Is There A Possibility Of A New Ice Age On Earth? | Naked Science | Spark
Spark・2 minutes read
Earth experienced multiple snowball events, with evidence indicating freeze-overs over 2 billion years ago and significant changes post-thaw, enabling the evolution of complex life forms. Despite the sun warming over the last 650 million years, a future snowball Earth is possible if continents shift towards the equator, causing cooling temperatures and the potential formation of sea ice closer to the Equator.
Insights
- The Snowball Earth theory posits that the planet experienced complete freezing multiple times in the past, potentially caused by extreme weathering and the lack of landmasses in higher latitudes allowing ice accumulation on the sea.
- Evidence from dropstones in Australia and Soviet climate modeler M. Budyko's work suggest that runaway ice albedo feedback could lead to a catastrophic ice-covered state on Earth, emphasizing the potential for rapid global cooling and societal collapse in the event of a modern-day snowball Earth occurrence.
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Recent questions
What caused the Earth to freeze over 650 million years ago?
Extreme weathering near the equator led to global glaciation.
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