According to a new study by the researchers from the University of Southampton, volcanoes played an important role in melting the ice cover and ending the era of snowball earth, Tech Times reports.
The study suggests that carbon dioxide released from the volcanic activity warmed the atmosphere and melted the ice cover. The melting of the snowball earth helped in catalyzing animal life on the planet.
The findings were published in the journal Nature.
Earth was covered by ice about 720 to 640 million years ago. The surface of the earth remained covered in ice for tens of millions of years.
The break up of supercontinent Rodinia altered the ocean chemistry and reduced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, resulting into severe icehouse conditions.
According to the study authors, over the years when the earth was covered by ice, the carbon dioxide emissions from underwater volcano were building up. The accumulation was enough to lead to ice melt, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
According to the authors, carbon dioxide released from volcanic activity warmed the atmosphere enough to quickly melt the ice cover.
"When volcanic material is deposited in the oceans it undergoes very rapid and profound chemical alteration that impacts the biogeochemistry of the oceans," said lead study author Dr. Tom Gernon in a press release.
In a separate article on the study, Dr. Gernon noted that thick deposits referred to as "cap carbonates," formed in the warm waters marked the transition from icehouse to greenhouse. These deposits are still visible today in places such as China and Namibia.
