 |
Glaciers in Antarctica |
According to a study conducted by German experts, the formation and growth of the ice mass in Antarctica, over 14 million years ago, was due to low levels of methane in the atmosphere and a slight tilt of the Earth’s axis. During that ancient time, Earth had just exited a warm period, and subsequently, the Antarctic ice sheet expanded significantly over the next 80,000 years.
Yesterday, Professor of Geology Wolfgang Kunht and his colleagues from the University of Kiel (Germany) published their research findings in the journal Nature, stating: “The Earth’s orbit around the Sun changes continuously and periodically. During periods of low temperatures, summers in the Arctic are also colder, preventing the Antarctic ice mass from melting during the summer, and even allowing it to grow. Simultaneously, the volume of methane in the atmosphere decreases…”
Evidence supporting this hypothesis was discovered by experts who analyzed the oxygen and methane isotopes (carbon dioxide) found in the fossilized remains of tiny marine organisms from sediment samples taken from two locations in the subtropical Pacific. From these analyses, researchers were able to deduce the volume of ice and the concentration of methane from 4,000 years ago.
Methane is one of the most significant components among “greenhouse gases” that are detrimental to the atmosphere. In current conferences discussing global warming, methane plays a crucial role. Since the industrial revolution in many countries around the world, the volume of methane has increased alarmingly in the atmosphere, primarily due to emissions from factories burning coal, oil, and gas…
