Hi Gib. The ice age started because the carbon was stripped out of the biosphere and was buried, much of it permanently, but some is pumped back out by subduction and volcanic activity. That's my theory.
Glaciations begin and end because of oscillations in biosphere cover = as deserts spread, reflectivity increases [being light coloured, deserts reflect a lot of sunlight] so Earth cools, meanwhile, ice cover spreads from the poles, giving bonus cooling due to more reflection from snow and sea ice, and the plants are buried.
Then, plants start regaining the deserts, working their way back to the equator, warming Earth again [they absorb a LOT more energy than deserts].
As the carbon in the biosphere dwindled, the warm periods dwindled and we were heading for a permanent ice age until humans got to work in the latest interglacial.
Yes, I think the ice age has ended - provided we keep the CO2 production up and especially if we cover the deserts with photovoltaic cells and agriculture.
A consensus doesn't make things true or not. Voting for what is scientifically correct would leave the world back in the stone age, and heresy trials would be popular.
Mqurice |
