While the Sturtian freeze unfolded over millions of years, today’s climate is changing ten times faster due to human activity. The ancient ice age shows how sensitive Earth’s climate is to shifts in CO₂ — whether too little or too much. Understanding these deep‑time catastrophes helps scientists grasp the delicate balance that keeps our planet habitable.

#SnowballEarth ❄️ #Geodynamics 🌋 #Paleoclimate 🧊 #EarthHistory 🌍 #DeepTime ⏳