The Economic Times

Scientists may have got one of Earths biggest ancient mysteries wrong: A 2-billion-year-old carbon clue thought to reveal a global change may actually point to magma, methane and microbes

Research from Caltech indicates that a significant carbon signal may arise from local geological processes instead of global events. The study examines the Zaonega Formation in Russia, revealing methane generation from heated organic matter by magma. Methane-consuming microbes likely contributed to the carbon-isotope signature observed in the rocks. This finding raises questions about the interpretation of ancient rock records as evidence of worldwide changes.