Abstract
The climate of the Earth has been oscillating between mega warm periods and mega cold periods for 3,000 Ma. Each mega cold period included alternating major warm and cold events. The present mega cold period commenced about 44 Ma in the polar regions as the seas cooled following the loss of the circum-equatorial ocean. Before then, a mega warm period lasted for more than 200 Ma. The frequency of the major cold events within the present mega cold period is increasing, with each continent being under the influence of a different set of climatic controls. There are many causes of these shifts in climate, ranging from fluctuating meridional ocean currents, rearrangement of tectonic plates, and changes in ocean gateways. These are enhanced by a combination of Milankovitch cycles and many other medium to small oscillations and cyclic controls that cause the daily, monthly, and seasonal fluctuations in weather. Examples are given of how these can cause a change from cold to warm events, or vice versa, at present-day or mega scales, aided by eustatic changes in sea levels and changes in the distribution of air masses, sea ice, and snow.
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