• kinther@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Ice ages typically happen due to very low insolation or the ability of solar energy to reach the surface of our planet. Insolation is a term often used when describing how much energy a solar panel can create.

      Right now we have a big problem with too many greenhouse gases, which exacerbate the insolation we already have. It is heating our oceans rapidly, thus causing the break up of ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctica. At some point the oceans won’t be able to absorb the heat we are receiving and air temperatures will begin to rise as well. Equilibrium. Hence Venus by Tuesday.

    • psud@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      We are in an ice age, you can tell because there is an ice cap at both poles.

      We are in an interglacial period, which if we fixed carbon pollution today would still continue for tens of thousands of years beyond it’s expected end

      There used to be a theory that this sort of weather reinforces the northern ice and glaciers and could start glaciation, but that’s not supported by modern models