Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered that changes in Earth's orbit may have allowed complex life to emerge and thrive during “Snowball Earth”.
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The “Snowball Earth” glaciations were a series of ice ages sometime earlier than 650 Mya (million years ago) during the Cryogenian period and Neoproterozoic era of geologic time.
During these ice ages the entire surface of the planet froze over, all the way from the poles to the equator.
The most recent snowball episode triggered the evolution of multicellularity.
Note: Scientists have recorded five significant ice ages throughout the Earth’s history: the Huronian (2.4-2.1 billion years ago), Cryogenian (850-635 million years ago), Andean-Saharan (460-430 mya), Karoo (360-260 mya) and Quaternary (2.6 mya-present).
The Huronian glaciation, triggered the first appearance of oxygen in the atmosphere, the "Great Oxidation Event".