science

Sturtian glaciation

Sturtian glaciation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sturtian glaciation rather than just read about it. In short: The Sturtian glaciation, also known as the Sturt glaciation, was a worldwide glaciation during the Cryogenian Period when the Earth experienced repeated large-scale glaciations. The Sturtian glaciation is thought to have lasted from c. 717 Ma to c. 660 Ma, a time span of approximately 57 million years.

Key takeaways

Sturtian glaciation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sturtian glaciation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sturtian glaciation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sturtian glaciation, also known as the Sturt glaciation, was a worldwide glaciation during the Cryogenian Period when the Earth experienced repeated large-scale glaciations. The Sturtian glaciation is thought to have lasted from c. 717 Ma to c. 660 Ma, a time span of approximately 57 million years. It is hypothesised to have been a Snowball Earth event, or contrastingly multiple regional glaciations, and is the longest and most severe known glacial event preserved in the geologic record after the much earlier Huronian glaciation.

Etymology of name Ultimately, current usage of the term is in reference to the globally significant Sturt Formation (originally Sturtian Tillite) within the Adelaide Superbasin of Australia. The Sturt Formation is named after Sturt Gorge, South Australia; itself named after the Sturt River, which was given its name in April 1831 by British Military Officer Captain Collet Barker, after fellow officer and explorer Charles Sturt. The Sturtian glaciation, also known as Sturt glaciation, is an informal, but commonly used name for the older of two worldwide glacial events (the other is known as the Marinoan/Elatina glaciation) preserved in Cryogenian rocks. The term Sturtian was originally defined by Douglas Mawson and Reg Sprigg in 1950 as a chronostratigraphic unit (Series), and later proposed as an international chronostratigraphic division; however, this has been superseded by international nomenclature. The suggestion of the glacial nature of the Sturt Formation during the early 20th century resulted in discussion about Neoproterozoic glaciations (thought to be Cambrian at the time) and encouraged the research that eventually resulted in the Snowball Earth hypothesis.

Timeline The Sturtian glaciation is thought to have lasted from c. 717 Ma to c. 660 Ma, a time span of approximately 57 million years.

Geology Rocks preserving evidence for the Sturtian Glaciation are found on every continent. Notable sections are found in Australia, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Namibia, Siberia, and Svalbard. According to Eyles and Young, "Glaciogenic rocks figure prominently in the Neoproterozoic stratigraphy of southeastern Australia and the northern Canadian Cordillera. The Sturtian glaciogenic succession (c. 740 Ma) unconformably overlies rocks of the Burra Group." The Sturtian succession includes two major diamictite-mudstone sequences which represent glacial advance and retreat cycles. It is stratigraphically correlated with the Rapitan Group of North America. Reusch's Moraine in northern Norway may have been deposited during this period. In 2024 researchers at the University of Adelaide and University of Sydney, using a combination of known geological formations from the Cryogenian Period and plate tectonic modelling, using EarthByte computer models, proposed the low temperature was the result of low levels of CO2 degassing along mid-ocean ridges, the result of the break-up of the supercontinent Rodinia. The duration of the ice sheet advance at the start of the Sturtian glaciation lasted for less than a million years.

Effects on life In the aftermath of the Sturtian glaciation, biomarkers and body fossils indicate an increase in biological complexity.

See also Adelaide Superbasin Franklin Large Igneous Province Port Askaig Tillite Formation - a possible correlative in the Dalradian Supergroup of Ireland and Scotland

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sturtian glaciation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sturtian glaciation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sturtian glaciation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sturtian glaciation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sturtian glaciation

In research: Sturtian glaciation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sturtian glaciation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sturtian glaciation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1830s neologisms, Cryogenian, Ice ages, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sturtian glaciation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sturtian glaciation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sturtian glaciation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sturtian glaciation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sturtian glaciation in simple terms?

Why does Sturtian glaciation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sturtian glaciation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sturtian glaciation.