Credit: Dr. Richard Allmendinger
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University
Description: Sequence of global events and how they affect climate change. Here is Eocene and then the drop in temperature that follows. Notice Antarctica glaciations, followed by a slight warming trend, called the Oligo-Miocene climactic optima. The cause for this trend is not completely clear. The formation of the Himalayas as India collides with Asia results in erosion. This in turn, particularly the erosion of feldspar, results in CO2 being removed from the atmosphere, which in turn reduces the greenhouse effect and the temperature drops more. The Columbia Plateau basalts are formed through volcanic activity that throws particulate debris into the air, resulting in more decrease in temperature. The conditions are now set for glaciation of North America.
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