A New Ice Age Was Beginning. Then Humans Started Burning Fossil Fuels
New research on the Barnes Ice Cap in Canada suggests that human-induced carbon emissions have significantly accelerated the retreat of ice sheets. The study indicates that global warming may have already disrupted natural cycles that would have otherwise led to a new ice age.
Why it matters
This underscores the profound and irreversible impact of human activity on the Earth's long-term geological and climatic trajectory.
The findings shows the Barnes Ice Cap, which covers parts of Canada’s Baffin Island, started growing a few thousand years ago before rapidly reversing course beginning in the 1960s as carbon pollution ramped up.
“A question that’s in the popular consciousness is, have we caused enough global warming to stop the next ice age from happening?” says Andrew Wickert, an associate professor of environmental science at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, who was not involved in the research. The new research shows that “even as we were just starting to ramp up emissions, we’ve already done enough damage to cause the major North American ice sheet to already start retreating. That’s significant.”
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in