2024-08-26 06:00:04
The Moon plays a much more complex role in Earth’s dynamics than we think. A recent study reveals that in the past, days on Earth were much longer than they are today.
This lengthening of the days results from a slow but constant movement of the Moon away from the Earth. This discovery could well revolutionize our understanding of key events in the evolution of life on our planet.
During two specific periods, Earth’s days lengthened by more than two hours, thanks to the progressive distance of the Moon. This lengthening of the day allowed for longer exposure to the light solar, promoting crucial oxygenation events. These events could be linked to theexplosion Cambrian period, a time when life on Earth diversified rapidly. The Moon, as it moved away from Earth, slowed the rotation of our planet by absorbing its kinetic energy. This had the direct effect of lengthening the length of days. By studying marine rock layers dating back 700 to 200 million years, researchers were able to reconstruct a “map” of this evolution, revealing a “staircase” pattern in the Earth’s rotation, with two major periods of slow-down.
The first significant slowdown, about 650 to 500 million years ago, coincides with the Cambrian explosion, while the second, 340 to 280 million years ago, corresponds to a major ice age. These findings suggest that the increase in day length, caused by the Moon’s distance, may have been a factor in triggering major oxygenation events that facilitated the diversification of life.
The researchers, however, urge caution in interpreting these results. They also question the idea that the rapid cooling of the Earth, responsible for a mass extinction, played a significant role in the modification of the Earth’s rotation by the ice masses, emphasizing that tidal forces between the Moon and Earth are the main cause of this phenomenon.
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