Salt's Secret Role in 'Snowball Earth': Did it Spark Life's Evolution?

• A new study suggests salt played a significant role in deepening the "Snowball Earth" period 720-630 million years ago, when the planet was covered in ice.
• Researchers at UiT - The Arctic University of Norway found that salt expelled from freezing seawater accumulated on ice, creating a brighter "salt-albedo" layer that reflected more sunlight, accelerating freezing and hindering melting.
• Climate models showed salt made Earth freeze faster and deeper, locking it in a frozen state for millions of years, a factor previously overlooked.
• Experts now believe this extreme "Snowball Earth" event acted as a "spark" for the development of complex life, accelerating evolution through natural selection.
• Life survived in microbial refuges like hydrothermal vents; melting ice later caused a nutrient "explosion," leading to increased oxygen and the emergence of multicellular organisms and the Cambrian explosion.