Ice Ages

The cause of ice ages remains controversial for both the large-scale ice age periods and the smaller ebb and flow of glacial/interglacial periods within an ice age. The general consensus is that it is a combination of several important factors: atmospheric composition (the relative amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, and various other gases and particulates in the atmosphere), changes in the Earth's orbit around the Sun known as Milankovitch cycles (and possibly the Sun's orbit around the galaxy), the motion of tectonic plates resulting in changes in the relative location and amount of continental and oceanic crust on the Earth's surface, variations in solar output, the orbital dynamics of the Earth-Moon system, the impact of relatively large meteorites, and eruptions of super volcanoes.

The Pleistocene epoch is often referred to as the "Ice Age" because it was marked by multiple glacial cycles with extensive ice sheets covering large parts of the Earth's surface. These glacial cycles led to colder temperatures and lower sea levels, shaping the landscape and influencing the evolution of species during this time.

It is important to stay hydrated in Antarctica due to the cold and dry climate. It is recommended to drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day to prevent dehydration and maintain proper bodily functions. Additionally, you may need to increase your water intake if you are engaging in physical activity or at high altitudes.

During cold climatic periods the glaciers stop melting and new snow at the top of mountainous areas builds up over a number of years to add to the upper parts of the glaciers. The ice in the glaciers moves downhill, (because of gravity), and it expands down the valley.

When the climate becomes warmer the ice and snow melts during successive summers so the glacier is deprived of new snow and retreats.

As more and more is gradually learned about our earth over time, most scientists today feel that "ice ages" are a natural part of earth's "rhythm", if you will, and have been from the beginning.

The same thing that caused the predictions of catastrophe due to acid rain in the 80's, the hole in the ozone layer in the 90's' and what's causing the predictions of catastrophe caused by 'man-made' global warming now: It's newsworthy, therefore there's money in it - and the wilder the theories, the more newsworthy and therefore profitable, it becomes. By the time everyone realises it never actually came true, the scientists who predicted it have either retired or died.

Only those who are very religious believe in a flood because the only "evidence" for a world wide flood is in religious books and not in any reputable publications. As for a "flood" causing an ice age, again there is no reputable evidence for this.

During the last ice age, which occurred around 20,000 years ago, global temperatures were about 4-7 degrees Celsius (7-13 degrees Fahrenheit) lower than they are today. Ice sheets covered much of North America and Europe, resulting in a much colder climate.

During the last ice age, carbon dioxide levels were around 180-200 parts per million (ppm) compared to pre-industrial levels of approximately 280 ppm. This reduction in CO2 levels contributed to the lower temperatures and the expansion of ice sheets during the ice age.

The Ice Age refers to a long period of time when a large part of the Earth's surface was covered in ice sheets. The most recent Ice Age, known as the Quaternary Glaciation, began around 2.6 million years ago and continues to the present day.

The Ice freezes the landscapes so it can break easily. The landscape can break easily since it becomes ice.

Not quite, if you define the landscape as the rocks that form it. Freezing water within cracks in the rock will split it eventually, but the primary effect is glaciation. Glaciers scour out huge U-section valleys and deposit the spoil as moraines or various kinds, erratics, sheets of till, outwash plains and on the sea-bed, huge sediment fans and drop-stones. They also leave assorted traces of their passing such as striations and plucking.

The moraines can also create natural dams ponding water to create lakes that may eventually drain as the river incises the moraine but still leaves evidence of its existence as old shore-lines.

Ice-dammed lakes at altitude can overflow through cols, cutting distinct notches in the ridge.

In slightly less icy conditions, snow can create nivation hollows in the flanks of Chalk hills: the chalk is slowly dissolved by meltwater under remnant snow-patches usually on the North-facing (in Northern hemisphere) flanks.

The changes of sea-levels consequent on glacial and interstadial periods leave tell-tales such as drowned river valleys and raised beaches.

Following ice-retreat, isostatic rebound of an area of continental crust that had been depressed by the sheer weight of a deep ice-cover can locally activate faults, creating irregular profiles in rock surfaces and ridges, with accompanying earthquakes. Those in Norway continued into historical times but the rebound there has more or less ended.

As a handle on the weight of an ice-cover on the landscape, that over Scandinavia in the last glaciation reached 3km thick, but if we take a mean cover of only 2km, and the density of ice as 0.9 Tonne/m3, that gives a mass of

0.9 x 2 x 103 x 103 x 103 Tonnes per square kilometre,

= 1.8 x 109 T/km2

The area of the Scandinavian Peninsula + that of Denmark is about 820 000 sq.km. so an ice-sheet of mean thickness 2km over that lot will weigh:

1.8 x 8.2 x 109 x 105 Tonnes

= 1.48 x 1015 tonnes.

Or if you prefer, getting on for fifteen million million Tonnes of ice.

No wonder that part of the European Plate was depressed significantly.

• The Huronian Ice age was somewhere between 2.1 and 2.4 billion years ago
• The Cryogenian Ice Age was about 850 to 630 million years ago, possibly the worst of all. It covered the earth down to the equator in ice, making Earth a giant snowball.
• The Andean-Saharan Ice age was a minor freeze around 460 to 430 million years ago.
• The next is the Karoo Ice Age 360 to 260 million years ago. It was most likely caused from the high levels of vegetation which reduced CO2 and increased oxygen. This wuld have led to an ice age.
• The ice age we're in now is the Pliocene-Quaternary glaciation which started about 2.58 million years ago. Since then, the world has seen cycles of glaciation with ice sheets advancing and retreating on 40,000 and 100,000 year glacial periods. Earth is currently in an interglacial, the last glacial period ending approximately 10,000 years ago.

You mean "how can humans prevent another glaciation". We entered an ice age about 2.6 million years ago and are living in a warm period called an "interglacial". There are conflicting theories on what instigates a glaciation so there is, at the moment, no way of preventing another.

An ice age is a period where temperatures are relatively cold, colder than the average temperature on earth. Ice ages generally last hundreds, thousands, or millions of years. Shorter periods of colder than normal temperatures are usually refered to as cold trends.

Scientists have not dug a hole to the center of the Earth because of extreme heat and pressure at those depths. It is currently not technologically possible to dig that deep and sustain human life. Additionally, the costs and risks involved in such a project make it unfeasible.

You would call it snow.

Presumably you mean "can the human population survive a glaciation".

The human species can, and has survived previous glaciations but in relatively small numbers. The main population will not survive as their food producing land will be covered in ice and there is not enough land near the tropics to hold the full human population.

It's unlikely that Earth as a planet will be completely gone, but its environment and ecosystems could change dramatically if current trends in climate change and environmental degradation continue unchecked. It's important for humans to take action to protect the planet and its resources for future generations.

Around 70% of the world's fresh water is stored in the form of ice. The majority of this ice is located in Antarctica and Greenland, with smaller amounts found in mountain glaciers and ice caps.

Depends on the Ice Age in question as there has been a few in Earth's history.

The most well-documented ice age, and probably the most severe of the last billion years, occurred from 850 to 630 million years ago (the Cryogenian period) and may have produced a Snowball Earth in which glacial ice sheets reached the equator.

The Lambert Glacier in Antarctica is the largest glacier on earth. Its roughly 40 000 sq km (25 000 sq mi) in size.

We are still in an ice age which started about 2.6 million years ago, we just live in a warm period called an interglacial. If you mean "what happens to Earth if there's another glaciation"? You must look at evidence of the last events.

If a similar event to the last glaciations occurred, ice a mile or more thick could cover up to 30% of the continents, a good proportion of the rest would be tundra suitable for reindeer and their predators. A narrow tropical climatic band would encircle the globe flanked by wide, dry desert areas. The climate for many areas would change, sea level would drop drastically. Areas such as the Java Sea and parts of the South China Sea would be dry land, as would Torres Strait connecting Australia with Papua New Guinea.

This would effect most forms of life living on the continents and some in the oceans.

They occur world-wide, and seem to be part of a pattern not yet fully understood. There is also debate as to whether sunspot cycles have anything to do with them. The last ice age ended between 20 and 25 thousand years ago.

Before the Ice Age, the land masses covered with ice included parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. These areas were mainly located around the polar regions and experienced extensive glaciation during the Ice Age.