What is the role of carbon in determining the fate of life on Earth?

Weather of Arabia - After studying the zircon crystals found in the Antarctic, scientists revealed that the Earth's mantle was the largest carbon deposit on the planet, and it is in constant renewal.

In so-called subduction zones, oceanic crust extends deep into the planet, with carbon reaching the mantle. The eruption of volcanoes is a major source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere .

The results of geological research indicate that the amount of carbon liberated from the Earth's mantle is greater than the amount it receives. This means a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and thus higher temperatures .

But what is the role of this process in shaping the Earth's climate?

Through this study, scientists determined the age of the crystals to be 500-700 million years, as well as determining the chemical composition of the magma from which these crystals were formed. They discovered that this magma has a rare composition because it contains 10-50 times more carbon than normal volcanic magma .

The scientists also concluded from their study that 500-700 million years ago, a comprehensive liberation of carbon and its compounds occurred from the Earth's mantle, which ended the ice age (720-635 million years ago), according to Russia Today.

This liberation took place before the Cambrian Explosion (which is the sudden appearance of fossils of familiar ancestors of animals within the terrestrial fossil record. The time of this great expansion of animal species is estimated at about 10 million years, from 530 to 520 million years ago). That is, the liberation of carbon and its compounds may have played an important role in the history of life on Earth .