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Nature 424, 496-499 (31 July 2003) | doi:10.1038/424496a

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Global change: South dials north

Thomas F. Stocker1

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Climate is greatly influenced by ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. But warming episodes, as glacial conditions turned into interglacials, may have been triggered by events far to the south.

The Earth's emergence from the grip of the last ice age took about 10,000 years and was a rough ride. Cycles of rapid warming and cooling preceded a final period of warming, and entry into the current interglacial, from about 10,000 years ago.

  1. Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
    Email: stocker@climate.unibe.ch