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Palaeoclimate

Marinoan meltdown

The termination of the Marinoan glaciation 635 million years ago is one of the most spectacular climate change events ever recorded. Methane release from equatorial permafrost might have triggered this global meltdown.

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Figure 1: Yellow-coloured vertical pipes of carbonate cement formed by oxidation of methane 635 million years ago at Marino rocks, South Australia.

MARTIN KENNEDY

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Shields, G. Marinoan meltdown. Nature Geosci 1, 351–353 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo214

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