The Expanding Earth, Snowball Earth, and Lunar Capture Theory: A Unified Perspective on Earth's Geological Evolution

1. This paper presents a unified theoretical framework integrating the Expanding Earth hypothesis, the Snowball Earth episodes, and an alternative lunar capture model. We propose that external influences, particularly charged particles from the solar wind, contribute to Earth's gradual mass accretion and internal heating, driving surface expansion over geological timescales. This process interacts with tidal forces from a captured Moon and volcanic activity to explain major transitions in Earth's history, including the escape from global glaciations. Drawing on geological evidence such as young oceanic crust and paleomagnetic data, we address inconsistencies in mainstream models like plate tectonics and the giant-impact lunar origin hypothesis. While acknowledging the fringe status of expansion theories, we suggest testable mechanisms involving solar wind deposition at the poles, potentially resolving paradoxes like the faint young Sun. Introduction 2. The Earth's geological history is marked by dynamic processes that challenge static models of planetary evolution. The Expanding Earth hypothesis, first proposed in the 19th century and refined by proponents like Samuel Warren Carey in the 1950s–1980s, posits that the planet's radius has increased over time due to internal phase changes, mass addition, or cosmological factors, rather than solely through plate tectonics on a constant-sized Earth. This idea, though largely dismissed as pseudoscience since the 1960s acceptance of subduction and mantle convection, persists in explaining anomalies such as the fit of continents on a smaller paleo-Earth and the relative youth of oceanic crust. 3. Complementing this, the Snowball Earth hypothesis describes episodes of near-global glaciation during the Neoproterozoic Cryogenian period (approximately 720–635 million years ago), where ice sheets extended to equatorial latitudes. These events were likely initiated by reduced atmospheric greenhouse gases and amplified by ice-albedo feedbacks, ending through volcanic CO2 buildup. 4. Finally, debates over the Moon's origin—whether from a giant impact with a Mars-sized body (Theia) or gravitational capture—highlight compositional and isotopic puzzles that may link to Earth's expansion and thermal history. 5. Here, we unify these concepts, emphasizing the role of solar wind particles as an external driver of expansion. By hypothesizing that solar wind contributes trace mass and energy to Earth's interior via polar influx, we propose a mechanism that fuels mantle expansion, interacts with lunar tidal friction, and aids in deglaciating Snowball states. This framework offers a holistic view of Earth's evolution, supported by geological observations and addressing gaps in conventional theories. The Expanding Earth Hypothesis: Mechanisms and Evidence 6. The Expanding Earth model suggests a radius increase from about 80% of its current size in the Jurassic (approximately 200 million years ago) to the present, based on paleomagnetic reconstructions showing continents fitting tightly on a smaller globe. Key evidence includes: 7. The youth of oceanic crust, with no seafloor older than 200 million years, formed continuously at mid-ocean ridges without equivalent subduction volumes, implying net surface growth. 8. Paleomagnetic data indicating possible radius changes, such as a 102% ± 2.8% current radius 400 million years ago, though contested. 9. Raised beaches and steppe plains, as noted by Darwin in 1834, suggesting uplift from expansion rather than subsidence. 10. Traditional mechanisms include internal decompression (e.g., J. Marvin Herndon's 2005 model of Earth forming from a gas-giant core stripped by solar activity) or phase transitions in the mantle due to radioactive heating. However, we emphasize external contributions, aligning with Carey's cosmological links and Hilgenberg's aether-absorption ideas. Enhanced Role of Solar Wind in Earth's Expansion 11. A novel addition to the theory focuses on the solar wind—a stream of charged particles (primarily protons and electrons) emanating from the Sun at speeds of 300–800 km/s. While Earth's magnetosphere deflects most of this flux, during solar storms (coronal mass ejections), particles penetrate along magnetic field lines converging at the poles, depositing energy and matter into the atmosphere and potentially deeper layers. 12. We hypothesize that these particles, particularly protons, could infiltrate the crust via polar conduits, contributing to subtle mass accretion and internal heating. Estimates of extraterrestrial accretion (e.g., from meteorites and dust) are low (~40,000 tons/year), but solar wind adds negligible mass directly; however, over billions of years, captured ions might hydrate mantle minerals or trigger nuclear reactions, leading to volume expansion. For instance: 13. Protons from solar wind could combine with oxygen in the mantle to form water, causing serpentinization—a process that expands rock volume by up to 40% and is observed in ophiolites. 14. Energy deposition might accelerate mantle convection or phase changes, such as from perovskite to post-perovskite, increasing density but allowing radial growth. 15. Links to magnetic field reversals: As proposed by Herndon (2013), solar wind during geomagnetic storms influences core dynamics, potentially tying to expansion pulses. 16. This mechanism addresses the faint young Sun paradox: A smaller, expanding Earth would have higher surface gravity and a thicker atmosphere early on, retaining heat despite 30% fainter solar output 4 billion years ago. Solar wind, stronger in the young Sun's active phase, could have provided additional energy input, resolving why liquid water persisted. 17. Critics note that geodetic measurements limit radius growth to <0.2 mm/year, but proponents argue this misses slow, episodic expansion masked by subduction illusions.