Draft:Supermountain
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Supermountains were large mountain ranges comparable to the modern Himalayas in height and about three to four times in length (~8,000 kilometres (4,970 mi) ) that formed twice in Earth's geological history, the first being the Nuna Supermountain which existed from 2 bya to 1.8 bya and the second being the Transgondwanan Supermountain which existed from 650 mya to 500 mya. Supermountains are thought to have played a major role in the evolution of life.[1][2]
Nuna Supermountain
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Temporal range of Nuna Supermountain:
The Nuna Supermountain existed from 2 bya to 1.8 bya on the supercontinent Nuna (Columbia), around the time of the first appearance of eukaryotes and macroscopic life.[3]
Transgondwanan Supermountain
[edit]
Temporal range of Transgondwanan Supermountain:
The Transgondwanan Supermountain existed from 650 mya to 500 mya on the supercontinent Gondwana, coinciding with the first appearance of large animals 575 mya and the Cambrian explosion 538 mya. Algae also underwent diversification during this time period.[3][4]
Effects on Atmospheric Composition
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For a major portion of Earth's history, the atmosphere lacked free oxygen. Evidence shows that supermountains played a pivotal role in increasing atmospheric oxygen, the largest of which was caused due to the erosion of Transgondwanan Supermountain, releasing close to 100 times more oxygen by mass into the atmosphere (~9×1017 kg of O2 released) than the great oxidation event (~1016 kg of O2 released).[1][3][4]
Impact on Life
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The erosion of these supermountains freed up and sent large amounts of nutrients like phosphorus and iron into the oceans and also increased atmospheric O2. This is thought to have accelerated the evolutionary rate of life and played a significant role in two of the major landmarks in the evolutionary history of life on Earth — The appearance of eukaryotes and the appearance of animals.[1][3][4]
The time period between these two supermountains (1.8 bya to 0.8 bya) is known as the boring billion during which the rate of evolution stagnated. This is believed to have happened due to nutrient dry up in the oceans caused by the absence of supermountains.[1][3]
See Also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 "Supermountains controlled the evolution of life on Earth | Australian National University". www.anu.edu.au. 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- ↑ "Scientists discover lost range of 'supermountains' three times longer than the Himalayas". Live Science. 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Zhu, Ziyi; Campbell, Ian H.; Allen, Charlotte M.; Brocks, Jochen J.; Chen, Bei (2022-02-15). "The temporal distribution of Earth's supermountains and their potential link to the rise of atmospheric oxygen and biological evolution". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 580 117391. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117391. ISSN 0012-821X.
- 1 2 3 Campbell, Ian H.; Squire, Richard J. (August 2010). "The mountains that triggered the Late Neoproterozoic increase in oxygen: The Second Great Oxidation Event". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 74 (15): 4187–4206. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2010.04.064. ISSN 0016-7037. Archived from the original on 2024-04-14.