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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Snowpocalypse!! Look, All I'm Saying Is That It's Not Totally Impossible, Is All.

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 4:47 PM

iceplanet.png

The initiation of a Snowball Earth event would involve some initial cooling mechanism, followed by runaway cooling due to increasing ice accumulation. The initial cooling could be facilitated by an equatorial continental distribution, which would increase the Earth's albedo near the equator, where most solar radiation is incident.

This arrangement would also allow rapid, unchecked weathering of continental rocks, a process that absorbs the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, resulting in further cooling.

Alternatively, changes in solar energy output or perturbations of Earth's orbit could act as a trigger. However the initial cooling comes about, resultant ice accumulation would reflect solar energy back to space, further cooling the atmosphere and generating more ice cover.

This feedback loop could eventually produce a frozen equator as cold as modern-day Antarctica.

Via Wikipedia.

 

Comments (5) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Nice One. Very possible indeed.
Posted by pdxpipeline on December 20, 2008 at 5:34 PM · Report
2
And then will this cooling generate vicious, slavering CGi wolves!?
Posted by Will Radik on December 20, 2008 at 5:37 PM · Report
3
And then will this cooling generate vicious, slavering CGi wolves!?
Posted by Will Radik on December 20, 2008 at 5:38 PM · Report
4
Jebus, I sure hope so!
Posted by Milfalicious on December 20, 2008 at 6:04 PM · Report
5
Hot Buttered Rums every day?
Posted by Cory G on December 20, 2008 at 10:59 PM · Report

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