We present statistical analysis of a compilation of observational constraints on the Precambrian length of day and find that the day length stalled at about 19 h for about 1 billion years during the mid-Proterozoic. We suggest that the accelerative torque of atmospheric thermal tides from solar energy balanced the decelerative torque of lunar oceanic tides, temporarily stabilizing Earth’s rotation. This stalling coincides with a period of relatively limited biological evolution known as the boring billion.
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Mitchell et al. (2023) studied this question.
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