National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Next Ice Age Delayed by Global Warming, Study Says


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

Humans are essentially putting the brakes on the next ice age, according to a September 2009 study that represents the most extensive work to date on Arctic climate change.

Arctic temperatures (seen in blue, above) have cooled over the past 2,000 years due to a natural tilt in Earth's axis. But human-caused global warming reversed that trend in the mid-1990s (seen in red).

Analysis of records from lake sediments, ice cores, and tree rings found the same results as computer models, strengthening the researchers' conclusions.

Image courtesy Science, modified by UCAR