If you are a History fanatic or a person obsessed with Disney movies, chances are the question about the end of the Ice Age must have popped into your mind. We’ll put an end to your curiosity to know how the earth went from a snowball to the fireball it is today.
The end of the Ice age is a highly debatable topic, as numerous theories are surrounding the same. We cannot provide a specific answer for this multi-layered question, what we can do is provide are a list possible answers to let you decide on your own.
Here are the five acceptable causes for the end of the last Ice Age.
1. Eccentricity
A possible reason for the end of the Ice age is the Astronomical concept of Eccentricity. According to this concept, the Earth’s average distance from the sun changes annually, which alters the sunlight hitting the planet. This theory believes, that due to this gradual change an Ice Age is supposed to occur every 100,000 years.
2. Dansgaard-Oeschger Cycles
Don’t get intimidated with the title, Do cycles means a series of distinct warming-cooling oscillations caused due to Climate change. Yes, the same phenomena we are credited to formulating might have existed ages ago. The change of seasons may have affected the flora and fauna first and ultimately the glacial formation. The reasons for this climate fluctuations are still unknown.
3. Meteorite Destruction
According to this theory, a meteor must have crashed with the planet. A meteor crash could result in massive destruction of life and can have a long term effect on the atmosphere. The immense amount of heat generated due to the incident is credited for melting most of the glaciers eliminating lives.
4. Humans Overhunting
A possible yet highly controversial cause of mass extinction which resulted in the end of the Ice age would be humans. The arrival of humans to the American continent 11,000 years ago clashes with the time of the end of the Ice Age. According to this theory, the new species of Homo Sapiens practised overhunting which resulted in the extinction of a number of species. As all the species all collectively responsible for maintaining the atmosphere, multiple extinction might have caused the atmosphere of Earth to become warmer.
5. We are still in the Ice Age
This is the weirdest answer you’ll find while looking for the probable causes for the end of Ice Age. According to this theory, every Ice Age has a number of stages and currently, we are living in one such stage. The theory denotes the current time as the warm interglacial stage. This theory believes that the glaciers in the extreme north are evidence that the Ice Age has not ended. This also supports that overhunting might have led to the extinction of species and change in the atmosphere, but was not enough to end the Ice Age.
You have made it to the end, let us know which theory you find the most believable.
