Ecology

Ice periods that took place more than once on our planet were always covered with a mass of riddles. We know that they enveloped whole continents with cold, turning them into failure tundras.

It is also known about 11 such periods, moreover, they all had a regular consistency. However, we still do not know much about them. We invite you to get acquainted with the most interesting facts On the glacial periods of our past.

Giant animals

By the time the last glacial period came, during the evolution already mammals appeared. Animals that could survive in harsh climatic conditions were rather large, their bodies were covered with a thick layer of fur.

Scientists called these creatures "MegaFauna"which was able to survive when low temperatures In areas covered with ice, for example, in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Tibet. Smaller animals could not adapt To new glaciation conditions and died.

Herbivores of Megafauna learned to find themselves food even under the layers of ice and were able to adapt differently to the environment: for example, rhinored The ice age possessed vopotoxic hornsWith the help of which the snow drifts roll.

Predatory animals, for example, save-counter cats, giant short-cast bears and terrible wolves, perfectly survived in the new conditions. Although their mining could sometimes give fire due to their large sizes, she was abundant.

People of glacial period

Despite the fact that modern man Homo Sapiens. It could not boast of large sizes and wool at that time, he was able to survive in the conditions of cold tundra glacial periods for many millennia.

The living conditions were harsh, but people were inventive. For example, 15 thousand years ago They lived tribes that were engaged in hunting and gathering, the original housing from the bones of the mammoths was built, sewed warm clothes from animal skins. When food was abundant, they did stocks in eternal Merzlot - natural freezer.

Mostly for the hunt, such workers of labor were used as stone knives and arrows. To catch and kill large animal glacial periods, it was necessary to use special traps. When the beast came across such traps, a group of people attacked him and scored to death.

Small glacial period

Between major glacial periods sometimes happened and small periods. It cannot be said that they were destructive, however, they also caused hunger, illness because of the wicked and other problems.

The most recent of small glacial periods began in approximately 12-14 centuries. The hardest time can be called a period from 1500 to 1850 years. At this time, a fairly low temperature was observed in the northern hemisphere.

In Europe, was familiar when the sea was frozen, and in the mountainous areas, for example, on the territory of modern Switzerland, the snow did not melted even in the summer. Cold weather influenced every aspect of life and culture. Probably the Middle Ages remained in history as "Time of Troubles" Also because a small glacial period dominated on the planet.

Warming periods

Some glacial periods actually turned out quite warm. Despite the fact that the surface of the earth was shrouded in ice, the weather was set relatively warm.

Sometimes in the atmosphere of the planet accumulated a sufficiently large amount carbon dioxidewhich is the reason for the appearance greenhouse effectWhen heat is held in the atmosphere and heats the planet. At the same time, the ice continues to form and reflect the sun's rays back into space.

According to experts, such a phenomenon led to education giant Desert with Ice on Surfacebut rather warm weather.

When will the next ice age come?

The theory that the glacial periods occur on our planet at an equal period of time, goes into a cut with theories about global warming. There is no doubt that today is observed ubiquitated climate warmingwhich can help prevent the next glacial period.

Man's activities lead to carbon dioxide emission, which is mostly guilty of global warming. However, this gas has another strange by-effect. According to researchers from University of Cambridge, CO2 emission can stop the next ice age.

According to the planetary cycle of our planet, the next ice age should come soon, but it can only take place if carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere it will be relatively low. However, currently the CO2 levels are so great that there can be no speech about any glacial period in the near future.

Even if a person sharply stop the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (which is little likely), there is enough of the existing number to prevent the onset of the glacial period at least one thousand years.

Plants of the glacial period

The easiest thing in the Ice Age lived predators.: They could always find meat. But what really ate herbivores?

It turns out, and for these animals was enough intimidation. In times of glacial periods on the planet a lot of plants grewwhich could survive in harsh conditions. The steppe area was covered with shrubs and grass that fed Mammoths and other herbivores.

Large plants could also be found a great set: for example, they grew in abundance spruce and pines. In warmer areas met birch and Willow. That is climate by and large in many modern southern regions recognized that today is available in Siberia.

However, the plants of the glacial period differed somewhat from modern. Of course, when cold many plants are extinct. If the plant has not been able to adapt to a new climate, he had two outputs: either to move to more southern zones or die.

For example, on the territory of the modern state of Victoria in the south of Australia there was the richest diversity of plant species on the planet, until the ice age came, as a result of which most of the species died.

Cause of the glacial period in the Himalayas?

It turns out, Himalayas, the highest mountain system of our planet, directly connected With the onset of the glacial period.

40-50 million years ago Sushi masses, where China and India are located today, have encountered the highest mountains. As a result of the collision, huge volumes of "fresh" rocks from the depths of the earth were exposed.

These rock breeds erosia were subjectedas a result chemical reactions Carbon dioxide began to be supplanted from the atmosphere. The climate on the planet began to become all colder, the Ice Age came.

Earth-Snowball

In the days of different glacial periods, our planet was mainly shrouded in ice and snow only partially. Even during the most severe glacial period, ice covered only one third of the globe.

However, there is a hypothesis that in certain periods the land was still fully covered with snowWhat made it similar to the giant snowball. Life still managed to survive thanks to rare islands with a relatively small amount of ice and with sufficient light for plant photosynthesis.

According to this theory, our planet turned into a snowball at least once, more precisely 716 million years ago.

Garden of Eden

Some scientists are convinced that Edemsky Sad., Described in the Bible, there really existed. Suggest that he was in Africa, and precisely thanks to him our distant ancestors were able to survive during the ice age.

About 200 thousand years ago A harsh glacial period has occurred, which put an end to many forms of life. Fortunately, a small group of people was able to survive a period of severe cold. These people moved to the area where South Africa is located today.

Despite the fact that almost the entire planet was covered with ice, this area remained free from ice. There was a large number of living beings. The soils of this area were rich in nutrients, so it was abundance of plants. Cave created by nature were used by people and animals as shelters. For living beings, it was a real paradise.

According to some scientists, in " Paradise Garden"Lowned no more than a hundred peopleThat is why a person does not have such genetic diversity as most of the other species. However, this theory did not find scientific evidence.

The last glacial period led to the appearance of a woolly mammoth and the huge growth of the area of \u200b\u200bglaciers. But he was only one of many, which was cooled by the Earth throughout 4.5 billion years of its history.

So, how often the planet covers the glacial periods and when should we expect the next?

The main periods of glaciation in the history of the planet

The answer to the first question depends on whether you mean large glaciation or small, which occur during these long periods. Throughout history, the Earth survived five large periods of glaciation, and some of them lasted for hundreds of millions of years. In fact, even now the Earth is experiencing a long period of glaciation, and this explains why it has polar ice.

Five main ice ages are Huronsky (2.4-2.1 billion years ago), cryogenic glaciation (720-635 million years ago), Andasca-Sugar (450-420 million years ago), late Paleozoicoye (335-260 Million years ago) and quaternary (2.7 million years ago to the present).

These large periods of glaciation can alternate smaller glacial periods and warm periods (inteludes). At the beginning of Quaternary glaciation (2.7-1 million years ago), these cold glacial periods took place every 41 thousand years. Nevertheless, in the last 800 thousand years, essential glacial periods appeared less often - approximately every 100 thousand years.

How does the 100,000-year-old cycle work?

Ice shields grow for approximately 90 thousand years, and then begin to melt for 10 thousand years of the warm period. Then the process is repeated.

Given that the last Ice Age ended about 11,700 years ago, perhaps time came to start one more?

Scientists believe that we would have to experience the next glacial period right now. However, there are two factors associated with the Earth's orbit, which affect the formation of warm and cold periods. Considering how many carbon dioxide we throw into the atmosphere, the next ice age will not begin at least 100 thousand years.

What causes the glacial period?

The hypothesis put forward by Serbian astronomer Milyutin Milankovich explains why there are cycles of glacial and intergreic periods on Earth.

Since the planet rotates around the Sun, the amount of light that it receives from it is affected by three factors: its tilt (which is in the range from 24.5 to 22.1 degrees on a cycle of 41,000 years), its eccentricity (change of the form of the orbit around Sun, which ranges from the near circumference to an oval shape) and her swinging (one full swing occurs every 19-23 thousand years).

In 1976, a sign document in the journal Science presented evidence that these three orbital parameters explain the glacial cycles of the planet.

The theory of Milankovich is that orbital cycles are predictable and very consistent in the history of the planet. If the earth is experiencing a glacial period, it will be covered with a large or smaller amount of ice, depending on these orbital cycles. But if it is too warm on Earth, no changes will occur, at least with respect to the growing amount of ice.

What can affect the heating of the planet?

The first to mind comes gas, such as carbon dioxide. Over the past 800 thousand years, carbon dioxide levels ranged from 170 to 280 parts per million (meaning that from 1 million air molecules 280 are carbon dioxide molecules). It would seem a minor difference in 100 parts per million leads to the appearance of glacial and intergaren periods. But the level of carbon dioxide today is significantly higher, compared with the past periods of oscillations. In May 2016, carbon dioxide over Antarctic reached 400 parts per million.

The land heated so much before. For example, during dinosaurs, the air temperature was even higher than now. But the problem is that in the modern world it grows by a record pace, as we threw too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a short time. In addition, considering that the rate of emissions today are not reduced, it can be concluded that the situation is unlikely to change in the near future.

Consequences of warming

Warming caused by the presence of this carbon dioxide will have great consequences, because even a small increase in the average temperature of the Earth can lead to sharp changes. For example, the land was on average just 5 degrees Celsius colder during the last glacial period than today, however, it led to a significant change in regional temperature, the disappearance of a huge part of the flora and fauna and to the emergence of new species.

If global warming will lead to the melting of all the glacial covers of Greenland and Antarctica, the level of oceans will grow by 60 meters, compared with today's indicators.

What leads to big glacial periods?

The factors that cause long periods of glaciation, such as quaternary, are not so well studied by scientists. But one of the ideas is that the mass drop in the level of carbon dioxide can lead to lower temperatures.

For example, in accordance with the hypothesis of raising and weathering, when the tactonics of the slabs leads to an increase in mountain ranges, a new unprotected breed appears on the surface. It is easy to weathelate and fall apart, falling into the oceans. Sea organisms use these breeds to create their own shells. Over time, stones and shells take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and its level is significantly reduced, which leads to the period of glaciation.

Back in October 2014, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Tyumen Scientific Community of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Melnikov said: "In Russia, a long cold period begins."

On the territory of Russia, the total temperature of the earth's atmosphere is gradually decreasing. According to him, all this is due to the cyclic climatic changes in the earth's atmosphere. The academician noted that a cold climatic cycle began, and he could delay for 15 years, which is quite normal from a scientific point of view. According to experts, the cooling should have started at the beginning of the 21st century, but due to increased solar activity, the warm cycle was slightly launched.

In November 2014, the scientist who collaborated with NASA predicted the mass death of people and hungry riots.

The reason is the coming extremely cold 30-year period.

John L. Casey, a former adviser to the White House on National Space Politics, President of the Space and Science Research Corporation, Orlando, Florida, an organization that is engaged in climate study. His book brought down the theory of global warming,

As the scientist stated, over the next 30 year cycle, the extremal cold, which will be caused by the historical decline in energy emission by the Sun, will have an impact on the whole world.

There will be a massive extinction of the human population due to strong cold and hungry death (global food supply will fall 50%).

"Data that we have, serious and reliable," said Casey.

In early 2015, more and more specialists expressed the opinion that the new "Ice Age" is already on the threshold and that even then an abnormal weather was his first manifestations.

Coming climatic chaos. The small glacial comes.

Space and Research Corporation (SSRC) is an independent research institute from Orlando, Florida, USA.

SSRC has become a leading research organization in the United States on the issue of science and planning the following climate change associated with the prolonged glacial period. A special concern for the organization is the warning of the government, the media and people about the need to prepare for these new climate changes that will take a whole era.

In addition to the cold weather, this new climate era, SSRC considers the same as other scientists and geologists that there is a high probability of record volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that will occur during the next climate change.

At the end of 2015, scientists anxiously declared that the world stands on the verge of a 50-year-old glacial period

"Calee blizzards, blizzards and minus temperatures threaten mankind for the next fifty years - and perhaps more than decades.

Climate experts warn of a rare pattern of water cooling in the North Atlantic, which causes a chain reaction of events, and they will lead to a "full" glacial period ".

The main meteorologist said that it would affect the weather for many years.

"The long-term consequences of changing Golf Stream and other currents of the Atlantic Ocean are already catastrophic" -on added.

"Atlantic flows slowed down and abnormally cold water from Greenland remain unchanged, it partly blocks the course of warm water and, accordingly, warm air to Western Europe, for many years.

The climate in the region is changing, including in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon is constant cooling. "

Long-term prediction made an expert Brett Anderson: "When there is such an anomaly of the atmosphere and the ocean, the temperature will change greatly, you may not doubt, and will change for many years."

A warning comes in just a few months after the meteorological bureau warned that the UK is waiting for another small glacial period.

But now, in connection with the new data that has opened new data, you can already say that the UK is waiting for a real "full" Ice Age ".

In November 2016, a group of scientists has released a warning: mini-ice age on the threshold: maybe you should move .. Weather forecast from 2021 to 2027

Why you can give up your home and move to 2023 ... It all depends on where you live!
Geographical weather forecast for six years of the upcoming mini-glacial period.

And now it came 2018. Spring 2018. Residents of many cities of her arrival did not feel. There are regions and in Russia, too, where snow is still knee. We will not give the whole mass of examples of the abnormally cold spring of this year. Only two posts in the last day.

In our today's material: there will be no spring in Europe, the snow will fall until mid-May.

And a message from America: Stop it! For 75 million Americans instead of spring came winter

Suddenly, winter came to the employees of the White House on Wednesday

You can, of course, all make it easy to "such a year" and say that "all this is nonsense." But global weather forecasters and climatologists do not think so.

Now you can already say that all the forecasts of those few scientists who beat the alarm were fully justified.

Humanity does not rush in the small glacial period.

Meet! Small glacial!

As our correspondent reports from Geneva, on Monday, a closed conference of weather forecasters and climatologists from around the world started there. About 100 people participate in it. Very serious issues related to abnormal weather and its catastrophic consequences for human activity are considered. This is what our correspondent Greg Davis informs us:

"Very little information is reached by journalists. The conference is carried out in closed mode. Few people know about her. Journalists were not allowed there. At the moment, according to the available information, you can already say that the conference participants made several sensational statements, came to certain conclusions and prepare an open report on the results of the conference.

Yesterday, one of the participants, the famous weather forecaster from the United States, (I do not call it the names, because they should not yet do official statements), the rights of anonymity gave a small interview for one of the largest Swiss newspapers "Tribune de Geneve".

... He said that the conference considered a number of issues related to global climate change. The conference participants completely abandoned the "global warming" hypothesis and recognized her false. Having considered the latest results of research from all over the world, it was concluded that the planet is rapidly immersed in a cold period and will lead to disastrous consequences on human livelihoods ...

It is interesting to end, this is a small interview. When the journalist "Tribune De Geneve" has already forgiven with this conference participant, he asked him the question: "How do you call an article with my interview?" What a journalist replied that he does not yet know. Then the weather forecor said to him: "Make a heading like this: Meet! Small glacial period! ".

So far, all that we know here. We are waiting for the publication of the report. "

Forecasts on how our climate will change, often contradict each other. What awaits us: global warming or new ice age? Researchers from assume that both, only different scales and at different times.

"The modern climate and natural environment finally formed at the Quaternary period - the stage of the geological history of the Earth, which began 2.58 million years ago and continues to this day. This period is characterized by alternating the glacial and interglacial eras. In certain stages there were powerful glaciation. Now we have We live in a warm membrane era, which is called Holocene, "says the head of the laboratory of the geology of Cenozoic, Paleoclimatology and Mineralogical Indicators of the Climate of IGM SB RAS Dr. Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Professor NSU Vladimir Zykin.

When the first more or less reliable data on the climate of the Quaternary period appeared, it was believed: the intergrehensive epochs continue only ten thousand years. The Epoch of the Golocene, in which we live, started at about ten thousand years ago, so many researchers at the end of the last century began to talk about the approach of global glaciation.

However, their conclusions were hasty. The fact is that the alternation of large glacial and intellaries is explained by the orbital theory developed by the Serbian researcher Milutin Milankovich in the 1920s. According to it, these processes are associated with a change in the orbit of the Earth when driving around the Sun. The scientist calculated changes in orbital elements and made an approximate "chart of glaciation" in a quarterly period. The followers of Milankovich were calculated that the duration of the Holocene should be about 40 thousand years. That is, another 30 thousand years old mankind can sleep well.

However, the authors of the work are not sure that these changes are guilty exclusively people. The fact is that significant changes in the amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere were observed in those epochs when not the fact that anthropogenic exposure, but also there were no people on Earth. Moreover, according to comparative charts, the temperature rise by 800 years is ahead of increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide.

The increase in CO 2, apparently, is associated with an increase in the water temperature in the World Ocean, which leads to the release of carbon dioxide from water and methane from bottom precipitation. That is, apparently, we are talking about natural reasons. Therefore, experts call for more carefully to investigate this direction and not "simplify" an approach to understanding the global changes that takes place, accusing in them exclusively people.

"The ratio of humanity to climate change problems reflects the picture of Peter Bruegel senior" blind ", on which six blinds go along the cliff," concludes Professor Zykin.

We are in the power of autumn, and is becoming colder. Do we move to the glacial period, is interested in one of the readers.

Funior Danish summer behind. The leaves fall away from the trees, the birds fly south, becomes darker and, of course, colder too.

Our reader Lars Petersen (Lars Petersen) from Copenhagen began to prepare for cold days. And he wants to know how serious he needs to be prepared.

"When does the next Ice Age begins? I learned that the glacial and interdictive periods replace each other regularly. Since we live in the interledstnik, it is logical to assume that the next ice age awaits us ahead, isn't it? " - He writes in a letter to the section "Ask Science" (Spørg Videnskaben).

We will shudder in the editorial when we thought about the cold winter that lies on us at that end of the autumn. We, too, would be happy to recognize if we are not a glacial period.

Until the next glacial period is still far

Therefore, we were addressed to the teacher of the Center fundamental studies Ice and climate in Copenhagen University Suna Rasmussen (Sune Olander Rasmussen).

Sune Rasmussen studies cold and receives information about the weather of the past, the storm of Greenland glaciers and icebergs. In addition, he can use his knowledge in order to play the role of a "predictor of the glacial periods".

"In order to come a glacial period, several conditions must coincide. We cannot accurately predict when the glacial period begins, but even if humanity did not affect the climate, our forecast is such that the conditions for it will be shared at best in 40 - 50 thousand years, "Sunmussen reassures us.

Since we still speak with the "Ice Personal Posterness", we can get some more information about which "conditions" are we talking about to understand a little more that such a glacial period.

That's what a glacial period

Sune Rasmussen says that during the last glacial period, the average temperature on Earth was a few degrees lower than today, and that the climate at higher latitudes was colder.

Most of the northern hemisphere was covered with massive ice cover. For example, Scandinavia, Canada and some other parts of North America were covered with a three-kilometer ice shell.

The huge weight of the ice cover was invented by the globe on a kilometer inside the earth.

Ice periods longer than interledstial

However, 19 thousand years ago began to occur in climate.

This meant that the Earth gradually became warmer, and for the next 7,000 years, he freed himself from the cold grip of the ice age. After that, the interledstial, in which we are now and are located.

Context

New Ice Age? Not soon

THE NEW YORK TIMES 10.06.2004

glacial period

Українська True 25.12.2006 In Greenland, the last residues of the shell came up very sharply 11,700 years ago or to be accurate 11 715 years ago. This is evidenced by the study of SUN Rasmussen and his colleagues.

It means that since the last glacial period passed 11,715 years, and this is a completely normal length of passionate.

"It's funny that we usually consider the ice age as an" event ", although in fact everything is just the opposite. The middle glacial period lasts 100 thousand years, while the interledstnikier continues from 10 to 30 thousand years. That is, the land is more often in the glacial period than the opposite. "

"A couple of last interleden periods lasted only about 10 thousand years, which explains the widespread, but the erroneous opinion is that our current interledstial period is approaching the end," says Sun Rasmussen.

Three factors affect the ability to start a glacial period

The fact that the earth will plunge into a new ice age after 40-50 thousand years, depends on the fact that the orbits of the Earth's rotation around the Sun have small variations. Variations determine how much sunlight on what latitudes is falling, and thereby affects how warmth or cold there.

This discovery made Serbian Geophysic Milutin Milankovich almost 100 years ago, and therefore it is known as Milankovich's cycles.

Milankovich cycles is:

1. Earth's rotation orbit around the Sun, which varies cyclically about once every 100,000 years. Orbit turns from almost round to more elliptical, and then back. Because of this, the distance to the Sun varies. The further the earth from the Sun, the less solar radiation is obtained by our planet. In addition, when the form of the orbit changes, the length of the age of year is changing.

2. The slope of the earth axis, which fluctuates between 22 and 24.5 degrees relative to the orbit of rotation around the Sun. This cycle covers approximately 41,000 years. 22 or 24.5 degrees - it seems not such a significant difference, but the tilt of the axis is very effectively affected by the severity of different times of the year. The greater the land is inclined, the greater the difference between the winter and summer. At the moment, the slope of the earth's axis is 23.5 and it decreases, which means that the differences between the winter and in the summer will decline in the next thousand years.

3. The direction of the earth's axis relative to the space. The direction changes cyclically with a period of 26 thousand years.

"The combination of these three factors determines whether there are prerequisites for the beginning of the ice age. It is almost impossible to imagine how the interaction of these three factors occurs, but with the help of mathematical models we can calculate how many solar radiation are obtained by certain latitudes at a certain time of the year, and also received in the past and will receive in the future, "says Sun Rasmussen.

Snow in the summer leads to the glacial period

In particular, temperatures are played in this context in this context.

Milankovich realized that the prerequisite for the start of the glacial period, the summer in the northern hemisphere should be cold.

If the snowy winter and most of the northern hemisphere covered with snow, then the temperature and the number of sunny clock are determined in the summer, whether the snow is allowed to stay for all summer.

"If the snow does not melt in the summer, then little sunlight penetrates into the ground. The rest is reflected back into space with a snow-white bedspread. It aggravates the cooling, which began due to changes in the orbit of the Earth's rotation around the Sun, "says Sun Rasmussen.

"Further cooling brings even more snow, which further reduces the amount of absorbed heat, and so on, until the glacial period begins," he continues.

In the same period, the period with hot years leads to the fact that the glacial period ends. Then the hot sun melts the ice enough so that the sunlight can again fall into dark surfaces, like soil or the sea, which absorb it and heat the earth.

People pull the next glacial period

Another factor that matters to the possibility of the beginning of the glacial period is the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Just like snow reflecting the light, enhances the formation of ice or accelerates its melting, increasing the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 180 ppm to 280 ppm (million dollars) contributed to the removal of the Earth from the last ice age.

However, from the moment the industrialization began, people all the time are engaged in a further increase in carbon dioxide, so now it is almost 400 ppm.

"Nature has taken 7,000 years to increase the share of carbon dioxide to 100 ppm after the end of the glacial period. People managed to do the same in just 150 years. It is of great importance in order whether the Earth will be able to enter the new ice age. This is a very significant impact, which means not only what the ice age cannot begin at the moment, "says Suna Rasmussen.

We thank Lars Petersen for a good question and send in a winter gray T-shirt in Copenhagen. We also thank Sun Rasmussen for a good answer.

And we urge our readers to send more scientific issues on [Email Protected]

Did you know?

Scientists always talk about the glacial period only in the northern hemisphere of the planet. The reason is that there is too little sushi in the southern hemisphere, on which a massive layer of snow and ice can lie.

Less Antarctica, all south part Southern hemisphere covered with water that does not provide good conditions For the occurrence of thick ice shell.

Insurance materials contain estimates of exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of the EOSMI's editorial office.