The Earth could have been

New research by scientists shows that about 2.4 billion years ago, the Earth was an ice ball, with ice covering the land and ocean.

The process of forming Earth

The new study uses technology to find the third isotope of oxygen from rock samples dating back to 700 million years in China, a stone dating from 2.4 billion years from northwestern Russia. Accordingly, the water temperature that once encircled rock formations of 700 million years is similar to the temperature of southern Greenland today. Meanwhile, the 2.4 billion-year rock samples used to have much lower temperatures, the only possible level when the entire Earth freezes, most of the ocean and equatorial regions are covered under thick ice. 300 m.

Kepler 62e may be Earth's image 2.4 billion years ago.(Photo: NASA)

According to the isotope analysis of oxygen in rocks, below the melting water from ancient glaciers, the average annual temperature at that time was only at -40 degrees Celsius or even lower. Even at the equator, the warmest area on Earth, the average temperature is only -20 degrees Celsius , which is equivalent to the heat measured in today's Arctic. By the end of this period, the Earth broke the ice around the surface thanks to volcanic activity.

Discovery News said this result raises questions about what happened to life forms during Earth's "hibernation ." According to biologist Tanja Bosak of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, the format Living on Earth originates and spreads in shallow, light and ice-free environments. The organism that exists there has evolved for billions of years, so the freezing situation will cause temporary disruption to the biosphere, most of which exist through photosynthesis.