Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Palaeoclimates: the first two billion years.

James F Kasting1, Shuhei Ono

  • 1Penn State University, Department of Geosciences, University Park, PA 16802, USA. kasting@geosc.psu.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|June 7, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Active methylotrophic methanogenesis by a microbial consortium enriched from a terrestrial meteorite impact crater.

mBio·2025
Same author

Atmospheric oxygen and methane on the early Earth.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Aerobic nitrogen cycle 100 My before permanent atmospheric oxygenation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Evolution of the iodine cycle and the late stabilization of the Earth's ozone layer.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Hydrogenotrophic methanogens overwrite isotope signals of subsurface methane.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2024
Same author

Reply to Jautzy et al.: Considerations on methane equilibrium-do not forget to add the pepper.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024

Archaean climate fluctuated between hot and glacial periods, requiring high greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) due to lower solar luminosity. A rise in oxygen (O2) likely triggered later glaciations.

Area of Science:

  • Geoscience
  • Paleoclimatology
  • Biogeochemistry

Background:

  • Archaean climate conditions are uncertain due to sparse and conflicting geological evidence.
  • Oxygen isotope data from cherts suggest hot temperatures (55-85°C) between 3.5 and 3.2 billion years ago (Ga).
  • Geological evidence like diamictites indicates glacial conditions by 2.9 Ga and again around 2.3-2.4 Ga.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconcile conflicting geological evidence regarding Archaean climate.
  • To investigate the role of atmospheric composition in regulating Earth's early climate.
  • To explain the causes of Mid-Archaean and Early Palaeoproterozoic glaciations.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of oxygen isotopes in cherts.
  • Interpretation of geological formations such as diamictites.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Climate modeling requiring high concentrations of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4).

    • Main Results:

    • Reconciled evidence suggests a fluctuating Archaean climate: hot (3.5-3.2 Ga), glacial (2.9 Ga), warm (Late Archaean), and glacial again (2.3-2.4 Ga).
    • Lower solar luminosity necessitated high atmospheric CO2 or CH4 for temperatures above freezing.
    • A rise in O2 and decrease in CH4 around 2.4 Ga correlates with Palaeoproterozoic glaciations.

    Conclusions:

    • High greenhouse gas concentrations were essential for maintaining habitable temperatures in the early Archaean.
    • The origin of bacterial sulfate reduction may have caused Mid-Archaean glaciations via H2 and CH4 drawdown.
    • Atmospheric O2 increase provides a plausible mechanism for Early Palaeoproterozoic glaciations.