#VIDEO ICE AGE 5 FULL#
The consequences would be orders of magnitude more extreme than anything experienced in recent human history.Īfter the dramatic temperature rise, the earth plummeted back into full glacial conditions. Areas of habitable land would become desert, and melting of the arctic ice caps would cause global sea level rises that would devour most coast lying cities or islands. If we were to see this replicated today, it would have disastrous effects on human life. However, the sharp spike is well outside the normal range of natural cycles and makes the Younger Dryas period so unique. To put this change into context, the earth was already in one of its natural cycles of warming. Although the cause is still unknown, the time frame has prompted some scientists to postulate the catastrophic cause for the start of the Younger Dryas. Step 1: The Big Warming SpikeĪt the beginning of the Younger Dryas period, there was a temperature rise of roughly 15 degrees Celsius 18 months. There is no comparison in modern times for the amount of climate change in such a tiny time span. It is now estimated that the time taken for the climate to change from full glacial (during the YD) to interglacial (after the YD) as roughly five years. The first are the two warming periods that mark the start and end of the Younger Dryas period (the blue line on the graph) – remember: left is cooler and right is warmer).Ī swift exit from the prehistoric ice age There are two main trends during this 1200-year period. The data provides an insight into the climate of earth during prehistory. The Prehistoric Younger Dryas Climate Change Period. So what happened to the ice? Research into prehistoric climate change is shedding light on the mystery of what happened to the earth to move it out of the last ice age. In modern terms, the landmass we know as Canada was buried under ice as dense as two miles thick. During this glacial period, global sea levels were an estimated 400 feet lower than they are today. Research revealing into this period, known as the Younger Dryas, allows context of modern global warming.Ĭan we gauge a better understanding of evidence of global warming through prehistoric climate change?Įarth’s prehistoric climate & the end of the Pliocene EraĪt the height of the last ice age, there were an estimated 10 million cubic miles of ice covering the planet. The end of the last ice age or Pliocene era occurred during the transition into the present Holocene era. Prehistoric earth has experienced far more significant changes in temperature. While the focus remains on modern shifts in the mercury, our planet has undergone many cycles of cooling and warming periods. Global warming & climate change are a global scientific and geopolitical issue.
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