Mid-Proterozoic day length stalled by tidal resonance
Ross N. Mitchell, Uwe Kirscher
Abstract
Abstract We present statistical analysis of a compilation of observational constraints on the Precambrian length of day and find that the day length stalled at about 19 h for about 1 billion years during the mid-Proterozoic. We suggest that the accelerative torque of atmospheric thermal tides from solar energy balanced the decelerative torque of lunar oceanic tides, temporarily stabilizing Earth’s rotation. This stalling coincides with a period of relatively limited biological evolution known as the boring billion.
Topics & Concepts
PrecambrianProterozoicDay lengthGeologyOcean tideTorqueTidal heatingEarth's rotationRotation (mathematics)GeodesyPresent dayGeophysicsAstrobiologyPaleontologyPhysicsAstronomyPlanetThermodynamicsphotoperiodismGeometryInternal medicineTectonicsMedicineMathematicsAstro and Planetary ScienceGeology and Paleoclimatology ResearchGeomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies