Does the Moon trigger interglacials ?

By steven d keeler | Jan 15, 2014



Tidal forces therefore  act to break up ice sheets and change ocean heat flows. Spring tides occur when the moon and sun align together at new moon and full moon. The largest spring tides are when the Earth is at  closest distance to both the sun and the moon. The Milankovitch precession term also depends strongly on the eccentricity, so when every 26,000 years perihelion coincides with the northern summer so the arctic also receives maximum insolation. In addition once a month in summer the arctic experience super tidal forces leading to the breaking up of ice and enhanced heat mixing. The combination of the two effects starts the retreat of the ice sheets and the  positive feedback of lower albedo accelerates melting. Is this the real driver that forces the onset of an interglacial ?




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