Mars’s gravity shapes ice ages on Earth, new research finds
Experts uncover Mars’s surprising influence on Earth
- New research reveals that Mars, despite its smaller size and vast distance, significantly influences Earth's long-term climate patterns, including the conditions that trigger ice ages.
- Professor Stephen Kane from the University of California launched a research project to investigate the gravitational influence of Mars on Earth's climate, initially assuming it would be minimal.
- Instead of relying on deep-sea sediment layers, Kane's team conducted extensive computer simulations of the solar system's behaviour and long-term variations in Earth's orbit and tilt.
- These simulations demonstrated that Mars's gravitational pull plays a crucial role in shaping Earth's Milankovitch cycles, which are fundamental to understanding the onset and conclusion of ice ages.
- The computer models specifically identified Mars's influence on shorter climate cycles lasting around 100,000 years and 2.3 million years, impacting the fluctuating ice levels within major ice ages.