button.parentNode.insertBefore(wrapper, button); The consequences would be orders of magnitude more extreme than anything experienced in recent human history. The Ice Age before this one ended about 260 million years ago and is known as the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (also known as the Karoo Ice Age). At the height of the last ice age, there were an estimated 10 million cubic miles of ice covering the planet. One big feature the study revealed was that in the past 250,000 years, the last 11,600 have been the longest prolonged period of relatively stable climate. }); if (!value.match(/^\d\d\d\d-\d\d-\d\d$/)) { thank_you.style.display = 'block'; if (tooltips[i].elem === elem) { no_error = false; } var setCookie = function(name, value) { }; } The last cold ripple ended 11.711 years ago and as this ripple lies so close to the ice age’s general end, the ice age never returned and there have not been any ripples since. allInputs[i].dataset.name = allInputs[i].name; } var fieldVal = getUrlParam(allInputs[i].dataset.name); } The Last Ice Age Ended 20,000–24,000 Years Ago, Not 11,700 Years Ago. inner.className = '_error-inner'; var oldFunc = element['on' + event]; The Great Salt Lake is … callback(); remove ? } } if (results != undefined) { In modern terms, the landmass we know as Canada was buried under ice as dense as two miles thick. We can also see that the CO2 level varies with the ice ages: When it is cold there is less CO2 and when it is warmer the level is higher. return no_error; Prehistoric Earth During the Glacial Period of the Pliocene. var results = new RegExp(regexStr, 'i').exec(window.location.href); The last cold ripple ended 11.711 years ago and as this ripple lies so close to the ice age’s general end, the ice age never returned and there have not been any ripples since. else { Geologically speaking, we are still in the latest Ice Age which began about 34 million years ago with the gradual formation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and is known as the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. if (old_error) old_error.parentNode.removeChild(old_error); Can we gauge a better understanding of evidence of global warming through prehistoric climate change? // Site tracking URL to use after inline form submission. }; "); } Leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Ice cores from both Antarctica and Greenland show that the last ice age started to become milder 19.000 years ago, completely in accordance with increased solar radiation from the earth’s favourable orientation in its orbit around the sun. Although the cause is still unknown, the time frame has prompted some scientists to postulate the catastrophic cause for the start of the Younger Dryas. We believe, that this CO2 feedback has significance as even small changes in solar radiation have had great effects. if (allInputs[i].type == "radio" || allInputs[i].type == "checkbox") { var wrapper = document.createElement('div'); Scientists wanted to know when the asteroid hit the planet, so for that, they have analyzed little pieces or zircon and monazite crystals from the rocks. We are told by science and in our schools that the last ice age (glacial period) ended 11,700 years ago, after which the Holocene interglacial began. for (var i = 0; i < elems.length; i++) { Credit: NASA. } else { return false; validate_field(el, true); err.className = '_error-inner _form_error _no_arrow'; tooltip.className = '_error'; script.type = 'text/javascript'; In the 1990’s, scientists began the immense task of drilling into the summit of the Greenland ice sheet. Though the last glaciation ended about 12,500 years ago, remnants of this climatic episode are common around the world today. form.querySelector('._form-content').style.display = 'none'; More we do not know just now. script.src = url; if (window._old_serialize) window.serialize = window._old_serialize; } else { window._show_thank_you = function(id, message, trackcmp_url) { if (typeof window._form_callback !== 'undefined') window._form_callback(id); return; Just like the first warming, the cause of the sudden shift back to full glacial conditions is still  debated by scientists. tooltips.push(new_tooltip); The data provides an insight into the climate of earth during prehistory. These included vast megafauna extinctions, human population decline, melting of the North American ice sheet, well as intense sea level rises, extreme floods and disaster conditions, as all of which occurred during the Younger Dryas period. }); selected = false; if (elems[i].checked) no_error = true; validate_field(this, true); Antarctica. var remove_tooltips = function() { allInputs[i].checked = true; } Global warming & climate change are a global scientific and geopolitical issue. this.value = this.value.trim(); elem.parentNode.insertBefore(tooltip, elem); The Most Ancient Asteroid Might Have Ended The Last Ice Age. err ? window._show_error = function(id, message, html) { for (var i = 0; i < elem.options.length; i++) { } elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; if (elem.type == 'radio' || (elem.type == 'checkbox' && /any/.test(elem.className))) { var tooltip = null, value = elem.value, no_error = true; Because it takes circa 10.000 years for an ice age to gradually come to an end; but for a climate ripple (for example, the end of the Younger Dryas) the change in weather took, 25 years later, just one year, temperature wise. elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; No comments. if (typeof(trackcmp_url) != 'undefined' && trackcmp_url) { allInputs[i].dataset.name = window.cfields[results[1]]; As the line moves to the right, temperatures are warming, and as it moves left, temperatures are cooling. for (var i = 0; i < tooltips.length; i++) { _load_script(trackcmp_url); } if (elem.type != 'radio' && elem.type != 'checkbox') { Animals so stupendous… Climate ripples between north and southThere is however another, more dramatic climate variation: The abrupt climate shifts in the ice age. } Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. These shifts cannot be explained by solar radiation. During this } else { Prehistoric earth has experienced far more significant changes in temperature. tooltip.appendChild(inner); } else { var input = allInputs[i]; if (!tooltips[i].no_arrow) resize_tooltip(tooltips[i]); The end of the last ice age or Pliocene era occurred during the transition into the present Holocene era. }); decodeURIComponent(results[1]) : false; err.push("Checking %s is required".replace("%s", elems[i].value)); var form_to_submit = document.getElementById('_form_1_'); "); The climatic seesawing of global temperatures is one of the most mysterious periods of earth’s prehistory. no_error = false; So what happened to the ice? The last major ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research. Lake Bonneville was one and once covered most of what is today Utah. At the beginning of the Younger Dryas period, there was a temperature rise of roughly 15 degrees Celsius 18 months. tooltip.tip.className = tooltip.tip.className.replace(/ ? var results = new RegExp(regexStr).exec(allInputs[i].name); tooltip.appendChild(arrow); Map shows globe as it would have looked during the the last ice age } if (elem.multiple) { The last ice age ended approximately 13,000 years ago due to a series of powerful volcanic eruptions in the Antarctic that melted part of its ice that destroyed the ozone layer and caused global warming, according to an article published in the journal PNAS. addEvent(radios[i], 'click', function() { tooltip.innerHTML = text; var err = form_to_submit.querySelector('._form_error'); Finally a little philosophical question: If we could control the climate, how should it then be? if (scrollPosition < 40) { } The Prehistoric Younger Dryas Climate Change Period. if (!r && (!this.readyState || this.readyState == 'complete')) { Your email address will not be published. if (!selected) {