How Does Earth's Pulse Work?

here humans. Included in a study published in the journal Geoscience Frontiers in November, researchers from New York and California helped pinpoint an important fact about our planet that has huge implications for us. Our Earth has a pulse, or regular peaks of geologic activity. They identified the pulse in part by looking at mass extinctions, something we obviously want to know about since this is the only planet our species currently calls home. The results of the study are

actually not new. They are just a more specific measurement that tries to answer a question researchers have been asking for nearly a century. A past research suggested that each of Earth's pulses was between twenty six point four and thirty million years apart. This study narrows that down further.

In this new study, the researchers used the latest technology to analyze eighty nine geologic events in the past two hundred and sixty million years of Earth's history, employing a statistical technique called Fourier analysis to determine whether there was any pattern in the frequency and consistency of the data. When all the numbers were crunched, it turns out there is a pattern, and it falls exactly within the range

proposed by previous researchers. Across these eighty nine events, which the authors wrote, included marine and non marine extinctions, ocean and oxic events, sea level oscillations, continental flood basalt eruptions, and pulses of intraplate magnetism. They found ten clusters of data points. These geological events ocurred roughly every twenty seven

point five million years. While it's certainly fascinating to have more evidence that there's a consistent rhythm to cycles of activity and life on Earth, the researchers in the study aren't much closer to understanding why Earth has a pulse. The authors do propose some ideas, though, One suggests that internal forces within and on the planet Earth, including magma activity, tectonic activity and climate change may explain the cyclical pattern.

Other ideas point to consistent changes in our planets orbital cycles, and the fact that our solar system also has a cyclical movement within the Milky Way galaxy roughly every thirty million years. And yet another theory suggests that it may have to do with dark matter in the universe. Several researchers have proposed that increased dark matter may account for increased astronomical activity like meteors and asteroids, as well as volcanic activity on Earth. These can lead to mass extinction

events like those measured in the study. Those scientists still have a lot to learn about dark matter before they can begin to determine if this is a viable cause for the pulse on our planet. No matter the cause, this study suggests that the data is conclusive. Every twenty seven point five million years, we can expect an uptick

in geologic activity, which often results in mass extinction. Don't worry, though, because twenty seven point five million years is a very long time for human kind on the scale of planetary history. This time frame is brief, but our species is believed to be only about two hundred thousand years old. That's less than one percent of the time between pulses, and we are between pulses right now. The study suggests that the next pulse will be roughly twenty million years in

the future. For context, while dinosaurs, when extinct roughly sixty five million years ago, commonly recognized modern animals like bears, pros, and whales were only just emerging on the evolutionary timeline twenty million years ago. Today's episode is based on the article turns out Earth's pulse beats every twenty seven point five million years, but why? On how stuff works dot Com,

written by Valerie Stymap. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.