Just when we human beings believe that we have our planet figured out, Mother Nature throws us curveballs like we’e never seen.
We must realize that, when we talk about the ailing planet and all of the damage that we’ve done to it, it’s a lot like having a toddler tell you that you shouldn’t eat that one cheeseburger; sure, there may be some accidentally sound advice in there, but the prognosis is coming from a place of vast inexperience.
The same seems to be true for climate change, at least in some circles. It is very true that our consumption of plastic and oil-based fuels ins’t exactly the healthiest thing that we can engage in for the sake of our planet, but our version of science has been absent for billions of years’ worth of Earth’s existence. The scope of our understanding is just not there.
Such was the case in the 1970’s, when scientists believed that carbon emissions would usher in a new Ice Age. Today, despite mass belief in “global warming”, it appears as though fears of this possible Ice Age are returning, again thanks to “modern” science.
Upside-down “rivers” of warm ocean water may be one of the causes of Antarctica’s ice shelves breaking up, leading to a rise in sea levels. But a new study suggests an increase in sea ice may lead to a much more devastating change in the Earth’s climate — another ice age.
Using computer simulations, the research suggests that an increase in sea ice could significantly alter the circulation of the ocean, ultimately leading to a reverse greenhouse effect as carbon dioxide levels in the ocean increase and levels in the air decrease.
“One key question in the field is still what caused the Earth to periodically cycle in and out of ice ages,” University of Chicago professor and the study’s co-author, Malte Jansen, said in a statement. “We are pretty confident that the carbon balance between the atmosphere and ocean must have changed, but we don’t quite know how or why.”
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