Changes in the Earth's orbit contributed to the emergence of complex life on the planet

The researchers studied a sequence of rocks that were deposited when most

The Earth's surface was covered with ice during severe glaciation. The planet was in this state for more than 50 million years; scientists call this period “Snowball Earth.”

"The earth is a snowball" is a hypothesis that suggeststhat the planet was completely covered in ice during part of the Cryogenic and Ediacaran periods of the Neoproterozoic era, as well as possibly in other geological eras.

"One of the most fundamental problems of the theoryThe snowball effect of Earth is that life appears to have survived during this period. This means that either the hypothesis itself is wrong, or life somehow survived the period of great glaciation.” Thomas Gernon, associate professor of geosciences at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study.

Scientists have studied glacial rocks as thick askilometer in South Australia, which appeared about 700 million years ago. Geological data showed that changes in the Earth's orbit led to an increase and decrease in ice sheets. This is what made it possible to periodically form ice-free areas on the snow-covered Earth.

The scientists' findings were published in the journalNature Communications.

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