On 30 July 2018, Princeton University published a study that “could explain the mysterious warmth of the past 11,000 years”. Phys: “The Holocene differed from other interglacial periods in several key ways, say the researchers. For one, its climate was unusually stable, without the major cooling trend that is typical of the other interglacials.”
The explanation relates to one of the 10 known causes of climate change: ocean currents (BGS).
Phys: “We think we may have found the answer”. [] “Increased circulation in the Southern Ocean allowed carbon dioxide to leak into the atmosphere, working to warm the planet.”
Phys: “Most scientists agree that the Holocene‘s warmth was critical to the development of human civilization. The Holocene was an “interglacial period,” one of the rare intervals of warm climate that have occurred over the ice age cycles of the last million years. The retreat of the glaciers opened a more expansive landscape for humans, and the higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere made for more productive agriculture, which allowed people to reduce their hunter-gathering activities and build permanent settlements.”
The above paragraph also explains – albeit indirectly – why the Neanderthal, our predecessors, were unable to achieve technological advancement, apart from fire (Atlantic). They survived for some 700,000 years, including 8 (!!) Ice Ages, but the extreme cold directed all available efforts to their basic Needs: food, heating, housing and water (my 2017 blog, my 2018 blog, Quanta)
The “mysterious warmth of the past 11,000 years” (in the Princeton study) was partly responsible for the worldwide post-glacial sea level rise of some 120-140 meters. This sea level rise already started at the end of the Pleistocene, some “2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago”.
Many cultures around the world probably refer to this global post-glacial sea level rise as the Great Flood (my 2016 blog).
Most humans fear Change, including climate change, and prefer a status quo. Compared to the duration of geological epochs, our limited life span usually allows for this status quo.
Whatever You Want (1979) by Status Quo – artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
Note LO: all markings (bold, italic, underling) by LO unless stated otherwise
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