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Concept
Huronian glaciation
Summary
The Huronian glaciation (or Makganyene glaciation) was a period where several ice ages occurred during the deposition of the Huronian Supergroup, rather than a single continuous event as it is commonly misrepresented to be. The deposition of this group extended from 2.5 billion years ago (Gya) to 2.2 Gya, during the Siderian and Rhyacian periods of the Paleoproterozoic era. This led to the deposition of several diamictites. Most of the deposits of the Huronian are typical passive margin deposits in a marine setting. The diamictites within the Huronian are on par in thickness with Quaternary analogs.
Evidence comes from glacial deposits identified within the stratigraphic record of the Huronian Supergroup. Within it are three distinct formations of diamictite, from the oldest to youngest, the Ramsay, Bruce, and Gowganda Formations. Although there are other glacial deposits recognized throughout the world, the Huronian is restricted to the North American Midwest. Other similar deposits are known from South Africa.
The Huronian glaciation broadly coincides with the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE), a time when increased atmospheric oxygen decreased atmospheric methane. The oxygen reacted with the methane to form carbon dioxide and water, both much weaker greenhouse gases than methane, greatly reducing the efficacy of the greenhouse effect, especially as water vapor readily precipitated out of the air with dropping temperature. This caused an icehouse effect and, possibly compounded by the low solar irradiation at the time as well as reduced geothermal activities, led to a global glaciation that essentially created a Snowball Earth. The combination of increasing free oxygen (which causes oxidative damage to organic compounds) and climatic stresses likely caused an extinction event, the first and longest lasting in the Earth's history, which wiped out most of the anaerobe-dominated microbial mats both on the Earth's surface and in shallow seas.
In 1907, Arthur Philemon Coleman first inferred a "lower Huronian ice age" from analysis of a geological formation near Lake Huron in North America.
Official source
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