Pongola glaciation
Glacial episode
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The Pongola glaciation was a glacial period that occurred in the Mesoarchean, from around 2.985-2.837 billion years ago. It is the oldest known glaciation on Earth.
Geology
The oldest known traces of glaciation date from the Mesoarchean. They correspond to the diamictite of the Pongola supergroup[1] (more precisely to the Mozaan formation,[2]) in KwaZulu-Natal and in Eswatini.[3]
Climate
Even if the climate of the Mesoarchean is not well known, the study of the oxygen isotopes in the cherts of the time seem to show that the climate of the Mesoarchean was warm or, at least, temperate,[4] in particular due to high levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; a glaciation is therefore likely to have been caused by a drop in the rate of these greenhouse gases.[5][6] The Pongola glaciation is also associated with changes in sulfur isotopes (δ34S), suggesting that this may also involve early and short-lived oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere.[7][8]
Extension
The extension of the glaciation is not determined with certainty.[9][8] Some authors argue that the glacial deposits were formed at low latitudes, below 30° N,[10] therefore close to the tropics, which would imply extensive glaciation, while others argue that the area was located at mid-latitude or even high latitude, closer to the pole, where a polar glacier could have formed, like the current situation.[11][12]
Regarding its duration, the corresponding glacial deposits fall within the interval 2.985 ± 1 and 2.837 ± 5 Bya.[8][13]
