Scientists had a widely accepted theory to explain the phenomenon of Earth's cooling more than 12,900 years ago. However, everything he thought he knew was wrong. Or at least that's what a recent study says. Volcanoes that cooled the Earth are another explanation and now evidence confirms it. How did it happen?
What happened at this stage is clear. It is known that approximately 12,900 to 11,700 years ago, the Earth cooled rapidly. It was an unusual event on our planet. What was the reason? What scientists explained is that it happened through an extraterrestrial impact. It would be responsible for triggering this icy anomaly, known as the Dryas.
Violent explosions
However, now researchers at Texas A&M University reinforce an alternative theory. And he attributes the start of the Dryas to a violent series of volcanic eruptions, no less. There would be no extraterrestrial factors. The data is collected in 'Science Advances'.
The near-glacial Younger Dryas was triggered by a long-debated event. This phenomenon disturbed the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) system. It is a huge “conveyor belt” of ocean circulation that is still present. It is what is responsible for transporting heat globally.
Analysis of continuous sedimentary records from North America indicates this. Volcanic activity triggered this colder period linked to the AMOC. Analyzes from three sites in Florida and Texas quantified sediment isotopic ratios of osmium and highly siderophilic elements (HSEs). The compositions were very similar to those created by volcanic aerosol deposition.
Volcanoes that cool
The data was then compared with ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland. The researchers observed that the onset of the isotopic patterns coincided with a series of large volcanic eruptions. And these occurred approximately between 12,980 and 12,870 years ago. The volcanoes that cooled the Earth forever changed the planet. They triggered extinctions that leave their mark on the animal world to this day.
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