The Impact of Milankovitch Cycles on Temperature | Daniel Foster

The Milankovitch Cycles are 3 processes: Eccentricity, Obliquity and Precession which
work together to change the climate of the Earth over long periods of time and observed
over thousands over years and cause Ice Ages, this idea was created by Milutin
Milankovitch.

Eccentricity:

Eccentricity describes the orbital stretch as when

the Earth orbits around the Sun in an ellipse shape
there are different times in which the Earth is
farthest and closest to the Sun these two situations
are called the aphelion day and the perihelion day
respectively . The distance to the sun at the peak
can vary due to the gravitational pull of Saturn and
Jupiter on Earth; however this happens in cycles of
approximately 100,000 years. When the cycle
results in Earth being closer to the Sun there will be
more solar radiation leading to warming and when it
is further there is less solar radiation leading to
cooling. In order for a cooler climate and thus an ice
age the perihelion day should occur in the winter for
a cooler summer, if the summer is cooler the ice will
not melt leading to a cooler climate and potential Ice
Age.

Obliquity:

The Obliquity of the Earth refers to the axial tilt of

the Earth which can range between 22° - 24.5°. A
wider angle causes a wider area of solar radiation to
occur and thus melting of ice and a warmer
temperature in summer and a cooler winter as the
solar radiation must be distributed to a wider area
causing a cooler winter, in order for an ice age to
occur the angle needs to be around 22° so that the
ice will not melt in summer and thus a cooler climate
will occur. The obliquity of the Earth is on a cycle
which changes roughly every 40,000 years.
Precession:

The Earth’s Axial precession refers to the wobble

of the Earth as it is not perfectly stable, it takes
26,000 years to complete a full cycle of this
wobble. The gravity of the sun and moon
influences the tidal forces causing the axial
precession to shift and wobble. It causes higher
extremes in seasons exemplifying the effects of
the other 2 cycles. Earth’s apsidal precession
also refers to Earth’s orbit around the sun, as
this orbit can also wobble, variations will cause a
change in climate and a change in the length of
seasons when it is at its most elliptical point
there are cooler summers leading to less ice
melting and thus an ice age.

Conclusion:

The three Milankovitch cycles: Eccentricity, Obliquity and Precession work together to
impact the climate of the earth. Whilst a change in one can cause a slight change of the
Earth’s climate if all of them line up at the same time a large difference can occur. For
example, if the Earth’s orbit is more elliptical, the perihelion day is in January for the
Northern hemisphere and if the Earth’s tilt has a shallow level of tilt then it is likely that
an ice age can occur as all of these conditions will cause a cooler summer and less
extreme seasons which leads to ice not melting in summer which will build up causing
an ice age over time.

Bibliography:
● https://earthhow.com/milankovitch-cycle/ Information + Diagrams
● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCEZFMtW5Pw
● https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/axis/
● https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/milankovitch-orbital-cycl
es-and-their-role-in-earths-climate/