Skip to player
Skip to main content
Skip to footer
Search
Connect
Watch fullscreen
Like
Comments
Bookmark
Share
Add to Playlist
Report
Does The Earth Have A Pulse?
Live Science
Follow
yesterday
Most major geological events in Earth's recent history have clustered in 27.5-million-year intervals — a pattern that scientists call the "pulse of the Earth."
Category
🤖
Tech
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Did you know that the Earth has a pulse? A geological pulse, that is.
00:05
Most major geological events in Earth's recent history have clustered in 27.5 million year intervals,
00:13
a pattern that scientists are now calling the pulse of the Earth.
00:17
Over the past 260 million years, dozens of major geological events,
00:22
from sea level changes to volcanic eruptions, seem to follow this rhythmic pattern.
00:28
The authors say that geologists have wondered for a really long time
00:32
whether there is a certain cycle of around 30 million years in the geological record,
00:37
but until recently, poor dating of such events made the phenomenon really difficult to study quantitatively.
00:44
In a new study, the researchers conducted a quantitative analysis to see if these events were random
00:50
or if there was an underlying pattern to them.
00:54
To do this, they first searched the literature and found 89 major geological events that occurred in the past 260 million years.
01:02
These included extinctions, ocean anoxic events or times when the oceans were toxic due to oxygen depletion,
01:11
sea level fluctuations, major volcanic activity called flood basalt eruptions,
01:17
and changes in the organization of Earth's tectonic plates.
01:21
Then, the researchers put the events in chronological order and used a mathematical tool known as Fourier analysis
01:28
to pick up spikes in the frequency of events.
01:31
They discovered that most of these events clustered into 10 separate times that were, on average, 27.5 million years apart.
01:40
Though that number may not be exact, it's probably a pretty good estimate, the researchers say.
01:47
However, they only looked at the past 260 million years when the dating of such events is most accurate.
01:54
Still, they think the results likely extend further back in our planet's history.
01:59
It's not clear what's causing such a pulse in geological activity, but the researchers have several hypotheses.
02:07
It could be internally driven by plate tectonics and movement inside the mantle,
02:12
or it could have something to do with the movement of Earth in the solar system and the galaxy.
02:18
The researchers hope to get even better data on the dating of certain geological events
02:23
plan to analyze a longer time period to see if the pulse extends further back in time.
02:29
They also hope that if, one day, they can get better numbers on the astronomical movements of Earth through the solar system and the Milky Way,
02:36
they can see if there is any correlation in the astronomical and geological cycles.
02:42
In any case, if such a pattern exists, the last cluster was about 7 million to 10 million years ago,
02:49
so the next one would likely come in 10 million to 15 million years.
Recommended
1:06
|
Up next
SpaceX CRS-31 Mission To Space Station - Science Payloads Explained
Space.com
yesterday
1:31
Superheavy Neutron Star Merger's Audio Jumps Thousands Of Hertz In Simulation
Space.com
yesterday
1:17
ESA’s Biomass ‘Umbrella’ Unfurls In View From Space
Space.com
yesterday
2:39
Is An RV Retirement Lifestyle Really Cheaper Than A House?
Kiplinger
yesterday
1:25
Is Renting Out Your Property Even Worth It?
Kiplinger
yesterday
2:58
Some Of The Worst Assets To Inherit And Why
Kiplinger
yesterday
7:16
Ninja Tune Zen Delay Sound | Music Radar
Music Radar
yesterday
3:58
Ace's Masterclasses Guitar Tracking Tips
Music Radar
2 days ago
3:24
How To Create A Rave Style Patch With The Moog Matriarch
Music Radar
2 days ago
1:36
Earth's First Planetary Defense
Live Science
today
2:34
What Makes Auroras?
Live Science
today
0:44
The Rise And Reign of Mammals
Live Science
today
9:40
Cannibal CME, Solar Flares and Sunspots
Live Science
today
3:29
Did China's Telescope Hear Alien Activity?
Live Science
yesterday
5:05
The Sun's Possible Long Lost Twin
Live Science
yesterday
2:53
Could The Sahara Ever Be A Green Savannah Again?
Live Science
yesterday
2:52
There’s Too Much Gold In The Universe
Live Science
yesterday
1:39
Humongous Fossil Egg From Over 48 Million Years Ago In Antarctica
Live Science
yesterday
1:12
Footage Of Hayabusa2 Spacecraft Touchdown On Asteroid Ryugu
Live Science
yesterday
3:07
10 Strange Sights On Google Earth
Live Science
yesterday
1:41
Bees Scream When Murder Hornet Cousins Attack
Live Science
yesterday
1:59
Black Hole or Vampire Star?
Live Science
yesterday
1:48
Iceland Comes From Greenland?
Live Science
yesterday
1:15
Flight Through Hurricane Irma Must Be Seen To Be Believed
Live Science
yesterday
1:52
Vikings May Not Have Been Who We Thought They Were: Tall, Blonde, Or Scandinavian
Live Science
2 days ago