What is the Huronian glaciation?
Q: What is the Huronian glaciation?
A: The Huronian glaciation is a period of sever and long-lasting ice ages that occurred from 2400 million years ago to 2100 million years ago during the Paleoproterozoic era.
Q: What is the evidence for the Huronian glaciation?
A: The Huronian glaciation is named after the evidence found in the Lake Huron region, where three separate horizons of glacial deposits are separated by non-glacial sediment.
Q: What caused the Huronian glaciation?
A: The Huronian glaciation was probably triggered by the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE), which removed atmospheric methane, a greenhouse gas, and eventually supplied free oxygen to the atmosphere.
Q: What is the relationship between the Huronian glaciation and Snowball Earth ice ages?
A: The Huronian glaciation was similar to the Snowball Earth ice ages that happened later, in the Neoproterozoic era.
Q: What caused the repeated cycles of warm and ice age periods during the Huronian glaciation?
A: The repeated cycles of warm and ice age periods were probably caused by the flourishing cyanobacteria during the warm periods, which produced huge amounts of oxygen. The oxygen removed the free methane and used up carbon dioxide, causing the temperature to crash. This slowed down the bacteria, and the temperature rose again.
Q: What is another possible cause of the Huronian glaciation?
A: Another possible cause of the Huronian glaciation is a 250 million year lull in volcanic activity, which resulted in lower carbon dioxide levels and a reduced greenhouse effect.
Q: How severe was the Huronian glaciation?
A: The Huronian glaciation was one of the most severe and longest ice ages in geologic history.
