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Emplacement of the Franklin Large Igneous Province and Initiation of the Sturtian Snowball Earth

  • Mark D. Schmitz
  • , Judy P. Pu
  • , Francis A. Macdonald
  • , Robert H. Rainbird
  • , Wouter Bleeker
  • , Barra A. Peak
  • , Rebecca M. Flowers
  • , Paul F. Hoffman
  • , Matthew Rioux
  • , Michael A. Hamilton
  • University of Toronto
  • Natural Resources Canada
  • University of California at Santa Barbara
  • Harvard University
  • University of Victoria BC
  • University of Colorado Boulder

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations
13 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

During the Cryogenian (720 to 635 Ma ago) Snowball Earth glaciations, ice extended to sea level near the equator. The cause of this catastrophic failure of Earth’s thermostat has been unclear, but previous geochronology has suggested a rough coincidence of glacial onset with one of the largest magmatic episodes in the geological record, the Franklin large igneous province. U-Pb geochronology on zircon and baddeleyite from sills associated with the paleo-equatorial Franklin large igneous province in Arctic Canada record rapid emplacement between 719.86 ± 0.21 and 718.61 ± 0.30 Ma ago, 0.9 to 1.6 Ma before the onset of widespread glaciation. Geologic observations and (U-Th)/He dates on Franklin sills are compatible with major post–Franklin exhumation, possibly due to development of mafic volcanic highlands on windward equatorial Laurentia and increased global weatherability. After a transient magmatic CO 2 flux, long-term carbon sequestration associated with increased weatherability could have nudged Earth over the threshold for runaway ice-albedo feedback.

Original languageAmerican English
Article numbereadc9430
JournalScience Advances
Volume8
Issue number47
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Nov 2022

EGS Disciplines

  • Earth Sciences
  • Geophysics and Seismology

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