The last ice age ended 12,000 years ago. During the most severe period, glaciation threatened man with extinction. However, after the glacier disappeared, he not only survived, but also created a civilization.
Glaciers in the history of the Earth
The last glacial era in the history of the Earth is the Cenozoic. It began 65 million years ago and continues to this day. Modern man is lucky: he lives in an interglacial period, one of the warmest periods in the life of the planet. The most severe glacial era - the Late Proterozoic - is far behind.
Despite global warming, scientists predict the onset of a new ice age. And if the real one will come only after millennia, then the Little Ice Age, which will reduce annual temperatures by 2-3 degrees, may come quite soon.
The glacier became a real test for man, forcing him to invent means for his survival.
Last Ice Age
The Würm or Vistula glaciation began approximately 110,000 years ago and ended in the tenth millennium BC. The peak of cold weather occurred 26-20 thousand years ago, the final stage of the Stone Age, when the glacier was at its largest.
Little Ice Ages
Even after the glaciers melted, history has known periods of noticeable cooling and warming. Or, in another way - climate pessimums And optimums. Pessimums are sometimes called Little Ice Ages. In the XIV-XIX centuries, for example, the Little Ice Age began, and during the Great Migration of Nations there was an early medieval pessimum.
Hunting and meat food
There is an opinion according to which the human ancestor was more of a scavenger, since he could not spontaneously occupy a higher ecological niche. And all known tools were used to cut up the remains of animals that were taken from predators. However, the question of when and why people began to hunt is still a matter of debate.
In any case, thanks to hunting and meat food, ancient man received a large supply of energy, which allowed him to better endure the cold. The skins of killed animals were used as clothing, shoes and walls of the home, which increased the chances of survival in the harsh climate.
Upright walking
Upright walking appeared millions of years ago, and its role was much more important than in the life of a modern office worker. Having freed his hands, a person could engage in intensive housing construction, clothing production, processing of tools, production and conservation of fire. The upright ancestors moved freely in open areas, and their life no longer depended on collecting the fruits of tropical trees. Already millions of years ago, they moved freely over long distances and obtained food in river drains.
Upright walking played an insidious role, but it still became more of an advantage. Yes, man himself came to cold regions and adapted to life in them, but at the same time he could find both artificial and natural shelters from the glacier.
Fire
Fire in the life of ancient man was initially an unpleasant surprise, not a blessing. Despite this, the human ancestor first learned to “extinguish” it, and only later use it for his own purposes. Traces of the use of fire are found in sites that are 1.5 million years old. This made it possible to improve nutrition by preparing protein foods, as well as to remain active at night. This further increased the time to create survival conditions.
Climate
The Cenozoic Ice Age was not a continuous glaciation. Every 40 thousand years, the ancestors of people had the right to a “respite” - temporary thaws. At this time, the glacier was retreating and the climate became milder. During periods of harsh climate, natural shelters were caves or regions rich in flora and fauna. For example, the south of France and the Iberian Peninsula were home to many early cultures.
The Persian Gulf 20,000 years ago was a river valley rich in forests and grassy vegetation, a truly “antediluvian” landscape. Wide rivers flowed here, one and a half times larger in size than the Tigris and Euphrates. The Sahara in certain periods became a wet savannah. The last time this happened was 9,000 years ago. This can be confirmed by rock paintings that depict an abundance of animals.
Fauna
Huge glacial mammals, such as bison, woolly rhinoceros and mammoth, became an important and unique source of food for ancient people. Hunting such large animals required a lot of coordination and brought people together noticeably. The effectiveness of “teamwork” has proven itself more than once in the construction of parking lots and the manufacture of clothing. Deer and wild horses enjoyed no less “honor” among ancient people.
Language and communication
Language was perhaps the main life hack of ancient man. It was thanks to speech that important technologies for processing tools, making and maintaining fire, as well as various human adaptations for everyday survival were preserved and passed on from generation to generation. Perhaps the details of hunting large animals and migration directions were discussed in Paleolithic language.
Allörd warming
Scientists are still arguing whether the extinction of mammoths and other glacial animals was the work of man or caused by natural causes - the Allerd warming and the disappearance of food plants. As a result of the extermination of a large number of animal species, people in harsh conditions faced death from lack of food. There are known cases of the death of entire cultures simultaneously with the extinction of mammoths (for example, the Clovis culture in North America). However, warming became an important factor in the migration of people to regions whose climate became suitable for the emergence of agriculture.
Hello readers! I have prepared a new article for you. I would like to talk about the Ice Age on Earth.Let's figure out how these ice ages come, what are the causes and consequences...
Ice Age on Earth.
Imagine for a moment that the cold has shackled our planet, and the landscape has turned into an icy desert (more about deserts), over which fierce northern winds rage. Our Earth looked like this during the Ice Age - from 1.7 million to 10,000 years ago.
Almost every corner of the globe preserves memories of the process of the formation of the Earth. Hills running like a wave over the horizon, mountains touching the sky, stone that was taken by man to build cities - each of them has its own story.
These clues, in the course of geological research, can tell us about a climate (climate change) that was significantly different from today.
Our world was once shackled by a thick sheet of ice that made its way from the frozen poles to the equator.
The Earth was a gloomy and gray planet in the grip of the cold, which was carried by snow storms from the north and south.
Frozen planet.
Based on the nature of the glacial deposits (settled debris) and the surfaces worn away by the glacier, geologists concluded that there were in fact several periods.
Back in the Precambrian period, about 2300 million years ago, the first ice age began, and the last, and best studied, took place between 1.7 million years ago and 10,000 years ago in the so-called. Pleistocene era. This is what is simply called the Ice Age.
Thaw.
Some lands managed to escape this merciless grip, where there was usually also cold, but winter did not reign over the entire Earth.
Vast areas of deserts and tropical forests were located near the equator. For the survival of many species of plants, reptiles and mammals, these oases of warmth played a significant role.
In general, the glacial climate was not always cold. The glaciers crawled several times from north to south before retreating.
In some parts of the planet, the weather between ice attacks was even warmer than it is today. For example, the climate in southern England was almost tropical.
Paleontologists, thanks to fossilized remains, claim that elephants and hippos once roamed the banks of the Thames.
Such periods of thaw - also known as interglacial stages - lasted several hundred thousand years until the cold returned.
The ice flows, once again moving south, left behind destruction, thanks to which geologists can accurately determine their path.
On the body of the Earth, the movement of these large masses of ice has left two types of “scars”: sedimentation and erosion.
When a moving mass of ice wears away soil along its path, erosion occurs. Entire valleys in the bedrock were hollowed out by rock fragments carried by the glacier.
The movement of crushed stone and ice acted like a giant grinding machine that polished the ground underneath and created large furrows called glacial striations.
Over time, the valleys widened and deepened, acquiring a clear U-shape.
When a glacier (about what glaciers are) shed the rock fragments it carried, sediments were formed. This usually occurred when the ice melted, leaving piles of coarse gravel, fine-grained clay and huge boulders scattered over a vast area.
Causes of glaciation.
Scientists still don’t know exactly what glaciation is called. Some believe that temperatures at the Earth's poles over the past millions of years are lower than at any time in Earth's history.
Continental drift (read more about continental drift) could be the reason for this. About 300 million million years ago, there was only one giant supercontinent - Pangea.
The breakup of this supercontinent occurred gradually, and eventually the movement of continents left the Arctic Ocean almost completely surrounded by land.
Therefore, now, unlike in the past, there is only a slight mixing of the waters of the Arctic Ocean with warm waters to the south.
This leads to the following situation: the ocean never warms up well in the summer and is constantly covered with ice.
At the South Pole is Antarctica (more about this continent), which is very far from warm currents, which is why the continent sleeps under ice.
The cold is returning.
There are other reasons for global cooling. According to assumptions, one of the reasons is the degree of tilt of the earth's axis, which is constantly changing. Together with the irregular shape of the orbit, this means that the Earth is further from the Sun at some periods than at others.
And if the amount of solar heat changes by even a percentage, it can lead to a difference in temperature on Earth by a whole degree.
The interaction of these factors will be quite sufficient for the start of a new ice age. It is also believed that the Ice Age may cause dust to accumulate in the atmosphere as a result of pollution.
Some scientists believe that the collision of a giant meteor with the Earth ended the age of dinosaurs. This caused a huge cloud of dust and dirt to rise into the air.
Such a catastrophe could block the entry of the Sun's rays (more about the Sun) through the atmosphere (more about the atmosphere) of the Earth and cause it to freeze. Similar factors may contribute to the onset of a new ice age.
In about 5,000 years, some scientists predict a new ice age will begin, while others argue that the ice age never ended.
Considering that the Pleistocene ice age, which was the last, ended 10,000 years ago, it is possible that we are now experiencing an interglacial stage, and the ice may return after some time.
On this note, I end this topic. I hope that the story about the Ice Age on Earth did not “freeze” you 🙂 And finally, I suggest you subscribe to the latest articles by mail so as not to miss their release.
The Little Ice Age is divided into three stages.
First phase (conventionally XIV-XV centuries)
Researchers [ which?] it is believed that the onset of the Little Ice Age was associated with a slowdown in the Gulf Stream around 1300. In the 1310s, Western Europe, judging by the chronicles, experienced a real environmental disaster. After the traditionally warm summer of 1311, four gloomy and rainy summers followed in 1315. Heavy rains and unusually harsh winters led to the loss of several crops and the freezing of orchards in England, Scotland, northern France and Germany. Viticulture and wine production ceased in Scotland and northern Germany. Winter frosts began to affect even northern Italy. F. Petrarch and G. Boccaccio recorded that in the 14th century. snow often fell in Italy.
A direct consequence of the first phase of the MLP was the massive famine of the first half of the 14th century - known in European chronicles as "The Great Hunger". Indirect - the crisis of the feudal economy, the resumption of corvée and major peasant uprisings in Western Europe. In the Russian lands, the first phase of the MLP made itself felt in the form of a series of “rainy years” in the 14th century.
Medieval legends claim that it was at this time that the mythical islands - “Island of Maidens” and “Island of Seven Cities” - perished from storms in the Atlantic.
Relative warming began only in the 1440s, and it immediately led to the rise of agriculture. However, the temperatures of the previous climatic optimum were not restored. For Western and Central Europe, snowy winters became common, and the period of “golden autumn” began in September (see the Magnificent Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry - one of the masterpieces of book miniatures of the late Middle Ages).
Third phase (conditionally XVII - early XIX century)
The third phase became the coldest period of the MLP. The reduced activity of the Gulf Stream coincided with the lowest activity after the 5th century. BC e. level of solar activity (Maunder minimum). After the relatively warm 16th century, the average annual temperature in Europe dropped sharply. Greenland - the “Green Land” - was covered with glaciers, and Viking settlements disappeared from the island. Even the southern seas froze. We went sledding along the Thames and Danube. The Moscow River has been a reliable platform for fairs for six months. Global temperatures dropped by 1-2 degrees Celsius.
In the south of Europe, severe and long winters often recurred; in -1669 the Bosporus Strait froze, and in the winter of 1708-1709 the Adriatic Sea froze off the coast. In the winter in Padua (Italy), snow fell “of unheard-of depth.” The year 1665 turned out to be especially cold. In winter, in France and Germany, according to contemporaries, birds froze in the air. Across Europe there was a surge in deaths.
Europe experienced a new wave of cooling in the 1740s. During this decade, the leading capitals of Europe - Paris, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Berlin and London - experienced regular snowstorms and snow drifts. Snowstorms have been observed several times in France. In Sweden and Germany, according to contemporaries, strong snowstorms often covered roads. Abnormal frosts were observed in Paris in 1784. Until the end of April, the city was under stable snow and ice cover. Temperatures ranged from −7 to −10 °C.
Impact on Russia
The Little Ice Age in Siberia was even colder. In -1741 V. Bering's expedition recorded severe frosts in Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. The Swedish traveler I.P. Falk, who visited Siberia in 1771, wrote: “The climate is very harsh, the winter is severe and long... Blizzards often occur in May and September.” In the vicinity of Barnaul, the snow melted only on May 15, and the first leaves appeared on the trees on May 27 (new style). According to descriptions from 1826, in Zmeinogorsk in winter, all the streets and houses in the valleys were covered with snowdrifts up to the tops of the roofs.
Causes
Among the causes of the Little Ice Age, researchers name:
Impact of the event on the modern world
The theory of the Little Ice Age is one of the most powerful arguments in the hands of opponents of the concepts of anthropogenic
The last ice age led to the appearance of the woolly mammoth and a huge increase in the area of glaciers. But it was only one of many that cooled the Earth throughout its 4.5 billion years of history.
So, how often does the planet experience ice ages and when should we expect the next one?
Major periods of glaciation in the history of the planet
The answer to the first question depends on whether you are talking about large glaciations or small ones that occur during these long periods. Throughout history, the Earth has experienced five major periods of glaciation, some of which lasted for hundreds of millions of years. In fact, even now the Earth is experiencing a large period of glaciation, and this explains why it has polar ice caps.
The five main ice ages are the Huronian (2.4–2.1 billion years ago), the Cryogenian glaciation (720–635 million years ago), the Andean-Saharan glaciation (450–420 million years ago), and the Late Paleozoic glaciation (335–260 million years ago). million years ago) and Quaternary (2.7 million years ago to the present). 
These major periods of glaciation may alternate between smaller ice ages and warm periods (interglacials). At the beginning of the Quaternary glaciation (2.7-1 million years ago), these cold ice ages occurred every 41 thousand years. However, significant ice ages have occurred less frequently over the past 800,000 years—about every 100,000 years.
How does the 100,000 year cycle work?
The ice sheets grow for about 90 thousand years and then begin to melt during the 10 thousand year warm period. Then the process is repeated.
Given that the last ice age ended about 11,700 years ago, perhaps it's time for another one to begin?
Scientists believe we should be experiencing another ice age right now. However, there are two factors associated with the Earth's orbit that influence the formation of warm and cold periods. Considering also how much carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere, the next ice age won't start for at least 100,000 years.
What causes an ice age?
The hypothesis put forward by Serbian astronomer Milutin Milanković explains why cycles of glacial and interglacial periods exist on Earth.
As a planet orbits the Sun, the amount of light it receives from it is affected by three factors: its inclination (which ranges from 24.5 to 22.1 degrees on a 41,000-year cycle), its eccentricity (the change in the shape of its orbit around of the Sun, which fluctuates from a near circle to an oval shape) and its wobble (one complete wobble occurs every 19-23 thousand years).
In 1976, a landmark paper in the journal Science presented evidence that these three orbital parameters explained the planet's glacial cycles.
Milankovitch's theory is that orbital cycles are predictable and very consistent in the history of the planet. If the Earth is experiencing an ice age, it will be covered with more or less ice, depending on these orbital cycles. But if the Earth is too warm, no change will occur, at least in terms of increasing amounts of ice.
What can affect the warming of the planet?
The first gas that comes to mind is carbon dioxide. Over the past 800 thousand years, carbon dioxide levels have ranged from 170 to 280 parts per million (meaning that out of 1 million air molecules, 280 are carbon dioxide molecules). A seemingly insignificant difference of 100 parts per million results in glacial and interglacial periods. But carbon dioxide levels are significantly higher today than in past periods of fluctuation. In May 2016, carbon dioxide levels over Antarctica reached 400 parts per million.
The Earth has warmed up this much before. For example, during the time of dinosaurs the air temperature was even higher than it is now. But the problem is that in the modern world it is growing at a record pace because we have released too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a short time. Moreover, given that the rate of emissions is not currently decreasing, we can conclude that the situation is unlikely to change in the near future.
Consequences of warming
The warming caused by this carbon dioxide will have big consequences because even a small increase in the Earth's average temperature can lead to dramatic changes. For example, the Earth was on average only 5 degrees Celsius colder during the last ice age than it is today, but this led to a significant change in regional temperatures, the disappearance of huge parts of flora and fauna, and the emergence of new species.
If global warming causes all the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica to melt, sea levels will rise by 60 meters compared to today's levels.
What causes major ice ages?
The factors that caused long periods of glaciation, such as the Quaternary, are not as well understood by scientists. But one idea is that a massive drop in carbon dioxide levels could lead to colder temperatures. 
For example, according to the uplift and weathering hypothesis, when plate tectonics causes mountain ranges to grow, new exposed rock appears on the surface. It easily weathers and disintegrates when it ends up in the oceans. Marine organisms use these rocks to create their shells. Over time, stones and shells take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and its level drops significantly, which leads to a period of glaciation.
Periods of climate cooling, accompanied by the formation of continental ice sheets, are recurring events in the history of the Earth. Intervals of cold climate during which extensive continental ice sheets and sediments lasting hundreds of millions of years are formed are called glacial eras; in glacial eras stand out ice ages lasting tens of millions of years, which, in turn, consist of ice ages - glaciations(glacials), alternating with interglacials(interglacials).
The following glacial eras are distinguished in the history of the Earth:
- Early Proterozoic - 2.5-2 billion years ago
- Late Proterozoic - 900-630 million years ago (see Cryogeny)
- Paleozoic - 460-230 million years ago
- Cenozoic - 65 million years ago - present
Cenozoic Ice Age
The Cenozoic Ice Age (65 million years ago - present) is a recently (in geological scale) glacial era that began.
Chronology of Cenozoic glaciations
Shackleton age of 18 O isotopic stages is calculated due to the presence of V28-238 in the Vema core at a depth of 1200 cm of the Matuyama/Brunhes paleomagnetic boundary (700,000 years ago). Since the age of the Matuyama/Brunhes boundary is now estimated at 730,000 years, Shackleton's dates are recalculated according to the depths of the corresponding stages. (Disadvantages - cold stages, pros - warm interstages).
| Sign | Time interval | era |
|---|---|---|
| - | 53-38 million | Eocene (Temperate climate with an episode of glaciation in Antarctica) |
| - | 38 million | Eocene-Oligocene boundary (Major global cooling, glaciation in Antarctica) |
| - | 38-22 million | Oligocene (Long Antarctic Glaciation) |
| + | 22-13 million | Early - beginning of the middle Miocene (Warming) |
| - | 13-10 million | Middle Miocene - beginning of the late Miocene (Development of the large ice cap in East Antarctica, glaciation in South Alaska) |
| + | 10-7 million | Early Late Miocene (Moderate Episode) |
| - | 7-6.0 million | Beginning of Antarctic glaciation Taylor 5 (7-3.7 million, Dry Valleys). |
| 5.18-3.2 million | Pliocene (early Gilbert - Astius). | |
| + | 6.0-4.7 million | Warming Epoch 5 - early Gilbert. |
| − | 4.7-4.3 million | Glacial Gilbert C in Antarctica, global marine cooling. |
| + | 4.3-3.95 million | Interstadial Hilbert VII-V. |
| − | 3.95-3.35 million | Glacial Gilbert IV-I in Antarctica (and Patagonia 3.5 million: Gilbert I, 3.7-3.35 million), and also in Alaska. |
| + | 3.35-3.2 million | Interglacial transgression of Astius (early Gaussian). |
| 3.2-0.01 million | Continental Pleistocene (Bieber I - Wurm IV). | |
| 3.2-0.815 million | Lower Pleistocene (Biber I - Günz II). | |
| − | 3.2-3.0 million | Glacial Biber I. |
| + | 3.0-2.6 million | Interstadial Biber I/II. |
| − | 2.6-2.3 million | Glacial Biber II. |
| + | 2.3-2.0 million | Interglacial Bieber/Donau. |
| − | 2.0-1.9 million | Donau I. |
| + | 1.9-1.84 million | Donau I/II. |
| − | 1.84-1.79 million | Donau II. |
| + | 1.79-1.6 million | Donau II/III. |
| − | 1.6-1.55 million | Donau III. |
| + | 1.55-1.5 million | Donau III/IV. |
| − | 1.5-1.43 million | Donau IV. |
| + | 1.43-1.36 million | Donau/Günz. |
| − | 1.36-1.27 million | Günz I. |
| + | 1.27-0.93 million | Günz I/II. |
| − | 0.93-0.815 million | Günz II. |
| 815 000-134 000 | Middle Pleistocene (Günz/Mindel I - Riess III). | |
| 815 000-493 000 | Very ancient Middle Pleistocene (Günz/Mindel I - Günz/Mindel IV). | |
| + | 815 000-760 000 | (isotopic stage 18 0 X 21). Günz/Mindel I. |
| − | 760 000-736 000 | (X 20) Günz/Mindel A. |
| + | 736 000-718 000 | (IX 19) Günz/Mindel II (Matuyama/Brunhes). |
| − | 718 000-675 000 | (IX 18) Günz/Mindel V 1. |
| + | 675 000-654 000 | (VIII 17) Günz/Mindel V 2. |
| − | 654 000-617 000 | (VIII 16) Günz/Mindel V 3. |
| + | 617 000-566 000 | (VII 15) Günz/Mindel III. |
| − | 566 000-523 000 | (VII 14) Günz/Mindel S. |
| + | 523 000-493 000 | (VI 13) Günz/Mindel IV. |
| 493 000-362 000 | Ancient Middle Pleistocene (Mindel I - Mindel II). | |
| − | 493 000-459 000 | (VI 12) Mindel I. |
| + | 459 000-383 000 | (V 11) Mindel I/II. |
| − | 383 000-362 000 | (V 10) Mindel II. |
| 362 000-310 000 | Middle Middle Pleistocene (Mindel/Ris) | |
| + | 362 000-310 000 | (IV 9) Mindel/Riss. |
| 310 000-134 000 | Late Middle Pleistocene (Riess I - Riess III). | |
| − | 310 000-262 000 | (IV 8) Riesse I (Périgord I-II). |
| + | 262,000 - approx. 240,000 | (III 7 lower) Riess I/II. |
| - | OK. 240,000-approx. 220,000 | (III 7 average) Riesse II (Périgord I-IV). |
| + | approx. 220,000-204,000 | (III 7 top) Riess II/III. |
| − | 204 000-134 000 | (III 6) Riess III (Combes-Grenal 1-7). |
| 134 000-10 000 | Upper Pleistocene (Riess/Würm - Würm IV). | |
| 134 000-39 000 | Ancient Upper Pleistocene (Riess/Würm - Würm II). | |
| + | 134 000-110 000 | (II 5e...) Riess/Würm. |
| − | 110 000-105 000 | Wurm I A (Périgord I). |
| + | 105 000-104 000 | Wurm I Amersfoort (Périgord II). |
| − | 104 000-100 000 | Wurm I B (Périgord III). |
| + | 100 000-92 000 | Würm I Brörup (Périgord IV-VI). |
| − | 92 000-85 000 | Wurm I C (Périgord VII-IX). |
| + | 85 000-78 000 | (II 5a) Würm I/II Odderade. |
| − | 78 000-67 000 | (II 4) Wurm II A (Périgord I-II). |
| + | 67 000-59 000 | Wurm II Durnten (Périgord III). |
| − | 59 000-51 000 | Wurm II B 1-2 (Périgord IV-VI). |
| + | 51000-46500 | Wurm II Moershoofd (Périgord VII). |
| − | 46500-39000 | Wurm II C (Périgord VIII). |
| 39000-10000 | Late Upper Pleistocene (Würm II/III - Würm IV). | |
| + | 39000-37500 | Wurm II/III Hengelo. |
| − | 37500-36000 | Wurm II/III. |
| + | 36000-34000 | Wurm II/III Le Cotte. |
| − | 34000-31000 | Wurm III A 1-2 (Périgord I-II). |
| + | 31000-30000 | Würm III Arsi (Périgord III). |
| − | 30000-29000 | Wurm III B (Périgord IV). |
| + | 29000-25000 | Wurm III Kessel (Périgord V). |
| − | 25000-23500 | Wurm III C 1 (Périgord VI). |
| + | 23500-22500 | Würm III Türsak (Périgord VII). |
| − | 22500-20500 | Wurm III C 2 (Périgord VIII-X). |
| + | 20500-20300 | Wurm III Banjols (Périgord XI). |
| − | 20300-19700 | Wurm III C 3 (Périgord XII-XIV). |
| + | 19700-18500 | Wurm III/IV Lodge. |
| − | 18500-17800 | Wurm IV Dryas I A 1 (Périgord I). |
| + | 17800-16500 | Wurm IV Lascaux (Périgord II). |
| − | 16500-15800 | Wurm IV Dryas I A 2 (Périgord III A). |
| + | 15800-15500 | Wurm IV Angle (Périgord III B). |
| − | 15500-14800 | Wurm IV Dryas I B (Périgord III C). |
| + | 14800-14300 | Würm IV Prebölling (Périgord IV A). |
| − | 14300-13300 | Wurm IV Dryas I C (Périgord IV B). |
| + | 13300-12300 | Würm IV Bölling (Périgord IV C). |
| − | 12300-11800 | Wurm IV Dryas II (Périgord V). |
| + | 11800-10800 | Würm IV Allerød (Périgord 6-8). |
| − | 10800-10200/10000 | Wurm IV Dryas III (Périgord 9-11). |
| 10200/10000-0 | (dendrochronology: ca. 11700/11480-0) Holocene. | |
| 10200/10000-8800 | (11700/11480-10100) Preboreal. | |
| (+) | 8800-7500 | (10100-8610) Boreal. |
| (+) | 7500-5500/4300 | (8610-6320/4940) Atlantic. |
| (-) | 5500/4300-2750 | (6320/4940-3160) Subboreal. |
| (-) | 2750-0 | (3160-0=1950 AD) Subatlantic. |
Paleozoic Ice Age (460-230 million years ago)
Late Ordovician-Early Silurian Ice Age (460-420 million years ago)
Glacial deposits of this time are distributed in Africa, South America, eastern North America and Western Europe.
Peak Glaciation is characterized by the formation of an extensive ice sheet across much of northern (including Arabia) and western Africa, with the Saharan ice sheet estimated to be up to 3 km thick.
Late Devonian Ice Age (370-355 million years ago)
Glacial deposits of the Late Devonian Ice Age were found in Brazil, and similar moraine deposits were found in Africa (Niger). The glacial region extended from the modern mouth of the Amazon to the east coast of Brazil.
Carboniferous-Permian Ice Age (350-230 million years ago)
Late Proterozoic glacial era (900-630 million years ago)
In the stratigraphy of the late Proterozoic, the Lapland glacial horizon (670-630 million years ago) is distinguished, found in Europe, Asia, West Africa, Greenland and Australia. Paleoclimatic reconstruction of the Late Proterozoic Ice Age in general and the Lapland period in particular is complicated by the lack of data on the drift, shape and position of the continents at this time, however, taking into account the location of moraine deposits of Greenland, Scotland and Normandy, it is assumed that the European and African ice sheets of this period at times merged into a single shield.
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Notes
Literature
- Silver L. R. Ancient glaciation and life. - M.: Nauka, 1980. - 128 p. - (Man and the environment). - 100,000 copies.
- Winters of our planet: Earth under the ice / Authors: B. John, E. Derbyshire, G. Young, R. Fairbridge, J. Andrews; Ed. B. John; Per. from English Doctor of Geography Sciences L. R. Serebryanny. - M.: Mir, 1982. - 336 p. - 50,000 copies.
- Global changes in the natural environment / Ed. N. S. Kasimova. - M.: Scientific world, 2000.
- Changes in climate and landscapes over the last 65 million years (Cenozoic: from Paleocene to Holocene) / Ed. A. A. Velichko. - M.: GEOS, 1999.
- Koronovsky N.V., Khain V.E., Yasamanov N.A. Historical geology. - M.: Academy, 2006.
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An excerpt characterizing the Ice Age
Kutuzov sat with one leg hanging off the bed and his big belly leaning on the other, bent leg. He squinted his seeing eye to better examine the messenger, as if in his features he wanted to read what was occupying him.“Tell me, tell me, my friend,” he said to Bolkhovitinov in his quiet, senile voice, covering the shirt that had opened on his chest. - Come, come closer. What news did you bring me? A? Has Napoleon left Moscow? Is it really so? A?
Bolkhovitinov first reported in detail everything that was ordered to him.
“Speak, speak quickly, don’t torment your soul,” Kutuzov interrupted him.
Bolkhovitinov told everything and fell silent, awaiting orders. Tol began to say something, but Kutuzov interrupted him. He wanted to say something, but suddenly his face squinted and wrinkled; He waved his hand at Tolya and turned in the opposite direction, towards the red corner of the hut, blackened by images.
- Lord, my creator! You heeded our prayer...” he said in a trembling voice, folding his hands. - Russia is saved. Thank you, Lord! - And he cried.
From the time of this news until the end of the campaign, all of Kutuzov’s activities consisted only in using power, cunning, and requests to keep his troops from useless offensives, maneuvers and clashes with the dying enemy. Dokhturov goes to Maloyaroslavets, but Kutuzov hesitates with the entire army and gives orders to cleanse Kaluga, retreat beyond which seems very possible to him.
Kutuzov retreats everywhere, but the enemy, without waiting for his retreat, runs back in the opposite direction.
Historians of Napoleon describe to us his skillful maneuver at Tarutino and Maloyaroslavets and make assumptions about what would have happened if Napoleon had managed to penetrate the rich midday provinces.
But without saying that nothing prevented Napoleon from going to these midday provinces (since the Russian army gave him the way), historians forget that Napoleon’s army could not be saved by anything, because it already carried in itself the inevitable conditions death. Why is this army, which found abundant food in Moscow and could not hold it, but trampled it underfoot, this army, which, having come to Smolensk, did not sort out the food, but plundered it, why could this army recover in the Kaluga province, inhabited by those the same Russians as in Moscow, and with the same property of fire to burn what they light?
The army could not recover anywhere. Since the Battle of Borodino and the sack of Moscow, it already carried within itself the chemical conditions of decomposition.
The people of this former army fled with their leaders without knowing where, wanting (Napoleon and each soldier) only one thing: to personally extricate themselves as soon as possible from that hopeless situation, which, although unclear, they were all aware of.
That is why, at the council in Maloyaroslavets, when, pretending that they, the generals, were conferring, presenting different opinions, the last opinion of the simple-minded soldier Mouton, who said what everyone thought, that it was only necessary to leave as soon as possible, closed all their mouths, and no one , even Napoleon, could not say anything against this universally recognized truth.
But although everyone knew that they had to leave, there was still the shame of knowing that they had to run. And an external push was needed that would overcome this shame. And this push came at the right time. This was what the French called le Hourra de l'Empereur [imperial cheer].
The next day after the council, Napoleon, early in the morning, pretending that he wanted to inspect the troops and the field of the past and future battle, with a retinue of marshals and a convoy, rode along the middle of the line of troops. The Cossacks, snooping around the prey, came across the emperor himself and almost caught him. If the Cossacks did not catch Napoleon this time, then what saved him was the same thing that was destroying the French: the prey that the Cossacks rushed to, both in Tarutino and here, abandoning people. They, not paying attention to Napoleon, rushed to the prey, and Napoleon managed to escape.
When les enfants du Don [the sons of the Don] could catch the emperor himself in the middle of his army, it was clear that there was nothing more to do but to flee as quickly as possible along the nearest familiar road. Napoleon, with his forty-year-old belly, no longer feeling his former agility and courage, understood this hint. And under the influence of the fear that he gained from the Cossacks, he immediately agreed with Mouton and gave, as historians say, the order to retreat back to the Smolensk road.
The fact that Napoleon agreed with Mouton and that the troops went back does not prove that he ordered this, but that the forces that acted on the entire army, in the sense of directing it along the Mozhaisk road, simultaneously acted on Napoleon.
When a person is in motion, he always comes up with a goal for this movement. In order to walk a thousand miles, a person needs to think that there is something good beyond these thousand miles. You need an idea of the promised land in order to have the strength to move.
The promised land during the French advance was Moscow; during the retreat it was the homeland. But the homeland was too far away, and for a person walking a thousand miles, he certainly needs to say to himself, forgetting about the final goal: “Today I will come forty miles to a place of rest and lodging for the night,” and on the first journey this place of rest obscures the final goal and concentrates on yourself all the desires and hopes. Those aspirations that are expressed in an individual always increase in a crowd.
For the French, who went back along the old Smolensk road, the final goal of their homeland was too distant, and the nearest goal, the one to which all desires and hopes strove, in enormous proportions intensifying in the crowd, was Smolensk. Not because people knew that there was a lot of provisions and fresh troops in Smolensk, not because they were told this (on the contrary, the highest ranks of the army and Napoleon himself knew that there was little food there), but because this alone could give them the strength to move and endure real hardships. They, both those who knew and those who did not know, equally deceiving themselves as to the promised land, strove for Smolensk.
Having reached the high road, the French ran with amazing energy and unheard-of speed towards their imaginary goal. Besides this reason of common desire, which united the crowds of French into one whole and gave them some energy, there was another reason that bound them. The reason was their number. Their huge mass itself, as in the physical law of attraction, attracted individual atoms of people. They moved with their hundred-thousand-strong mass as an entire state.
Each of them wanted only one thing - to be captured, to get rid of all horrors and misfortunes. But, on the one hand, the strength of the common desire for the goal of Smolensk carried each one in the same direction; on the other hand, it was impossible for the corps to surrender to the company as captivity, and, despite the fact that the French took every opportunity to get rid of each other and, at the slightest decent pretext, to surrender themselves into captivity, these pretexts did not always happen. Their very number and close, fast movement deprived them of this opportunity and made it not only difficult, but impossible for the Russians to stop this movement, towards which all the energy of the mass of the French was directed. Mechanical tearing of the body could not accelerate the decomposition process beyond a certain limit.
A lump of snow cannot be melted instantly. There is a known time limit before which no amount of heat can melt the snow. On the contrary, the more heat there is, the stronger the remaining snow becomes.
None of the Russian military leaders, except Kutuzov, understood this. When the direction of flight of the French army along the Smolensk road was determined, then what Konovnitsyn foresaw on the night of October 11 began to come true. All the highest ranks of the army wanted to distinguish themselves, cut off, intercept, capture, overthrow the French, and everyone demanded an offensive.
Kutuzov alone used all his strength (these forces are very small for each commander in chief) to counteract the offensive.
He could not tell them what we are saying now: why the battle, and blocking the road, and the loss of his people, and the inhuman finishing off of the unfortunate? Why all this, when one third of this army melted away from Moscow to Vyazma without a battle? But he told them, deducing from his old wisdom something that they could understand - he told them about the golden bridge, and they laughed at him, slandered him, and tore him, and threw him, and swaggered over the killed beast.
At Vyazma, Ermolov, Miloradovich, Platov and others, being close to the French, could not resist the desire to cut off and overturn two French corps. To Kutuzov, notifying him of their intention, they sent in an envelope, instead of a report, a sheet of white paper.
And no matter how hard Kutuzov tried to hold back the troops, our troops attacked, trying to block the road. The infantry regiments are said to have charged with music and drums and killed and lost thousands of men.
But cut off - no one was cut off or knocked over. And the French army, pulled together tighter from danger, continued, gradually melting, its same disastrous path to Smolensk.
The Battle of Borodino, with the subsequent occupation of Moscow and the flight of the French, without new battles, is one of the most instructive phenomena in history.
All historians agree that the external activities of states and peoples, in their clashes with each other, are expressed by wars; that directly, as a result of greater or lesser military successes, the political power of states and peoples increases or decreases.
No matter how strange the historical descriptions are of how some king or emperor, having quarreled with another emperor or king, gathered an army, fought with the enemy army, won a victory, killed three, five, ten thousand people and, as a result, conquered the state and an entire people of several millions; no matter how incomprehensible it may be why the defeat of one army, one hundredth of all the forces of the people, forced the people to submit, all the facts of history (as far as we know it) confirm the justice of the fact that greater or lesser successes of the army of one people against the army of another people are the reasons or, according to at least significant signs of an increase or decrease in the strength of nations. The army was victorious, and the rights of the victorious people immediately increased to the detriment of the vanquished. The army suffered defeat, and immediately, according to the degree of defeat, the people are deprived of their rights, and when their army is completely defeated, they are completely subjugated.
This has been the case (according to history) from ancient times to the present day. All Napoleon's wars serve as confirmation of this rule. According to the degree of defeat of the Austrian troops, Austria is deprived of its rights, and the rights and strength of France increase. The French victory at Jena and Auerstätt destroys the independent existence of Prussia.
But suddenly in 1812 the French won a victory near Moscow, Moscow was taken, and after that, without new battles, not Russia ceased to exist, but the army of six hundred thousand ceased to exist, then Napoleonic France. It is impossible to stretch the facts to the rules of history, to say that the battlefield in Borodino remained with the Russians, that after Moscow there were battles that destroyed Napoleon’s army.
After the Borodino victory of the French, there was not a single general battle, but not a single significant one, and the French army ceased to exist. What does it mean? If this were an example from the history of China, we could say that this phenomenon is not historical (a loophole for historians when something does not fit their standards); if the matter concerned a short-term conflict, in which small numbers of troops were involved, we could accept this phenomenon as an exception; but this event took place before the eyes of our fathers, for whom the issue of life and death of the fatherland was being decided, and this war was the greatest of all known wars...