We must begin this article with a relevant and fundamental statement: it is not about one ice age but many ages. These are periodic cycles that our planet experiments every thousand years and preventing them in the future is simply impossible.
There are many things that we ignore about the ice ages, many of them explained in a recent article in our blog. Among the many curiosities and interesting facts, there is the simplest explanation regarding the way it works. While there are many theories about it, some have become more accepted answers by the scientific community.
Today you will learn with ITV Ice Makers how ice ages work.
Glacial and Interglacial Periods
You will probably be surprised to hear that the last ice age hasn’t finished yet. This is a simple idea that is hard to believe. Still, it’s incredibly possible. The ice ages are composed of glacial and interglacial periods.
The glacial periods are the coldest moments during the ice age, when temperatures fall dramatically and new giant bodies of ice are formed. This continental ice expansion, joined by an aggressive evolution by the species that become capable of surviving, develops glaciers in regions that today we consider as hot.
On the other hand, the interglacial periods, as their name indicates, are the ones that separate the glacial periods and are characterized for being significantly warmer. The ice bodies all around the world melt down as a natural consequence of the temperature increase and intense solar radiation, also increasing oceanic levels.
Living in an Interglacial Period
According to scientific findings, we can say for sure that we are living in an interglacial period. Approximately 10,000 years ago, the last glacial period ended, considered as “done” an era of painful cold for living things. The well-preserved fossils from animals and plants, like the mammoth, are from this late era.
The glaciers found in the Antarctica and Greenland, only to give two representative examples, are the living proof of the interglacial period we are living in. Because of this, there are many theories that support the fact that the meltdown of ice bodies, like icebergs and glaciers, and the consequential increase of oceanic levels are unavoidable events, being these a part of orbital variations.
Milankovitch Cycles
In the early 20th Century, a mathematician called Milutin Milankovitch developed a series of theories that focused in the temperature drops during the summers and all the factors involved in the phenomena, everything to determine how often ice ages do occur.
In very simple terms, Milankovitch determined that these factors were the inclination of the Earth on its own axle, the way it wobbles and how close the Earth gets to the sun.
After defining this, he was able to calculate that ice ages on the Earth are meant to repeat again and again every 22,000, 41,000, and 100,000 years. Thanks to his astonishing mathematics work in order to prove this, this planetary process was baptized as the Milankovitch cycles, also known as orbital variations.
Glaciers that Were Alive and Produced Other Glaciers
The last, very relevant thing we need to mention about the ice ages, the ones that ended and the others to come, is the glaciers’ role. A glacier is a massive body made of ice that is formed by the accumulation of snow along with very low temperatures, causing a resistant and long-lasting compacted body.
Besides these well-known facts, there is more. The glaciers have given us important hints for the elaboration of renown, accepted theories. The scientific community now understands that glaciers do move and ice caps are not static at all. This geologic behaviour left behind a trail of significant debris, like giant boulders that rest miles away from the mountains to which they belonged.
Another role of the glacier is making possible the formation of new glaciers. Their presence, due to their physical and chemical nature, glaciers reflect sunrays very effectively, avoiding average temperature to increase and creating adequate conditions for others glaciers to appear.