Life on Earth may not have evolved into advanced species like humans if it weren’t for the emergence of two “monsters”: Supermountain Nuna and Supermountain Transgondwana.
A recent study published by the Australian National University and Queensland University of Technology reveals that supermountains—mountain ranges significantly larger than the most majestic ranges of modern times—have appeared on Earth twice.
The first is Supermountain Nuna, which existed between 2 and 1.8 billion years ago during the period when the continents gradually merged into the supercontinent Nuna. This supermountain coincided with the emergence of large, complex cells, marking the beginning of biodiversity on Earth after billions of years of “stagnation” in the form of single-celled bacteria.
Ancient supermountains are a form of “monster” mountains created by the process of supercontinent amalgamation, three to four times larger than the modern Himalayas – (Photo: Keith Johnston)
According to Sci-News, Supermountain Nuna is estimated to be three to four times larger than the modern Himalayas.
The second is Supermountain Transgondwana, which formed during the amalgamation of the supercontinent Gondwana, approximately 650 to 500 million years ago. This period also included the time when the first large animals appeared (575 million years ago) and the Cambrian “explosion of life” occurred 45 million years later.
Professor Jochen Brocks from the Australian National University, a member of the research team, stated that they discovered these supermountains by tracing clues in the form of zircon traces and lutetium content—a combination of minerals and rare earth elements found only in the “roots” of high mountains, which still lie hidden in modern Earth’s soil.
The study, recently published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, also indicates that these supermountains, when eroded, provide essential nutrients such as phosphorus and iron to the oceans, enhancing biological cycles and promoting evolution. Additionally, the mountain-building processes also increase the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere.
