Abstract
Two global glaciations occurred during the Neoproterozoic. Snowball Earth theory posits that these were terminated after millions of years of frigidity when initial warming from rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations was amplified by the reduction of ice cover and hence a reduction in planetary albedo1,2. This scenario implies that most of the geological record of ice cover was deposited in a brief period of melt-back3. However, deposits in low palaeo-latitudes show evidence of glacial–interglacial cycles4,5,6. Here we analyse the sedimentology and oxygen and sulphur isotopic signatures of Marinoan Snowball glaciation deposits from Svalbard, in the Norwegian High Arctic. The deposits preserve a record of oscillations in glacier extent and hydrologic conditions under uniformly high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We use simulations from a coupled three-dimensional ice sheet and atmospheric general circulation model to show that such oscillations can be explained by orbital forcing in the late stages of a Snowball glaciation. The simulations suggest that while atmospheric CO2 concentrations were rising, but not yet at the threshold required for complete melt-back, the ice sheets would have been sensitive to orbital forcing. We conclude that a similar dynamic can potentially explain the complex successions observed at other localities.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hoffman, P. F. & Schrag, D. P. The Snowball Earth hypothesis: Testing the limits of global change. Terra Nova 14, 129–155 (2002).
Donnadieu, Y., Goddéris, Y. & Le Hir, G. Treatise on Geochemistry Vol. 6, 217–229 2nd edn (Elsevier, 2014).
Hoffman, P. F. Strange bedfellows: Glacial diamictite and cap carbonate from the Marinoan (635 Ma) glaciation in Namibia. Sedimentology 58, 57–119 (2011).
Allen, P. A. & Etienne, J. L. Sedimentary challenge to Snowball Earth. Nature Geosci. 1, 817–825 (2008).
Rieu, R., Allen, P. A., Plötze, M. & Pettke, T. Climatic cycles during a Neoproterozoic “snowball” glacial epoch. Geology 35, 299–302 (2007).
Le Heron, D. P., Busfield, M. E. & Kamona, F. An interglacial on snowball Earth? Dynamic ice behaviour revealed in the Chuos Formation, Namibia. Sedimentology 60, 411–427 (2013).
Fairchild, I. J. & Hambrey, M. J. Vendian basin evolution in East Greenland and NE Svalbard. Precambrian Res. 73, 217–233 (1995).
Halverson, G. P. in Neoproterozoic Geobiology and Paleobiology (eds Xiao, S. & Kaufman, A. J.) 231–271 (Springer, 2006).
Li, X.-X., Evans, D. A. & Halverson, G. P. Neoproterozoic glaciations in a revised global palaeogeography from the breakup of Rodinia to the assembly of Gondwanaland. Sedim. Geol. 294, 219–232 (2013).
Petronis, M. S. et al. in AGU Fall Meeting 2013 Abstract #GP41A-1107 (American Geophysical Union, 2013)
Harland, W. B. The Geology of Svalbard (Geological Society, 1997).
Creveling, J. R. & Mitrovica, J. X. The sea-level fingerprint of a Snowball Earth deglaciation. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 399, 74–85 (2014).
Lyons, W. B. et al. The McMurdo Dry Valleys long-term ecological research program: New understanding of the biogeochemistry of the Dry Valley lakes: A review. Polar Geogr. 25, 202–217 (2001).
Hoffman, P. et al. Are basal Ediacaran (635 Ma) basal ‘cap dolostones’ diachronous? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 258, 114–131 (2007).
Fairchild, I. J., Hambrey, M. J., Spiro, B. & Jefferson, T. H. Late Proterozoic glacial carbonates in northeast Spitsbergen: New insights into the carbonate-tillite association. Geol. Mag. 126, 469–490 (1989).
Bao, H., Fairchild, I. J., Wynn, P. M. & Spötl, C. Stretching the envelope of past surface environments: Neoproterozoic glacial lakes from Svalbard. Science 323, 119–122 (2009).
Cao, X. & Bao, H. Dynamic model constraints on oxygen-17 depletion in atmospheric O2 after a snowball Earth. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 14546–14550 (2013).
Le Hir, G. et al. The snowball Earth aftermath: Exploring the limits of continental weathering processes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 277, 453–463 (2009).
Pierrehumbert, R., Abbot, D. S., Voigt, A. & Koll, D. Climate of the Neoproterozoic. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 39, 417–460 (2011).
Pollard, D. & Kasting, J. F. in The Extreme Proterozoic: Geology, Geochemistry, and Climate (eds Jenkins, G. S., McMenamin, M. A. S., McKay, C. P. & Sohl, L.) 91–105 (Geophysical Monograph Series 146, American Geophysical Union, 2004).
Le Hir, G., Ramstein, G., Donnadiieu, Y. & Goddéris, Y. Scenario for the evolution of atmospheric p CO 2 during a snowball Earth. Geology 36, 47–50 (2008).
Hoffman, P. F. & Li, Z. X. A palaeogeographic context for Neoproterozoic glaciation. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 277, 158–172 (2009).
Pierrehumbert, R. T. Climate dynamics of a hard Snowball Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 110, D01111 (2005).
Spiegl, T. C., Paeth, H. & Frimmel, H. E. Evaluating key parameters for the initiation of a Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth with a single Earth System Model of intermediate complexity. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 415, 100–110 (2015).
Donnadieu, Y., Ramstein, G., Fluteau, F., Besse, J. & Meert, J. Is high obliquity a plausible cause for Neoproterozoic glaciations? Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 2127 (2002).
Paillard, D. Quaternary glaciations: From observations to theories. Quat. Sci. Rev. 107, 11–24 (2015).
Rooney, A. D. et al. A Cryogenican chronology: Two long-lasting synchronous Neoproterozoic glaciations. Geology 43, 459–462 (2015).
Abbot, D. S. & Pierrehumbert, R. T. Mudball: Surface dust and Snowball Earth deglaciation. J. Geophys. Res. 115, D03104 (2010).
Abbot, D. S., Voigt, S. & Koll, D. The Jormungand global climate state and implications for Neoproterozoic glaciations. J. Geophys. Res. 116, D18103 (2011).
Rose, B. E. J. Stable “Waterbelt” climates controlled by tropical ocean heat transport: A nonlinear coupled climate mechanism of relevance to Snowball Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 120, 1404–1423 (2015).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the NERC-funded project GR3/ NE/H004963/1 Glacial Activity in Neoproterozoic Svalbard (GAINS). Logistical support was provided by the University Centre in Svalbard. This work was granted access to the HPC resources of CCRT under allocation 2014-017013 made by GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif). We also thank D. Paillard and P. Hoffman for stimulating discussions and valuable insights.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Field data were collected and analysed by I.J.F., D.I.B., E.J.F., M.J.H., E.A.McM., M.S.P., P.M.W. and C.T.E.S. Geochemical analyses were conducted by H.B. and P.M.W. Model experiments were designed and conducted by G.L.H., Y.D., C.D. and G.R. The manuscript and figures were drafted by D.I.B., I.J.F. and G.L.H., with contributions from the other authors.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary information
Supplementary Information
Supplementary Information (PDF 13735 kb)
Supplementary Information
Supplementary Information (GIF 2692 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Benn, D., Le Hir, G., Bao, H. et al. Orbitally forced ice sheet fluctuations during the Marinoan Snowball Earth glaciation. Nature Geosci 8, 704–707 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2502
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2502
This article is cited by
-
Orbital forcing of ice sheets during snowball Earth
Nature Communications (2021)
-
Weak tides during Cryogenian glaciations
Nature Communications (2020)
-
Neoproterozoic glass-bleeding
Nature Geoscience (2016)
-
Snowball climate conundrum
Nature Geoscience (2015)