The most recent 750 million years of Earth's history are preserved best. We explore geological and biological processes that led to our Modern Earth, starting from the initial dispersal of the oldest well-established supercontinent, Rodinia, and accompanied by dramatic cooling events (Snowball Earths), the onset of modern plate tectonics, unprecedented carbon-cycle fluctuations, rising atmospheric-oxygen levels to modern values, and the rapid evolution of multicellular organisms, including animals, during the early Cambrian (541-520 Ma).
Earth's recent geological and palaeoontological record provides the opportunity to examine planetary habitability in detail. We aim to develop an Earth System Model, studying all spheres, including the interior, which will clarify how Earth has remained habitable.
Work Packages: Modern Earth
- Plate Tectonics & Palaeogeography (Gaina, Torsvik)
- Volatile Cycles (Conrad, Gaina)
- Paleoclimate Proxies (Jahren, Torsvik)
- Paleoclimate Models (Torsvik, Gaina)
- Drivers of Biodiversity (Liow, Jahren)
Linked projects:
EPIC (Domeier), PANDA (van der Boon), DYPOLE (Gaina), MAPLES (Callegaro), ANIMA (Kiraly), POLARIS (Shephard), 4D Dynamic Earth (Conrad)
All research themes and work packages
The research at the Centre for Planetary Habitability is performed in three themes: