WEBVTT - How Does Earth's Pulse Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren vogelbam Here. It might seem like

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<v Speaker 1>geologists are just studying a bunch of old rocks, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes really old rocks, but the reality is that Earth

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<v Speaker 1>science researchers look back at the geologic record of our

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<v Speaker 1>planet to understand how we got here and what we

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<v Speaker 1>can expect next for Earth and the life that lives

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<v Speaker 1>here humans. Included in a study published in the journal

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<v Speaker 1>Geoscience Frontiers in November, researchers from New York and California

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<v Speaker 1>helped pinpoint an important fact about our planet that has

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<v Speaker 1>huge implications for us. Our Earth has a pulse, or

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<v Speaker 1>regular peaks of geologic activity. They identified the pulse in

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<v Speaker 1>part by looking at mass extinctions, something we obviously want

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<v Speaker 1>to know about since this is the only planet our

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<v Speaker 1>species currently calls home. The results of the study are

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<v Speaker 1>actually not new. They are just a more specific measurement

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<v Speaker 1>that tries to answer a question researchers have been asking

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<v Speaker 1>for nearly a century. A past research suggested that each

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<v Speaker 1>of Earth's pulses was between twenty six point four and

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<v Speaker 1>thirty million years apart. This study narrows that down further.

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<v Speaker 1>In this new study, the researchers used the latest technology

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<v Speaker 1>to analyze eighty nine geologic events in the past two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and sixty million years of Earth's history, employing a

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<v Speaker 1>statistical technique called Fourier analysis to determine whether there was

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<v Speaker 1>any pattern in the frequency and consistency of the data.

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<v Speaker 1>When all the numbers were crunched, it turns out there

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<v Speaker 1>is a pattern, and it falls exactly within the range

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<v Speaker 1>proposed by previous researchers. Across these eighty nine events, which

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<v Speaker 1>the authors wrote, included marine and non marine extinctions, ocean

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<v Speaker 1>and oxic events, sea level oscillations, continental flood basalt eruptions,

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<v Speaker 1>and pulses of intraplate magnetism. They found ten clusters of

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<v Speaker 1>data points. These geological events ocurred roughly every twenty seven

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<v Speaker 1>point five million years. While it's certainly fascinating to have

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<v Speaker 1>more evidence that there's a consistent rhythm to cycles of

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<v Speaker 1>activity and life on Earth, the researchers in the study

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<v Speaker 1>aren't much closer to understanding why Earth has a pulse.

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<v Speaker 1>The authors do propose some ideas, though, One suggests that

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<v Speaker 1>internal forces within and on the planet Earth, including magma activity,

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<v Speaker 1>tectonic activity and climate change may explain the cyclical pattern.

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<v Speaker 1>Other ideas point to consistent changes in our planets orbital cycles,

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<v Speaker 1>and the fact that our solar system also has a

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<v Speaker 1>cyclical movement within the Milky Way galaxy roughly every thirty

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<v Speaker 1>million years. And yet another theory suggests that it may

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<v Speaker 1>have to do with dark matter in the universe. Several

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<v Speaker 1>researchers have proposed that increased dark matter may account for

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<v Speaker 1>increased astronomical activity like meteors and asteroids, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>volcanic activity on Earth. These can lead to mass extinction

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<v Speaker 1>events like those measured in the study. Those scientists still

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<v Speaker 1>have a lot to learn about dark matter before they

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<v Speaker 1>can begin to determine if this is a viable cause

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<v Speaker 1>for the pulse on our planet. No matter the cause,

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<v Speaker 1>this study suggests that the data is conclusive. Every twenty

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<v Speaker 1>seven point five million years, we can expect an uptick

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<v Speaker 1>in geologic activity, which often results in mass extinction. Don't worry, though,

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<v Speaker 1>because twenty seven point five million years is a very

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<v Speaker 1>long time for human kind on the scale of planetary history.

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<v Speaker 1>This time frame is brief, but our species is believed

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<v Speaker 1>to be only about two hundred thousand years old. That's

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<v Speaker 1>less than one percent of the time between pulses, and

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<v Speaker 1>we are between pulses right now. The study suggests that

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<v Speaker 1>the next pulse will be roughly twenty million years in

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<v Speaker 1>the future. For context, while dinosaurs, when extinct roughly sixty

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<v Speaker 1>five million years ago, commonly recognized modern animals like bears, pros,

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<v Speaker 1>and whales were only just emerging on the evolutionary timeline

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<v Speaker 1>twenty million years ago. Today's episode is based on the

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<v Speaker 1>article turns out Earth's pulse beats every twenty seven point

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<v Speaker 1>five million years, but why? On how stuff works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Valerie Stymap. Brain Stuff is production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts from

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