Low-latitude glaciation and rapid changes in the Earth's obliquity explained by obliquity-oblateness feedback

Nature

Volumn 396, Issue 6710, 1998, Pages 453-455

  Williams, Darren M ^a   Kasting, James F ^b   Frakes, Lawrence A ^c  

^a BEHREND COLLEGE   (United States)

^b PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ICE;

EARTH ROTATION; GLACIATION; OBLIQUITY; PALEOCLIMATE; PALEOMAGNETISM; PROTEROZOIC;

ARTICLE; ASTRONOMY; ATMOSPHERE; EVOLUTION; GEOLOGY; HISTORY; HYPOTHESIS; MAGNETIC FIELD; PRIORITY JOURNAL;

NASA DISCIPLINE EXOBIOLOGY; NON-NASA CENTER;

ATMOSPHERE; COLD CLIMATE; EARTH (PLANET); EVOLUTION, PLANETARY; ICE; MODELS, THEORETICAL; MOON;

EID: 0032480972     PISSN: 00280836     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1038/24845     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Evans, D. A., Beukes, N. J. & Kirschvink, J. L. Low-latitude glaciation in the Palaeopterozoic era. Nature 386, 262-266 (1997).
2. Williams, G. e. Schmidt, P. W. Paleomagnetism of the Palaeopterozoic Gowganda and Lorrain formations, Ontario: low paleolatitude for Huronian glaciation. Earth Planet. Sci Lett. 153, 157-169 (1997).
3. Frakes, L. A. Climates Throughout Geologic Time (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1979).
4. Embleton, B. J. & Williams, G. E. Low paleolatitude of deposition for late Precambrian periglacial varvites in South Australia: implications for palaeoclimatology. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 79, 419-430 (1986).
5. Zhang, H. & Zhang, W. Palaeomagnetic data, late Precambrian magnetostratigraphy, and tectonic evolution of eastern China. Precambr. Res. 29, 65-75 (1985).
6. Schmidt, P. W. & Williams, G. E. The Neoproterozoic climatic paradox: Equatorial paleolatitude for Marinoan glaciation near sea level in South Australia. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 134, 107-124 (1995).
7. Park, J. K. Paleomagnetic evidence for low-latitude glaciation during deposition of the Neoproterozoic Rapitan Group, Mackenzie Mountains, N.W.T., Canada. Can. J. Earth Sci. 34, 34-49 (1997).
8. Hoffman, P. F., Kaufman, A. J., Halverson, G. P. & Schrag, D. P. A Neoproterozoic snowball Earth. Science 281, 1342-1346 (1998).
9. Meert, J. G. & Van der Voo, R. The Neoproterozoic (1000-540 Ma) glacial intervals: No more snowball earth? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 123, 1-13 (1994).
10. Williams, G. E., Schmidt, P. W., Embleton, B. J., Meert, J. G. & Van der Voo, R. The Neoproterozoic (1000-540 Ma) glacial intervals; no more snowball earth?; discussion and reply. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 131, 115-125 (1995).
11. Williams, G. E. History of the Earth's obliquity. Earth Sci. Rev. 34, 1-45 (1993).
12. Ward, W. R. Climatic variations on Mars: I. Astronomical theory of insolation. J. Geophys. Res. 79, 3375-3386 (1974).
13. Rubincam, D. P. The obliquity of Mars and "climate friction". J. Geophys. Res. 98, 10827-10832 (1993).
14. Crowley, T. J. & Baum, S. K. Effect of decreased solar luminosity on Late Precambrian ice extent. J. Geophys. Res. 98, 16723-16732 (1993).
15. Caldeira, K. & Kasting, J. F. Susceptibility of the early Earth to irreversible glaciation caused by carbon dioxide clouds. Nature 359, 226-228 (1992).
16. Vanyo, I. P. & Awramik, S. M. Length of day and obliquity of the ecliptic 850 Ma ago - preliminary results of a stromatolite growth model. Geophys. Res. Lett. 9, 1125-1128 (1982).
17. Awramik, S. M. & Vanyo, J. P. Heliotropism in modern stromatolites. Science 231, 1279-1281 (1986).
18. Rochester, M. G. The secular decrease of obliquity due to dissipative core-mantle coupling. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 46, 109-126 (1976).
19. Bills, B. G. Obliquity-oblateness feedback: Are climatically sensitive values of obliquity dynamically unstable? Geopys. Res. Lett. 21, 177-180 (1994).
20. Rubincam, D. P. Has climate changed Earth's tilt? Paleoceanography 10, 365-372 (1995).
21. Peltier, W. R. & Jiang, X. Precession constant of the Earth: Variations through the ice-age. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 2299-2302 (1994).
22. Ito, T., Masuda, K., Hamano, Y. & Matsui, T. Climate friction: A possible cause for secular drift of Earth's obliquity. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 15147-15161 (1995).
23. Williams, D. M. The Stability of Habitable Planetary Environments. Thesis. Pennsylvania State Univ. (1998).
24. Hecht, J. & Scotese, C. R. Ages of the Earth (MacMilian, New York, 1997).
25. Imbrie, J. et al. On the structure and origin of major glaciation cycles: 1. linear responses to Milankovitch forcing. Paleoceanography 7, 701-738 (1992).
26. Levison, H. F. & Duncan, M. I. The long-term dynamical behavior of short-period comets. Icarus 108, 18-36 (1994).
27. Laskar, J., Joutel, F. & Robutel, P. Orbital, precessional, and insolation quantities for the Earth from -20 Myr to +10 Myr. Astron. Astrophys. 270, 522-533 (1993).
28. Goldreich, P. History of the lunar orbit. Rev. Geophys. 4, 411-439 (1966).
29. Touma, J. & Wisdom, J. Evolution of the Earth-Moon system. Astron. J. 108, 1943-1961 (1994).
30. Ida, S., Canup, R. M. & Stewart, G. R. Lunar accretion from an impact-generated disk. Nature 389, 353-357 (1997).
31. Rubincam, D. P. Tidal friction and the early history of the Moon's orbit. J. Geophys. Res. 80, 1537-1548
32. Touma, J. & Wisdom, J. Resonances in the early evolution of the Earth-Moon system. Astron. J. 115, 1653-1663 (1998).
33. Walker, J. C. G. & Zahnle, K. J. Lunar nodal tide and the distance to the Moon during the Precambrian. Nature 320, 600-602 (1986).
34. Peltier, W. R. Ice age paleotopography. Science 265, 195-201 (1994).