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Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

Conditions on Early Earth

Conditions on Early Earth

Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.

Conditions on Early Earth

Conditions on Early Earth

Around 4 billion years ago, oceans began to condense on earth while volcanic eruptions released nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen into the primordial atmosphere. However, organisms with the characteristics of life were not initially present on earth. Scientists have used experimentation to determine how organisms evolved that could grow, reproduce, and maintain an internal environment.

Tidal Forces

Tidal Forces

The origin of Earth's ocean tides has been a subject of continuous investigation for over 2000 years. However, the work of Newton is considered to be the beginning of the proper understanding of the phenomenon. Ocean tides are the result of gravitational tidal forces. These same tidal forces are present in any astronomical body; they are responsible for the internal heat that creates the volcanic activity on Io, one of Jupiter's moons, and the breakup of stars that get too close to black holes.

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.

The Fossil Record

The Fossil Record

The fossil record documents only a small fraction of all organisms that have ever inhabited Earth. Fossilization is a rare process, and most organisms never become fossils. Moreover, the fossil record only exhibits fossils that have been discovered. Nevertheless, sedimentary rock fossils of long-lived, abundant, hard-bodied organisms dominate the fossil record. These fossils offer valuable information, such as an organism's physical form, behavior, and age. Studying the fossil record helps...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths

Published on: July 1, 2019

Geological rhythms and cometary impacts.

M R Rampino, R B Stothers

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|December 21, 1984

Summary

Periodic comet impacts, occurring every 33 and 260 million years, correlate with geological and biological upheavals. These cycles suggest extraterrestrial influences on Earth's evolution and tectonism.

Area of Science:

Geology
Paleontology
Astronomy

Background:

The Phanerozoic Eon is marked by significant geological and biological events.
Understanding long-term cycles in Earth's history is crucial for evolutionary and geological studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and analyze periodicities in geological and biological upheavals during the Phanerozoic Eon.
To investigate the potential link between these periodicities and extraterrestrial phenomena, specifically comet impacts.

Main Methods:

Time-series analysis of geological and biological upheaval data from the Phanerozoic Eon.
Comparison of identified periodicities with the cycles of impact cratering on Earth.

Main Results:

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Two dominant, stable long-term periodicities were identified: approximately 33 +/- 3 million years and 260 +/- 25 million years.

These cycles closely match the periods and phases of Earth's impact cratering record.

The findings suggest a strong correlation between periodic comet impacts and global tectonism and biological evolution.

Conclusions:

Periodic comet impacts are a significant factor influencing Earth's geological and biological history.
The observed 33 and 260-million-year cycles may originate from the solar system's interactions with interstellar clouds during its galactic orbit.