Professional Documents
Culture Documents
In studying the history of the Earth, geologists have One of the most important sources of evidence about ice
uncovered evidence of numerous ice ages that occurred ages is glaciers. Glaciers are formed when snow and ice
throughout the past million years. According to scientists, the collect and are compressed under their own weight.
last ice age ended approximately ten thousand years ago. Scientists contend that during the last ice age, 30 percent of
Technically, an ice age is any period when continental ice the Earth was covered by glaciers. Because glaciers alter
sheets cover portions of the Earth, as they currently do in every surface they encounter, most information about the
Antarctica. However, the more common definition of an ice previous topography is lost. Still, glacial deposits and
age is a period when the majority of the Earth’s surface is erosion provide sufficient data for geologists to hypothesize
blanketed by ice sheets and glaciers. Although it is difficult about climatic periods. For example, during the Wisconsin
to determine the exact cause of the ice ages, scientists have glaciation, frozen masses covered much of North America.
examined chemical, geological, and archeological evidence The scientists who study glaciers, called glaciologists,
to propose several theories. discovered that the Great Lakes and most of the Minnesota
lakes were not only carved out by glaciers but later filled by
First, some scientists hypothesize that ice ages are water from the melted mass. Other typical land forms left by
triggered by changes in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is glaciers are U-shaped valleys. These valleys are common in
composed of various gases. Many of these gases, such as the Rocky Mountains where glaciers traveled down slopes
water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and and deposited small boulders along the way. In addition to
ozone help absorb the heat from the sun’s rays, resulting in a studying the results of past glaciers, glaciologists also
phenomenon called the greenhouse effect; however, when monitor current glacial masses for signs of future climactic
greenhouse gases decrease, the Earth suffers a general changes. Of concern for many is the advent of global
drop in global temperatures. Another theory considers warming, which is slowly causing the retreat of glaciers.
continental shifting, which results from plate tectonics and Scientists fear that the excess melt water from glaciers could
the potential blockage of warm water currents. According to change the course of warm water currents such as the Gulf
proponents of this theory, when the continents are pushed Stream and lead to another ice age.
into particular positions, the land masses can prevent warm
water currents from the tropics from reaching polar regions, There remain many questions about the causes of ice ages,
which in turn prevents the thawing effect of warm water and but the theories that have been proposed have helped
causes snow and ice to build up at the poles. Finally, some illuminate the many factors that may be involved. As
scientists posit that changes of the Earth’s position in glaciologists continue to study glaciers, perhaps they will get
relation to the sun may alter global temperatures. A closer to uncovering the truth about ice ages.
twentieth century scientist named Milankovitch proposed the
idea that the Earth’s orbit changes course approximately
every 100,000 years. These intervals, called Milankovitch
Cycles, encourage some scientists to suggest that the
change in orbit results in temperature variations when the
Earth is farther from the sun. Although there is still no
consensus among those in the scientific community, it is a
distinct possibility that portions of all three theories are
responsible for ice ages.