Why Did The Earth Totally Freeze For 100 Million Years?

-------------------------------------------------------
Researched and Written by Leila Battison
Narrated and Edited by David Kelly
Thumbnail Art and Art by Ettore Mazza

If you like our videos, check out Leila's Youtube channel:

Music from Epidemic Sound and Artlist, stock footage from Videoblocks.

Image Credits:

James St John Tillite Rocks
Banded Iron Formations

Kent G. Budge - Dropstone within pyroclastic bed in the wall of Kilbourne Hole, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico, United States

Varve Andreas Steinhoff, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

00:00 Introduction
05:33 Mystery Glaciers
17:00 Snowball Earth
27:22 How?
39:23 Escape

[donaldscholand]

G.K. Chesterton suggested that the cave paintings might have been decorations created to delight the children of the tribe who used the cave as a nursery for young children forced to stay indoors through the long, bitter winters. I like that about Chesterton. He had a gift for pointing out the possible similarities between ancient peoples and modern humanity, instead of highlighting their differences.

[ACE-sxmo]

To clear up a common misconception about comets at 17:35, comets do not actually leave a "tail" behind them as they travel. In the vacuum of space there is no atmospheric drag. When astronauts conduct a space walk, their ship does not zoom ahead and leave them trailing behind. Solar radiation from a nearby star sublimates (defrosts) the comet's frozen surface, and those sublimating particles are pushed in the same direction as the solar radiation. So the direction of the tail is entirely independent of the comet's trajectory.

[tcam]

Thanks!

I adore you and appreciate SO MUCH, all of your content on all your channels. Wish I could give more, you beyond deserve it!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[JohnDoe-yqml]

You literally make nat geo quality videos. You do it with almost no budget no huge team and no army of editors. It’s astonishing. You’re sitting on a lot of money and happiness with those skills.

[bwtayl]

Thanks! I feel this is a poignant telling of our planet's journey. You explained a lot of concepts that up until now have been in deep thaw. I really appreciate your dedication to both science and art in this piece.

[johnalexir]

For these sorts of documentaries, "English accent is an absolute must".

[Imjustacatlady]

I thought I was watching natgeo or something and didn't realize it was a tiny YouTube channel that deserves FAR MORE subs than what they have!

[ontheruntonowhere]

Minor correction at 17:55: it is probable that Saturn's rings had not yet formed 700 million years ago. They are thought to be only 100 million years old.

[jseligmann]

Beautifully photographed and meticulously edited and narrated ... a terrific presentation. Thank you.

[amahana]

History of the Earth videos are drop everything and watch asap.

[Replicaate]

I remember reading in the awesome kids' science magazine Muse about the Snowball Earth era when it was a relatively new theory. The notion of an earth frozen over from pole to pole has haunted my dreams ever since...

[terryloh]

It froze over for 100 million years because a father said that he liked his teenage daughter's favorite band.

[susanrobertson]

I love love love that people who are technical experts put their corrections in the comments so that I can look things up if I want and I get to learn. The fact that we can get 50 min vids with a handful of corrections is pretty impressive.

[DrDestroy]

In france we pronounce "Lassko" when talking about this place (the Lascaux cave / les grottes de Lascaux)
Not a critic .. just to add precision for those interested !
❤ love the channel
2 episodes in a few days is a real treat! Thanks!

[ellenbryn]

YOU'RE BACK! I shouldn't comment until I've watched it through, but it's always such a special treat when another episode arrives. These are without a doubt my favorite thing on YT, so I have no doubt they take an awful lot of work to research, write, and produce.
Now, time for a cup of tea and another chapter from my favorite story: you always manage to uncover great anecdotes and new discoveries about your chosen topic that i haven't run across before. Thank you.

[cuzinevil]

Brilliant. Up to date scientific information, outstanding editing, spectacular visuals and a voice that could melt a glacier. This series is the most complete compendium of the history of the Earth to date.

[alewiina]

I’ve been slowly making my way through these videos while I work for the last 3ish weeks and I have to say, they are absolutely delightful. I have a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in geology (more specifically mineralogy and invert Paleontology) but am unfortunately working in a job that is unrelated to my education. Listening to these videos has been such a treat for me, they’re so interesting and so well done, just so excellent.

I am very sad because I’ve just realized I only have 3 left, BUT 2 of them are my absolute favourite topics, ediacaran life and the Cambrian explosion, so I am stoked to get to them.

Thank you so much for these amazing videos. I’m sure I will probably watch some of them
Multiple times, and I have also subscribed to the History of the Universe channel and will start making my way through those videos once I’m finished this series ❤❤

[zhadoomzx]

We have found microbes kilometers deep, living in solid rock - endoliths. If they were around back then too, even the thickest ice sheet on the entire earth would hardly have an effect on them. An existential threat to life at that stage and beyond, would have to basically melt earths entire crust. So yeah... nothing less cataclysmic than the moon falling onto earth poses a threat to life as a whole.... certainly not a mere surface nuisance like an ice age 😄

[BlackSakura]

You are bringing geology textbooks to life. I would certainly recommend your videos to my future students.

[emagneticfield]

Is it possible that somehow a close flyby of a large object altered the spin or position of planet earth enabling the warming up of the planet ?