Skip to main content

Ice Ages and Long-Term Cycles

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe ((ASTRONOM))

Abstract

Perhaps the most celebrated – and generally acknowledged – astronomical cycles are those that presumably have had no appreciable effect on the climate warming of the late twentieth century. However, they are thought by many to be the drivers of climate on a time scale of the ice ages. Known as Milankovic cycles, they could represent some of the greatest of all external influences on Earth and its climate. Although still controversial, the theory behind them has garnered the support of perhaps the majority in the mainstream scientific community.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Drysdale RN, Hellstrom JC, Zanchetta G, Fallick AE, Sánchez Goñi MF, Couchoud I, McDonald J, Maas R, Lohmann G, Isola I (2009) Evidence for obliquity forcing of glacial termination II. Science 325:1527–1531

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Muller RA, MacDonald GJ (1997) Origin of the 100 kyr glacial cycle: eccentricity or orbital inclination? Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:8329–8334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Imbrie J, Imbrie JZ (1980) Modeling the climatic response to orbital variations. Science 207(4434):943–953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Broecker WS (1992) Upset for Milankovitch theory. Nature 359: 779–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Emiliani C (1993) Milankovitch theory verified. Nature 364:583–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Landwehr JM, Winograd IJ, Coplan TB (1994) No verification for Milankovitch. Nature 368(6472):594

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Elkibbi M, Rial JA (2001) An outsider’s review of the astronomical theory of the climate: is the eccentricity-driven insolation the main driver of the ice ages? Earth Sci Rev 56:161–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Keeling CD, Wharf TP (2000) The 1,800-year oceanic tidal cycle: a possible cause of rapid climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97(8):3814–3819

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hays JD, Imbrie J, Shackleton NJ (1976) Variation in the Earth’s orbit: pacemaker of the Ice ages. Science 194:1121–1132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cooke, A. (2012). Ice Ages and Long-Term Cycles. In: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4608-8_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4608-8_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4607-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4608-8

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics