Bengaluru: A Groundbreaking Discovery has been made by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) and Niigata University, Japan, as they unearthed remnants of sea water dating back around 600 million years in the Himalayas. These ancient drops of sea water were found entwined within mineral deposits, providing invaluable insights into Earth’s history. The research team believes that this discovery can shed light on crucial events that may have led to a significant oxygenation event on our planet.
In a statement released on Thursday, the IISC located in Bengaluru revealed that the debris found in the Himalayas contained both calcium and magnesium carbonate. Analyzing these mineral deposits has led scientists to theorize about the possible occurrences that could have triggered a major oxygenation event during Earth’s ancient past.
According to the findings, scientists speculate that around 70 to 50 million years ago, Earth was enveloped in thick sheets of ice. Following this ice age, there was a subsequent rise in the levels of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, which ultimately paved the way for the emergence and development of complex life forms.
For years, scientists have grappled with understanding the correlation between the scarcity of well-preserved fossils and the disappearance of all ancient oceans in Earth’s history. The presence of marine rocks discovered in the Himalayas now offers a glimmer of hope in solving this longstanding mystery.
Commenting on the significance of this discovery, Prakash Chandra Arya, a researcher and the first author of the study published in the journal Precambrian Research at the Center for Earth Sciences (CES), IISC, remarked, “We don’t know much about ancient oceans. How different or similar were these current oceans? Were they more acidic or alkaline, rich in nutrients, hot or cold, what was their chemical and spatial composition?” The detailed analysis of these marine rocks can potentially unravel valuable information about Earth’s ancient climate.
This significant finding has opened up new avenues for research into the planet’s distant past, providing a glimpse into the complex and dynamic environmental changes that shaped Earth’s history. The collaboration between Indian and Japanese scientists has proven to be instrumental in advancing our understanding of geological and ecological transformations that occurred millions of years ago.