Overview
- The peer-reviewed research, published October 27 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, was led by the University of Sydney’s EarthByte Group with collaborators from the University of Adelaide.
- Computer simulations reconstructing 1.8 billion years of plate history place the fragmentation of Nuna at roughly 1.46 billion years ago.
- The model shows continental shelves expanded to about 130,000 kilometers, creating extensive stable shallow-water habitats suited to early eukaryotes.
- Shortened subduction zones reduced volcanic CO2 outgassing while geological carbon storage increased, cooling the planet and promoting marine oxygenation.
- The timing aligns with the oldest fossil eukaryotes near 1.05 billion years ago, supporting a testable reinterpretation of the so-called Boring Billion as dynamic rather than static.