How Milankovitch Cycles Are Causing Earth’s Climate To Change

How Milankovitch Cycles Are causing Earth’s Climate To Change
Climate change and the Earth's ice ages are cyclical events that have occurred on Earth for thousands of years. However, until relatively recently, it was not known exactly what caused these cycles or how they occurred.
But today, we know these have to do with "Milankovitch Orbital Variations (or Cycles)."
But exactly how do these cycles work, and what produces them?
Can the Milankovitch Cycles help us predict how climate change will behave in the future?

What are the Milankovitch Orbital Variations?
Also known as the Milankovitch cycles, these periodic variations in the Earth's orbit and orientation influence long-term climate and are closely related to glaciations and interglacial periods.

What are orbital elements?
To better understand the Milankovitch cycles, we must first understand what orbital elements are.
Orbital elements are parameters that describe the shape and orientation of the orbit of one celestial body around another, such as a planet around the Sun.
These elements determine how the distance and inclination of the body in its orbit varies, affecting the amount and distribution of solar energy it receives.
In astronomy, a celestial body can have up to 7 orbital elements; however, to understand the Milankovitch cycles, it is enough to understand mainly three, and those are:
1.Eccentricity
Eccentricity refers to the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, which varies from being more circular to more elliptical in a cycle of about 100,000 years.
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2.Obliquity
Obliquity refers to the angle of inclination of the Earth's axis concerning its orbital plane and varies between 22.1° and 24.5° over a cycle of about 41,000 years.
3.Precession
Precession is the slow, gradual movement of the Earth's axis of rotation, similar to the wobble of a spinning top. It has a cycle of about 26,000 years.
Do Milankovitch cycles cause ice ages?
The Milankovitch cycles are fundamental to understanding the Earth's climate fluctuations over the last few million years. These cycles directly influence the amount and distribution of solar radiation the Earth receives, affecting global temperatures, precipitation patterns, and glacier formation.
Are the Milankovitch Cycles the answer to climate change?
Although the Milankovitch cycles provide a compelling explanation for many aspects of natural climate change, certain discrepancies and challenges have arisen in correlating these cycles with observed climate records. The two most prominent are the "Middle Pleistocene Transition" and the "Stage 5e Paradox."
1)The Middle Pleistocene Transition
One of the critical challenges in Milankovitch's theory is the so-called Middle Pleistocene Transition, a change in glaciation patterns that occurred about 1 million years ago.
The Paradox of Stadium 5e
Another discrepancy is the well-known problem of Stage 5e, an interglacial period about 130,000 years ago.
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Milankovitch cycles on Other Planets
The principles of Milankovitch's orbital variations are not limited to Earth alone. In fact, these cycles have also been observed and studied on other planets in the solar system, providing a broader perspective on how orbital dynamics may influence planetary climates.
The importance of the Milankovitch cycles
The Milankovitch Orbital Variations constitute an essential component for understanding long-term climate changes on Earth and other bodies in the solar system.
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Credits: Ron Miller, Mark A. Garlick / MarkGarlick.com ,Elon Musk/SpaceX/ Flickr
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00:00 Intro
2:35 What are orbital elements?
3:20 1)eccentricity
4:20 2) obliquity
4:50 3) precession
5:48 Do Milankovitch cycles cause ice ages?
7:50 Are the Milankovitch Cycles the answer to climate change?
10:10 Mars orbital elements
11:30 Saturn and Neptune orbital elements
12:40 The importance of the Milankovitch cycles

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