Snowball Earth

This topic submitted by Lisa Headen and Chelsea Dorman ( headenln@muohio.edu and dormancs@muohio.edu ) on 1/29/04 .

Global Climate Change -Western Program-Miami University

Snowball Earth

Research Question
What is the probability that the entire earth was once covered in ice?
What research is there that supports and refutes the fact that the earth was once covered in ice?
What is the likelihood that it will happen again?
What caused the glaciation to occur in the first place?
How did the event impact life on earth?
What can we gain from the study of this event that we can apply to the earth as it is today?

Specific Prediction
Sun strength was weaker
EarthÕs axial tilt was higher (about 60 degrees)
EarthÕs magnetic pole wandered

Preliminary Research Design
Our research will revolve around library research as well as journal article and websites. There is no real experiment we could perform to determine our questions.

References

Websites

BBC News ÒÕSnowball EarthÕ Theory MeltedÓ Available from website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/1857545.stm
This website gives evidence against the idea of the snowball earth theory.

Hoffman, Paul and Daniel Schrag. ÒSnowball Earth.Ó Available from website http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=00027B74-C59A-1C75-9B81809EC588EF21&pageNumber=1&catID=2
This website gives extensive information on snowball earth.

Hoffman, Paul and Daniel Schrag. ÒThe Snowball Earth.Ó Available from website http://www-eps.harvard.edu/people/faculty/hoffman/snowball_paper.html

ÒSnowball EarthÓ Available from website http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/hefferan/Geol106/CLASS4/snowball_earth.htm
This is a class website giving basic information about what the theory is and how to find more information about it.

Wikipedia ÒSnowball Earth.Ó Available from website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_Earth
This website gives basic information about the idea of snowball earth.

Library / Articles

Beyth, M.; Avigad, D.; Wetzel, H.-U.; Matthews, A.; Berhe, S.M. ÒCrustal exhumation and indications for Snowball Earth in the East African Orogen: north Ethiopia and east EritreaÓ Precambrian Research Volume: 123, Issue: 2-4, June 10, 2003. pp. 187-201.
This article uses information about crustal deposits to support the idea of a snowball earth.

Evans D.A.D. ÒA fundamental Precambrian-Phanerozoic shift in earth's glacial style?Ó Tectonophysics, 6 November 2003, vol. 375, no. 1, pp. 353-385(33)
This article gives possible explainations for the cause of snowball earth.

GoddŽris, Y.; Donnadieu, Y.; NŽdŽlec, A.; DuprŽ, B.; Dessert, C.; et. al. ÒThe Sturtian ÔsnowballÕ glaciation: fire and ice.Ó Earth and Planetary Science Letters Volume: 211, Issue: 1-2, June 15, 2003. pp. 1-12.
This article explains how magma events affected the outcome of snowball earth.

Hoffman, Paul F.; Schrag, Daniel P. ÒThe snowball Earth hypothesis: testing the limits of global changeÓ Terra Nova Volume: 14, Issue: 3, June 1, 2002. pp. 129-155.
This article provides us with a basic understanding of the processes and ideas behind the snowball earth theory.

Hoffman, Paul F. ÒThe break-up of Rodinia, birth of Gondwana, true polar wander and the snowball Earth.Ó Journal of African Earth Sciences Volume: 28, Issue: 1, January, 1999. pp. 17-33.
This article talks about how the tilt of the earth may have been the catalyst for the snowball earth phenomena.

Maloof, Adam C.; Kellogg, James B.; Anders, Alison M.
ÒNeoproterozoic sand wedges: crack formation in frozen soils under diurnal forcing during a snowball Earth.Ó Earth and Planetary Science Letters Volume: 204, Issue: 1-2, November 30, 2002. pp. 1-15.
This article explanins how the temperature of the earth affects the sand deposited at any given time.

Meert, J.G.; van der Voo, R. ÒThe Neoproterozoic (1100-540 Ma) glacial intervals: No more snowball Earth? ReplyÓ Earth and Planetary Science Letters Volume: 131, Issue: 1-2, March, 1995. pp. 123-125.
This article gives information about why the snowball earth theory is incorrect.

Miller, Nathan R.; Alene, Mulugeta; Sacchi, Rosalino; Stern, Robert J.; Conti, Anna; Kršner, Alfred; et. al. ÒSignificance of the Tambien Group (Tigrai, N. Ethiopia) for Snowball Earth events in the ArabianÐNubian Shield.Ó Precambrian Research Volume: 121, Issue: 3-4, March 25, 2003. pp. 263-283.
This article looks at sediment deposition in the Arabian area as a sign of global temperature.

Tajika, Eiichi. ÒFaint young Sun and the carbon cycle: implication for the Proterozoic global glaciations.Ó Earth and Planetary Science Letters Volume: 214, Issue: 3-4, September 30, 2003. pp. 443-453.
This article talks about how the change in carbon could lead to a global decline in temperature leading to global ice cover.

Young, Grant M. ÒStratigraphic and tectonic settings of Proterozoic glaciogenic rocks and banded iron-formations: relevance to the snowball Earth debate.Ó Journal of African Earth Sciences Volume: 35, Issue: 4, November, 2002. pp. 451-466.
This article looks at the composition of rocks, specifically the iron deposits as a sign of temperature and composition of the atmosphere.

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