Experts from the University of Bremen (Germany) and the University of California at Riverside (USA) have concluded that certain processes in the ocean can cause a new ice age. The results of this study were published in the journal Science.
A team of scientists led by Dominik Hulse and Andy Ridgewell found that algae blooms in large numbers can absorb carbon dioxide and the atmosphere faster than Earth's natural thermoregulation through silicate weathering of rocks. As global temperatures increase, there is more phosphorus and other nutrients in the ocean, causing algae to grow rapidly.
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After death, the algae sink to the bottom and take with them the absorbed carbon. It then exists in bottom sediments and does not participate in atmospheric circulation for a long time. Computer modeling also shows that this process could reduce global temperatures below pre-industrial levels.
The start of a new ice age on Earth has been named
According to calculations, the development of such events can occur in 50-200 thousand years. True, this period will not be as intense as the cryogenic period, when the Earth was almost completely covered with ice, because now there is a lot of oxygen in the atmosphere.
