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Impact-induced initiation of Snowball Earth: A model study
Minmin Fu1, Dorian S Abbot2, Christian Koeberl3
1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University, 210 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Science Advances
|February 9, 2024
Summary
Large asteroid impacts may have triggered "Snowball Earth" events by causing runaway ice-albedo feedback. Colder ocean conditions, like those in the Neoproterozoic, are more susceptible to impact-induced global glaciation.
Area of Science:
- Earth Science
- Climate Science
- Planetary Science
Background:
- Geological evidence indicates multiple
- Snowball Earth
- episodes during the Paleoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic eras.
- These global glaciations represent the most extreme climate shifts in Earth's history.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether asteroid impacts could initiate
- Snowball Earth
- events.
- To simulate the climate response to impacts under various pre-impact climate conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a sophisticated atmosphere-ocean climate model.
- Simulated climate responses to an asteroid impact comparable to the Chicxulub impact.
- Tested scenarios for preindustrial, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Cretaceous-like, and Neoproterozoic climates.
Main Results:
- Impact winters can trigger runaway ice-albedo feedback leading to global glaciation.
- Warm oceans (preindustrial, Cretaceous) inhibited Snowball initiation.
- Colder oceans (LGM, Neoproterozoic) showed rapid sea ice formation and high sensitivity to initial conditions.
Conclusions:
- Impact-induced glaciation is a robust mechanism for initiating
- Snowball Earth
- events, particularly in colder climate states.
- The study supports the hypothesis that large impacts could trigger global glaciations.
- Further geological tests are proposed to validate this impact hypothesis.
