The Earth is estimated to be about 4.54 billion years old, and our planet still fascinates us with its advantages and the discoveries it stores in its interior, among which is that the Earth beats, just as the human heart beats.
In a study published in Geoscience Frontiers in November 2021, researchers from New York and California discovered that the Earth, similar to the human heart, beats every 27.5 million years; And that the matter is related to the events that accompanied the major mass extinctions in the history of the planet, such as the extinction of the dinosaurs.
The researchers analyzed 89 geological events over the past 260 million years of Earth’s history, using a statistical technique called “Fourier analysis” to determine if there was any pattern in the frequency and stability of the data.
When all the numbers were factored in, it became clear that there was a certain pattern to the frequency of the 89 events, which included “marine and non-marine extinctions, ocean anoxic events, sea-level fluctuations, continental flood basalt eruptions, and intra-plate magma pulses.” They concluded that these geological events occurred approximately every 27.5 million years.
Previous research indicated that the interval between each pulse of the Earth ranged from 26.4 to 30 million years, but this study narrows this interval even further.
Why does the earth pulsate?
HowStuffWorks explained that the existence of another data point indicates a steady rhythm of activity and life cycles on Earth, but the researchers in this study did not come close to understanding why the Earth has a pulse.
However, the study’s authors suggested some ideas, including that internal forces within and on Earth (magma activity, tectonic activity, and climate change) might explain the cyclical pattern, in addition to constant changes in our planet’s orbital cycles, and to the fact that our solar system also has periodic motion within a galaxy. Milky Way approximately every 30 million years.
Whatever the cause, the researchers write: “The data is conclusive: every 27.5 million years, we can expect a spike in geological activity that often leads to mass extinctions.”
In addition, one of the previous theories indicated that the pulse of the earth may have a relationship with dark matter in the universe. Many researchers have also suggested that the increased dark matter may be responsible for the increase in astronomical activity such as meteorites and asteroids, as well as volcanic activity on Earth. This could lead to a mass extinction, though scientists still have a lot to learn about dark matter before they can begin to determine whether or not this is a rationale for our planet pulsating.
When is the next pulse date?
The study suggested that the next pulse for the Earth will be after about 20 million years. However, the site called for not feeling afraid of the approach of the next impulse, explaining that 27.5 million years is a very long time for humanity.
He added that on the scale of planetary history, this time frame is short, but Homo sapiens is thought to have only existed for about 200,000 years, and that’s less than 1% of each beat.
To elaborate further, the researchers point out that while dinosaurs became extinct around 65 million years ago, well-known modern animals such as bears, crows, and whales were just appearing on the evolutionary timeline 20 million years ago.