The very rapid and nearly instantaneous end of so-called glacial periods is very likely caused by massive, short-lived pulses of super-heated seawater emitted from major ocean faults termed spreading centers (Figure 1).
This bold claim is supported by reinterpretation and then integration of two research studies; Lamont Doherty University 2015and MIT 2019.
The Lamont Doherty research study concluded that well-known cyclical variations in Earth’s circumnavigation of the Sun, specifically eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession collectively known as Milankovitch Cycles, directly affect our climate by switching the climate status from warm interglacial periods to cool glacial periods.
Reinterpretation of certain portions of the Lamont Doherty research leads to the following explanation of exactly how Milankovitch Cycles act to switch Earth’s climate status back and forth between glacial and interglacial periods.
During a Milankovitch Cycle, two of Earth’s major rock layers, the outer crust, and upper mantle layers, are placed in a state of greatly increased gravitational stress. Outer-crust rock-layer segments termed tectonic plates respond to this increased stress by actively moving laterally or apart at a much faster rate.
This increased movement acts to violently fracture and open ocean floor spreading-center faults which form the boundaries of many tectonic plates. Now fractured and open spreading center faults tap downward into deep Earth hot lava chambers.
This process triggers major pulses of volcanism upward along the open faults and into the overlying ocean.
In addition to expulsing hot lava into the ocean floors, these volcanic pulses also emit massive amounts of super-heated and chemically charged (CO2 and methane) fluid into oceans and atmosphere.
The effect of these geologically induced volcanic pulses is to rapidly and almost instantaneously end so-called glacial periods.
This hypothesis is greatly strengthened by the conclusions of the April 2019 MIT study which demonstrated that the abrupt and nearly instantaneous end of so-called glacial periods is caused by geological forces, specifically the cyclical movement of tectonic plates.
Not specifically stated in their conclusions, but quite obvious is that attributing the end so-called glacial periods to atmospheric or solar forces is no longer correct!
Next, let’s look at historical atmospheric temperatures and CO2 concentrations during the last 400,000 years, which represents the last four so-called glacial and interglacial periods (Figure 3).
Figure 3 graph demonstrates the following:
- So-called glacial periods (blue hatched) end nearly instantaneously.
- Duration of so-called interglacial periods (red shading) is 2-5,000 years.
- The End of glacial periods occurs on a very regular basis, approximately every 100,000 years. it is important to note that the most intense Milankovitch Cycles occur every 100,000 years in time association with the end of glacial periods
- Lastly, interglacial periods do not maintain constant, uniform atmospheric temperatures or CO2 concentrations. Rather, temperatures progressively cool through time and CO2 concentration progressively increase through time.
So why in this article are glacial and interglacial periods preceded with the phrase “so-called”?
Because reinterpretation and then integration of the MIT Study, Lamont Doherty Study, and other important data strongly indicates that there are no such things as glacial periods or interglacial periods.
There are only reoccurring geologically induced volcanic pulses that act to instantaneously interrupt and degrade Earth’s natural and normal climate status followed by a period when Earth attempts to recover from this geological event.
Immediately following these pulses, Earth begins to recover. A long-term recovery process that involves the complex interaction between many different oceanic, atmospheric, and land regions, each affecting the other in a back and forth fashion.
Therefore, during portions of this recovery process the magnitude and speed of certain oceanic, atmospheric, and land parameters alter their relation to one another.
For example, at certain times in the recovery process atmospheric temperatures are not aligned with corresponding atmospheric CO2 concentration.
This gives the impression CO2 concentrations “lag” corresponding temperatures. Not all, it’s just Earth adjusting/recovering in a complex fashion.
Eventually, Earth achieves a more or less stabilized/normal climate status which during the last 400,000 years can best be characterized as cool temperatures and extensive ice sheet coverage.
Stated in a more direct way, there are no such things as glacial periods, interglacial periods, or Ice Ages.
Instead, just a major geological event and then recovery to normal.
CITATION:
Hydrothermal carbon release to the ocean and atmosphere from the eastern equatorial Pacific during the last glacial termination
Lowell D Stott1, Kathleen M Harazin2, and Nadine B Quintana Krupinski3
Published 15 February 2019 • © 2019 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aafe28/meta
James Edward Kamis is a retired professional Geologist with 42 years of experience, a B.S. in Geology from Northern Illinois University (1973), an M.S. in geology from Idaho State University (1977), and a longtime member of AAPG who has always been fascinated by the connection between Geology and Climate. More than 14 years of research/observation have convinced him that the Earth’s Heat Flow Engine, which drives the outer crustal plates, is an important driver of the Earth’s climate as per his Plate Climatology Theory.
But why is the centre of the Earth boiling hot? The heat is generated by gravity wave lensing; see FutureScience—forbidden science of the 21st-century.
The theory that I have read is that the center of the earth is heated by nuclear fission.
This article and the excellent comments demonstrate how nothing is ever settled in science and how we need to keep an open mind. Those without an open mind are the climate alarmists who automatically reject any theory that undermines their agenda.
Another reason for the warmists to avoid satellite data, hot spots in the ocean.
A careful reading of my paper, “The Correlation of Seismic Activity and Recent Global Warming” strongly corroborates the findings detailed in this article. Specifically, I talk of the 1997-1998 “Super El Nino” as a “Seismically Induced El Nino Amplification”, or SIENA. The high resolution, high quality global satellite temperature data along with the superb Global Seismic Network data amply confirm that this event was energized by a huge uptick in spreading zone seismic activity. The 2016 update to that article, “The Correlation of Seismic Activity and Recent Global Warming: 2016 Update”, confirmed yet another episode of seismic forcing for the 2016 Super El Nino. You can find the details here:
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-correlation-of-seismic-activity-and-recent-global-warming-2016update.php?aid=88595
and here:
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-correlation-of-seismic-activity-and-recent-global-warming-2157-7617-1000345.php?aid=72728
I agree and say all fine and good
BUT
Can they predict when the current Ice Age will
Finally END ?
Still trying to claim the Dinosours were whipped out by a meteor or all life came crawling out of t he sea as some dumb looking fish
Kamis’ ideas are worth pondering.
This is a strong claim. On this one I wonder about the periodicity pre- & post- mid-pleistocene transition.
I sugest this cause of the ice age cycle is clearly proven by the oceanic magma record that I have quantified as to its thermal effect on oceans. The ice age cycle temperature range is a function of variable ocean warming by magma, the atmosphere maintains stability around the current equilibium using evaporation and cloud formation to cool the SST and the clouds themselves to vary solar insolation in very strong negative feedback to any perturbation either way, we know it deals with all comers, asteroids, cosmic rays, solar flares, super volcanoes, waddayagot? etc.
I have a paper that quantifies this effect and also suggests its cause, quantifying the heat entering the ocean currently (c. 1W/m^2 and enough to cause most of current sea level rise by dislacement), and estimating the effect of the substantially increased amounts that are known to occur at each MIlankovtich cycle peak,
I suggest this is due to the peak levels of solid gravitational tides that result in the mantle at these times, particularly the wafer thin ocean floor at 7Km thick. The 100Ka eccentricity gravitational effect is obvious and direct, but the obliquity and precession effects less so, until it is realised that they are themselves caused by solid gravitational tides in the mantle caused by the varying alignments of the Earth, moon and sun.
Internal heat entering the oceans must be closer to 400TW currently, not just the steady 50TW by conduction the partial atmospheric models assume. All the variable seismic stresses will cause significant variation in seismic events and hence volcanic activity as the magma paths in the thin twerking crust are massaged by the solid tides. It appears that the major contribution must be from sub aerial volcanoes, rather than sea floor spreading at divergent plate boundaries, whose effects are a small proportion of total , magma emissions, also less violent and more continuous, and these variations a possible cause of shorter term climate variability, down to annual peak tides, which happen in the sea floor as well as the sea itself. Gravity works the same on both, and both move with it. Obvious and simple, if you look in right place for the heat and what causes it to vary, only took me two years…. . https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3259379
Excellent input. Thank You. I would add that heat flow, lava emissions, and associated chemically charged fluid(air and liquid) emissions from Spreading Centers is not well know or quantified. This due in large part to the lack of monitoring. As I am sure you know 71% of earth is covered by oceans with an average depth of about 14,000 feet. The ARGO Buoy System floating and depth diving stations only reach to record data to 6,000 feet. There are at last count only 3881 buoys that cover the 140 million square miles of ocean. So the point is deep ocean emissions have been largely ignored. ARGO is the only system that even comes close to monitoring ocean floor volcanism. Rare deep dives to, and research of deep ocean spreading centers, for instance the Mid-Arctic Rift / Jan Mayen segment (1,000 miles long), showed hundreds of active seamounts and hydrothermal vents. check out research by the University of Bergin Dr Pederson. This research concluded that this segment is definitely acting to warm the Arctic Ocean. Next many of earth’s largest volcanic plateaus are located along ocean spreading centers . One example is the Ontong Java Plateau which is the is associated with the origin point of all El Nino’s. In a general sense upper mantle convection systems have the power to move entire continents 2-3 centimeters per year. Recent research has shown that even the ultra-slow moving spreading centers emit far more heated fluid than once thought. Without having reviewed the details of your study, which I will do, you may want to consider that the correlations you cite in your response and research may be side effects of the root cause…oceanic volcanism.
One of you comments is well taken active volcanism also occurs at other plate boundaries which I have discussed in my other articles. Still I contend that chemically charged heated fluid flow from spreading centers is the dominant driver of instantaneous switches from so-called Glacial to so-called Interglacial. These changes are just to swift to anything but a major geological force. Good input thanks.
One last thing. You suggested, if I interpret you comments correctly, that sub areal volcanism significantly influences the end of glacial periods. Sub areal volcanic emissions act to cool and not warm the atmosphere so it is unlikely that they contribute to melting ice sheets.