Self-education is my thing (autodidact). When I read about a Janitor finding the important 3rd piece of the puzzle in why Ice Ages occur on Earth, it did something to satisfy that urge inside me to learn without relying on University Professors to tell me how it all is, according to them.
The whole book is worth reading, but here is an excerpt:
Excerpt taken from the Revised and Expanded edition of When the Sky Fell, 1995 by Rand and Rose Flem-Ath, with an afterword by John Anthony West: Atlantis Beneath The Ice, 2012 ISBN978-1-59143-137-4 (paperback)
From Chapter Thirteen: Why the Sky Fell
"... As noted in chapter 9, when Louis Agassiz introduced the notion of ice ages, he was met with extreme skepticism. Agassiz's ice ages were catastrophic events that struck the planet out of the blue. Like his mentor, Georges Cuvier, Agassiz formulated his theory in an attempt to explain the sudden demise of animals in Siberia. But Agassiz had no explanation for what caused the ice ages.
The geological establishment, led by Charles Lyell, saw the importance of Agassiz's theory. It offered an explanation for several long-standing problems such as the existence of large boulders in seemingly odd locations. But Lyell would have nothing to do with the notion of a cataclysm and so toned down Agassiz's theory. As the result of Lyell's influence in geology the term ice age and the related term glacial have become synonymous with "ponderously slow change". Agassiz's theory has been successfully tamed to fit the fixation that all geological change is gradual.
Even without a mechanism to explain it, the ice age theory took its place as one of the underlying assumptions of modern geology. The quest for a mechanism to explain the cause or causes for ice ages has been going on for more than a century and a half - without success. Eventually, nongeologists got into the quest for a mechanism that could explain the ice ages.
Ice Ages - The Search for a Cause
In 1842, the first astronomical clue was discovered by a mathematician working as a tutor in Paris. Joseph Alphonse Adhemar (1797-1862) knew that the earth passes through four cardinal points (the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the fall equinox, and the winter solstice) during its orbit around the sun. One season changes to another as the earth crosses these points.
The cardinal points gradually shift over a grand, twenty-two thousand year cycle due to the gravitational pull of the sun, moon and planets on the earth. Adhemar knew that the earth is closer to the sun on January 3 and farthest away on July 4. At the present point in the orbit's grand cycle, those in the Northern Hemisphere are nearest to the warmth of the sun, resulting in relatively mild winters. But eventually, in thousands of years, the earth will be drawn closer to the sun around the time of the summer solstice, precipitating sweltering summers and frigid winters. Adhemar believed that this gradual shifting of the cardinal points, which scientists today call the precession of the equinoxes, instigated the ice ages by depriving the earth of the sun's genial influence at critical times.
In 1843, another French scientist, Urbain Leverrier (1811-1877, detected a second astronomical feature related to the ice ages. He realized that the distance from the sun at which the earth traveled was affected by the actual shape of the earth's orbit. Over a one-hundred-thousand year cycle, the orbit's shape is gradually altered, again by the gravitational influences of the sun, moon and other planets. it ranges from a near-perfect circle, as it is today, to a more oval orbit in which our world is carried farther from the sun, allowing the ice ages to gain a grip on the vulnerable earth.
Despite these breakthroughs in astronomy, there was still no agreement about the cause or timing of the ice ages. An unlikely source provided the third and final clue. Scotsman James Croll (1821-1890) was forced to drop out of school at the age of thirteen to help his mother raise their family. But although his formal classes had ended, he undertook an ambitious self-education program during which he mastered the fundamentals of the physical sciences. In 1859, after holding numerous jobs, from millwright to insurance salesman, he finally arrived at the position from which he made his monumental contribution to science: Croll became the janitor in the Andersonian College and Museum in Glasgow. He wrote: "My salary was small, it is true, little more than sufficient to enable me to subsist; but this was compensated by advantages for me of another kind."
The janitor had access to the college's science library. It was all he needed. The untutored Croll decided to turn his talents to the puzzle that still eluded the scientific establishment: What had actually caused the ice ages? With the publication of his book Climate and Time in 1872, Croll introduced the third astronomical key to the mystery: change in the earth's axis.
The angle of the earth's tilt determines the amount of sunshine received by various parts of the planet. Changes in the tilt result in temperature changes on the earth's surface. Today the axis is angled at 23.5 degrees. But the tilt gradually changes, varying from a minimum of 21.8 degrees to a maximum of 24.4 degrees.
Milutin Milankovitch (1857-1927),a Serbian engineer who in 1911 was working as a professor of mathematics at the University of Belgrade, used these astronomical factors to calculate the amount of solar radiation that would reach the earth at any particular time in its history. He believed that ice ages resulted when winter ice did not melt the following summer because the earth was not receiving enough warmth from the sun. Over successive seasons the ice sheets would thicken, slowly smothering the land beneath.
In 1976, Croll and Milankovitch's ideas were validated by James Hay, John Imbrie, and Nicholas Schackleton, who published a paper showing that the geological evidence of the ice ages matched the astronomical cycles. They showed that normally the earth is gripped by an ice age. But now we enjoy an interglacial period - that is, a very mild climate compared with what the planet normally endures.
Our present interglacial period, which began almost twelve thousand years ago, is destined to be only a short-lived melting period. During the last 350,000 years there have been four interglacial periods occurring roughly 335,000, 220,000, 127,000 and 11,600 years ago. Three astronomical cycles must coincide to bring about an interglacial period: the planet's tilt must reach approximately 24.4 degrees, the orbit's shape must be elongated by at least 1 percent, and the earth much be closes to the sun in the month of June.
The Croll/Milankovitch astronomical theory of the ice ages is today gathering widespread support as an explanation for the timing of large-scale glacials. But it addresses only part of the question. Of equal importance is the geography of glaciations. It is here that the long-neglected theory of earth crust displacement plays its role in unraveling the mystery. According to Hapgood's theory, the areas of the globe that experience the coolest climates are those that are thrust into the polar zones."
Excellent book - well worth a read (in my case, a second read).
The whole book is worth reading, but here is an excerpt:
Excerpt taken from the Revised and Expanded edition of When the Sky Fell, 1995 by Rand and Rose Flem-Ath, with an afterword by John Anthony West: Atlantis Beneath The Ice, 2012 ISBN978-1-59143-137-4 (paperback)
From Chapter Thirteen: Why the Sky Fell
"... As noted in chapter 9, when Louis Agassiz introduced the notion of ice ages, he was met with extreme skepticism. Agassiz's ice ages were catastrophic events that struck the planet out of the blue. Like his mentor, Georges Cuvier, Agassiz formulated his theory in an attempt to explain the sudden demise of animals in Siberia. But Agassiz had no explanation for what caused the ice ages.
The geological establishment, led by Charles Lyell, saw the importance of Agassiz's theory. It offered an explanation for several long-standing problems such as the existence of large boulders in seemingly odd locations. But Lyell would have nothing to do with the notion of a cataclysm and so toned down Agassiz's theory. As the result of Lyell's influence in geology the term ice age and the related term glacial have become synonymous with "ponderously slow change". Agassiz's theory has been successfully tamed to fit the fixation that all geological change is gradual.
Even without a mechanism to explain it, the ice age theory took its place as one of the underlying assumptions of modern geology. The quest for a mechanism to explain the cause or causes for ice ages has been going on for more than a century and a half - without success. Eventually, nongeologists got into the quest for a mechanism that could explain the ice ages.
Ice Ages - The Search for a Cause
In 1842, the first astronomical clue was discovered by a mathematician working as a tutor in Paris. Joseph Alphonse Adhemar (1797-1862) knew that the earth passes through four cardinal points (the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the fall equinox, and the winter solstice) during its orbit around the sun. One season changes to another as the earth crosses these points.
The cardinal points gradually shift over a grand, twenty-two thousand year cycle due to the gravitational pull of the sun, moon and planets on the earth. Adhemar knew that the earth is closer to the sun on January 3 and farthest away on July 4. At the present point in the orbit's grand cycle, those in the Northern Hemisphere are nearest to the warmth of the sun, resulting in relatively mild winters. But eventually, in thousands of years, the earth will be drawn closer to the sun around the time of the summer solstice, precipitating sweltering summers and frigid winters. Adhemar believed that this gradual shifting of the cardinal points, which scientists today call the precession of the equinoxes, instigated the ice ages by depriving the earth of the sun's genial influence at critical times.
In 1843, another French scientist, Urbain Leverrier (1811-1877, detected a second astronomical feature related to the ice ages. He realized that the distance from the sun at which the earth traveled was affected by the actual shape of the earth's orbit. Over a one-hundred-thousand year cycle, the orbit's shape is gradually altered, again by the gravitational influences of the sun, moon and other planets. it ranges from a near-perfect circle, as it is today, to a more oval orbit in which our world is carried farther from the sun, allowing the ice ages to gain a grip on the vulnerable earth.
Despite these breakthroughs in astronomy, there was still no agreement about the cause or timing of the ice ages. An unlikely source provided the third and final clue. Scotsman James Croll (1821-1890) was forced to drop out of school at the age of thirteen to help his mother raise their family. But although his formal classes had ended, he undertook an ambitious self-education program during which he mastered the fundamentals of the physical sciences. In 1859, after holding numerous jobs, from millwright to insurance salesman, he finally arrived at the position from which he made his monumental contribution to science: Croll became the janitor in the Andersonian College and Museum in Glasgow. He wrote: "My salary was small, it is true, little more than sufficient to enable me to subsist; but this was compensated by advantages for me of another kind."
The janitor had access to the college's science library. It was all he needed. The untutored Croll decided to turn his talents to the puzzle that still eluded the scientific establishment: What had actually caused the ice ages? With the publication of his book Climate and Time in 1872, Croll introduced the third astronomical key to the mystery: change in the earth's axis.
The angle of the earth's tilt determines the amount of sunshine received by various parts of the planet. Changes in the tilt result in temperature changes on the earth's surface. Today the axis is angled at 23.5 degrees. But the tilt gradually changes, varying from a minimum of 21.8 degrees to a maximum of 24.4 degrees.
Milutin Milankovitch (1857-1927),a Serbian engineer who in 1911 was working as a professor of mathematics at the University of Belgrade, used these astronomical factors to calculate the amount of solar radiation that would reach the earth at any particular time in its history. He believed that ice ages resulted when winter ice did not melt the following summer because the earth was not receiving enough warmth from the sun. Over successive seasons the ice sheets would thicken, slowly smothering the land beneath.
In 1976, Croll and Milankovitch's ideas were validated by James Hay, John Imbrie, and Nicholas Schackleton, who published a paper showing that the geological evidence of the ice ages matched the astronomical cycles. They showed that normally the earth is gripped by an ice age. But now we enjoy an interglacial period - that is, a very mild climate compared with what the planet normally endures.
Our present interglacial period, which began almost twelve thousand years ago, is destined to be only a short-lived melting period. During the last 350,000 years there have been four interglacial periods occurring roughly 335,000, 220,000, 127,000 and 11,600 years ago. Three astronomical cycles must coincide to bring about an interglacial period: the planet's tilt must reach approximately 24.4 degrees, the orbit's shape must be elongated by at least 1 percent, and the earth much be closes to the sun in the month of June.
The Croll/Milankovitch astronomical theory of the ice ages is today gathering widespread support as an explanation for the timing of large-scale glacials. But it addresses only part of the question. Of equal importance is the geography of glaciations. It is here that the long-neglected theory of earth crust displacement plays its role in unraveling the mystery. According to Hapgood's theory, the areas of the globe that experience the coolest climates are those that are thrust into the polar zones."
Excellent book - well worth a read (in my case, a second read).
Last edited:
