Climate Change: Greenhouse Gas was the Major Cause of the End of the Ice Age

We may be learning a bit more about our future as we examine the past climate. Scientists have found that the last Ice Age lost most of its glaciers due to greenhouse gases.

For decades, researchers that have examined the glacial meltdown that ended 11,000 years ago have taken a number of contributing factors into account. More specifically, they've examined regional influences such as solar radiation, ice sheets and ocean currents.

Now, though, researchers have re-examined more than 1,000 previously studied glacial boulders. This revealed a more accurate timetable for the prehistoric meltdown. More specifically, the findings pinpoint the rise in carbon dioxide as the primary driving factor in the simultaneous global retreat of glaciers at the close of the last Ice Age.

"Glaciers are very sensitive to temperature," said Jeremy Shakun, one of the researchers, in a news release. "When you get the world's glaciers retreating all at the same time, you need a broad, global reason for why the world's thermostat is going up. The only factor that explains glaciers melting all around the world in unison during the end of the Ice Age is the rise in greenhouse gases."

The researchers found that regional factors caused differences in the precise timing and pace of glacial retreat from one place to another. However, carbon dioxide was the major driver of the overall global meltdown.

"This is a lot like today," said Shakun. "In any given decade you can always find some areas where glaciers are holding steady or even advancing, but the big picture across the world and over the long run is clear-carbon dioxide is making the ice melt."

The findings reveal a bit more about the glaciers of the past, and the glaciers of today. This is important to note as temperatures continue to warm today.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

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