how do ice ages affect the climate around the world?
360485
They are liquefying. Because the temperature of the planet is getting warmer...it is pollution and connected effects that are working on that side.\n\nIt is too simple and not really exhaustive as explanation but I think it is the basic concept...
1178649
we would notice a change right away, the direction and position of where the sun's rays hit are what cause our temperature differences. if we had a drastic 90 degree turn in our axis it would throw off our global climate over the course of a few decades. changes would happen drastically however, and until things settled down over those decades or even centuries we would be in a state of climate-chaos
762226
The main cause of any ice age is a continent over the pole.\n\nSince Antarctica is over a pole, that land gets really cold and can't warm up very fast. Usually, there is water over the poles, and the cold water can easily circulate and regulate the planet better. Land doesn't circulate, so the cold just gets colder. So, Antarctica's occupation of the pole, starting at ~5 Ma (million years ago) has lead to our current ice age.\n\nIn the Permian (250 Ma), it was the tip of Gondwanaland (southern Africa/South America). The older glaciations are more speculative (see link).\n\nAs long as a land mass occupies a pole, we'll be in an ice age and experience cycles of glacial maxima and minima. We will stay in the pattern for about another few million years (though our greenhouse gas emissions may cancel that out). The fluctuations (maxima/minima) you get (on a ~10 000 to 100 000 year scale) within an ice age, which most mistakenly assume entails the whole ice age, is caused by climate patterns and astronomical cycles.\n\nOnce we finish this ice age (i.e. Antarctica leaves the pole), we may get one again when Australia or something else goes over the south pole or N America/Greenland/Siberia goes over the north pole.\n\nWill we go back into a glacial maximum soon? It is possible, but global warming is raising temperatures faster than anything is cooling.
36490
Global warming is associated with sun spots. So if the sun spots disappear we will probably have a period of global cooling but maybe not an ice age. The last period of global cooling was around the year 1650 AD.  That period is called the "Maunder Minimum".
441802
Global warming can have millions of negative effects, one leading to the next. If we have lost total control of it, it would start to get really hot down here. You would pick up a nice tan, but the tan won't stop. Trees will die of the heat, and even shelters could be whithered, because the heat is so intense.\n\nA major effect could be the melting of the poles. This could lead to devastating effects. With all those fresh water running into the sea, the ocean would be much fuller, causing huge tsunamis, tidal waves, tornadoes, and much more. This could even bring about the next ice age!\n\nMore water would evaporate, which would cause much more intense rainy seasons and floods.\n\nGlobal warming is a bad thing, and should be cut out by all means!
787121
They could sink a lot.\nIt appears to be fact that in a heavy ice age there was no water between Siberia and Alaska, and that mankind (and many animals and plants) came thus to the American continent.\nAt the moment I wouldn't worry about a new ice age. We are doing everything to reach the contrary, a global warming. Sea levels are rising, endangering cities on the coast. Another effect of the global warming is, that strength and number of hurricanes rise.
450510
Hi! Global warming causes COLD weather because it makes the ice to melt. Then, the oceanic current slows down, since it's a difference of salt and "sweet" water that makes it run. So, if "sweet" water from the melted ice comes into the current, it's less salty, so it will stop to function. If the current stops, then the continents get colder, because the current is that kept them warm. I hope this helps! Daniel from Romania (sorry for my bad writing skills, but I hope you understand)
931932
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades.  As the earth grows warmer and more greenhouse gases are trapped in the atmosphere we will see changes in weather patterns and average seasonal temperatures.  Coastal flooding and severe storms will happen more often.\n\nThese sites should help you.
455881
The circulation the the North Atlantic that brings heat to different parts of the world is believed to be slowinging down due to global warming thus me may be in the beginning stages of an ice age but it will take a few decades before we know for sure.
392244
This is complex theoram, and it happens to be taken from the exact idea of the previous ice age about 7000-10000 years ago in which only northern hemisphere froze over\nanother reason is dat the rate of pollution is higher in north then south (due to development) and effects of global warming shall be more drastic there.
348258
The currently-favored theory has to do with Milankovitch cycles:  periodic variations in Earth's axial tilt and orbit that cause it to oscillate between cold and warm epochs.  \n\nThe theory seems to work well, but it has some holes; it can't explain all the ice ages of the past million years, nor why most of the planet's history has been ice free with only a few glacial periods.  In short, there's a lot we don't know about what causes ice ages.
734739
Glaciers flow because of gravity.\n\nView this page:\nhttp://www.answers.com/topic/last-glacial-maximum\nFor info and a pic of what the world probably looked like during the last ice age. The grey denotes glaciers. The land (brown) has been adjusted for the drop in sea level and the ocean temperature difference is shown.\n\nThe ocean levels dropped. Much of the continental shelf which is now under water was exposed, dry land. The water that now covers them was locked up in the the glaciers.\n\nAlso look:\nhttp://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/RefPages/RefMedia.aspx?refid=461527006&artrefid=761570002&pn=3&sec=-1
809748
Back in the 70s it was global cooling.  How quickly things change.  Climates get hotter and cold in cycles.  And according to scientists, we've been experiencing global warming since the last ice age.  Doesn't secular history say that the world has already gone through a warming an dcooling cycle several times?  Global warming may be slightly accelerated by industrial activity, but the truth is that our climate is alot bigger than us.  It will get wrmer or cooler with or without our help.
544439
Yes, it is still possible. Infact, what you are describing are the beginning stages of an ice age. For more information I suggest you look up the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For a brief picture:\nAs global temperatures rise, polar ice melts and ocean temperatures rise. As the ocean temperatures rise the North Atlantic and North Pacific drifts cease to flow, which helps maintain uniform salinity (as both are actually FRESH WATER streams in the ocean). When this happens, the northern most latitudes are no longer warmed and rapid cooling begins, which in turn leads us through an ice age. When the reverse happens, we come out of an ice age and the cycle begins anew.
659391
Consider this: We were in an ice age within the past 10,000 years. The ice from this ice age covered most of the northern hemisphere; not so much of the southern hemisphere, but a little. Since that time, glaciers have been retreating, the planet has been warming, and the oceans have been rising steadily. The vast majority of the "problems" are a continuation of the return of the earth from the ice age. \nSince the industrial revolution, humans have been emitting certain gases into the air that come from fossil fuels. These gases go into a layer in the atmosphere that traps heat. This layer was in existence before the revolution, but now is being thickened.\n\nSo, with all this said, I believe that the majority of the global warming problems are just us coming off of an ice age. however, we humans aren't helping by emitting the gases.
238253
We are actually IN an ice age right now. This is just a warm interglacial period during an ice age, which began about 40 million years ago. During the last 40 million years, there have been ice caps on the poles, and the glaciers have advanced and retreated with periods of about 40,000 and 100,000 years. The last retreat began about 10,000 years ago. \n\nGlobal warming might keep us from cooling off. However, there are also theories that the introduction of extra greenhouse gases and soot into the air might perturb the nonlinear climate system with complicated effects, like global cooling. For example, the currents that keep Europe warm might shut off from extra rainfall over the north Atlantic (a theory of earth scientist Wally Broecker). For example, see the reference (although this is concerned with the Gulf stream, not the Deep North Atlantic Overturn, which supplies a lot more heat to Europe than the Gulf stream).
1168895
(m)\n\nThe difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. \n\nWhen we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. Today, children always hear stories from their parents and grandparents about how snow was always piled up to their waists as they trudged off to school. Children today in most areas of the country haven't experienced those kinds of dreadful snow-packed winters, except for the Northeastern U.S. in January 2005. The change in recent winter snows indicate that the climate has changed since their parents were young. \n\nIf summers seem hotter lately, then the recent climate may have changed. In various parts of the world, some people have even noticed that springtime comes earlier now than it did 30 years ago. An earlier springtime is indicative of a possible change in the climate. \n\naddition to long-term climate change, there are shorter term climate variations. This so-called climate variability can be represented by periodic or intermittent changes related to El Niño, La Niña, volcanic eruptions, or other changes in the Earth system