Articles | Volume 17, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-361-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-361-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Reconstructing the evolution of ice sheets, sea level, and atmospheric CO2 during the past 3.6 million years
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, Utrecht
University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Bas de Boer
Earth and Climate Cluster, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Roderik S. W. van de Wal
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, Utrecht
University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Faculty of Geosciences, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht
University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 23 Jul 2026
Short summary
For the past 2.6 million years, the Earth has experienced glacial cycles, where vast ice sheets periodically grew to cover large parts of North America and Eurasia. In the earlier part of this period, this happened every 40 000 years. This value changed 1.2 million years ago to 100 000 years: the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. We investigate this interesting period using an ice-sheet model, studying the interactions between ice sheets and the global climate.
For the past 2.6 million years, the Earth has experienced glacial cycles, where vast ice sheets...