Tiny water bubbles found in quartz grains in Australia help scientists better understand what may have caused Earth's first Ice Age.

Scientists have always been fascinated by discoveries that give them an insight into what might have occurred during the earlier ages of Earth. In another great finding, researchers from the University of Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences stated that newly discovered tiny water bubbles found in quartz grains in Australia could help them better understand what may have caused Earth's first Ice Age.

They found that the amount of ancient atmospheric argon gas (Ar) isotopes present in the tiny water bubbles was very different from the quantity found in water bubbles in the air people presently breathe.

"The water samples come from the Pilbara region in north-west Australia and were originally heated during an eruption of pillow basalt lavas, probably in a lake or lagoon environment," said author Dr Ray Burgess from the University of Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.

Burgess says that this new discovery also explains why the Earth didn't experience its first Ice Age during the early years of the planet even though the Sun was 20 percent weaker during that period. According to geological records, Earth's first Ice Age took place about 2.5 billion years ago.

Researchers stated that the findings revealed that the levels of two argon isotopes, 40Ar and 36Ar were much lower than the levels found in water in today's date. They explain the rise in levels over time by suggesting that the gradual release of 40Ar from rocks and magma into the atmosphere throughout Earth's history could have brought it to the level it is today. The argon isotope ratio was also used to estimate how continents have grown with time and found that the volume of continental crust, 3.5 billion years ago was already well-established.

"The signs of the Earth's evolution in the distant past are extremely tenuous, only fragments of highly weathered and altered rocks exists from this time, and for the most part, the evidence is indirect. To find an actual sample of ancient atmospheric argon is remarkable and represents a breakthrough in understanding environmental conditions on Earth before life existed," concluded Burgess.

The Anglo-French study is published in the journal Nature.