Gondwana's buried supermountains linked to Cambrian explosion of life
Scientists discover Himalayan-scale mountain range hidden under Antarctic ice may have triggered complex life 600 million years ago.
What to know
- Scientists identified Himalayan-scale mountains hidden beneath Antarctica's ice, formed during Gondwana's geological upheaval 600 million years ago.
- The study links these supermountains and their submarine fan systems to the Cambrian explosion—the rapid diversification of complex life starting ~538 million years ago.
- Geological upheaval from Gondwana's formation is theorized to have directly enabled the emergence of modern complex life on Earth.
“The absence of a Venusian satellite can be understood as a natural consequence of tidal evolution alone.”
Stephen Kane and team · 404 Media ↗
Bei Chen and Ian H. Campbell ResearchersStephen Kane UC Riverside researcher
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Scientists identify Himalayan-scale mountains buried under Antarctic ice
A new study examining tiny ancient rocks reveals remnants of colossal "Gondwana supermountains" beneath Antarctica's ice sheet. Researchers Bei Chen and Ian Campbell argue that the geological upheaval from Gondwana's formation, including these mountains and their submarine fan systems, directly led to the Cambrian explosion of complex life around 538 million years ago.
“It is unlikely to be a coincidence that Earth's…”
— Chen and Campbell researchers -
first by 404 Media, 4d ago
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Some 600 million years ago, the supercontinent Gondwana produced a colossal mountain range that helped set the stage for all modern complex life, according to a new examination of tiny ancient rocks. https://www. 404media.co/supermountains-bur ied-under-antarctica-fueled-explosion-of-life-scientists-discover/
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