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Albedo contrast and glaciation due to continental drift

Abstract

A POPULAR theory1,2 holds that glaciation occurs when land-masses drift over the poles and cool the Earth. However, the Earth cools on balance when landmasses bunch in the tropics, rather than over the polar caps. I suggest here that a peculiar distribution of land may thus be required during glacial periods, perhaps explaining their rarity3 and the long intervals when land was over the poles but the Earth was not glaciated4.

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COGLEY, J. Albedo contrast and glaciation due to continental drift. Nature 279, 712–713 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/279712a0

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