Suprecuatorial Glaciation

2004/05/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Klima

The debate on the coincidence of glaciations in the northern and southern hemispheres has been very old. Until recently it was not thought possible, because due to the orbit and tilt of the Earth, one hemisphere receives more heat from the Sun than the other.

However, great similarities between the changes of Chilean glaciers and the rhythms of the last glaciation of the northern hemisphere were discovered in the 1990s. To confirm this data, the stones and sediments of Argentina have been analyzed in the study that has just been published.

According to the results obtained, the last southern glaciation coincides with that of the north. Researchers believe that a rapid mechanism brought the cold to the Southern Hemisphere, which should be sought in the atmosphere, as the transfer of heat or cold into the sea is slower.