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Ancient ocean currents may have changed pacing and intensity of ice ages


June 23, 2014

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In a new study published in Science, researchers have found that the deep-ocean currents that move heat around the globe stalled or even stopped about 950,000 years ago, possibly due to expanding ice cover in the north. The slowing currents increased carbon dioxide storage in the ocean, leaving less in the atmosphere, which kept temperatures cold and kicked the climate system into a new phase of colder but less frequent ice ages, they hypothesize.Full Story

Source
The Earth Institute at Columbia University

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