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Nature 455, 602-603 (2 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/455602a; Published online 1 October 2008

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Climate change: When did the icehouse cometh?

Stephen F. Pekar1

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The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide decreased between 45 million and 25 million years ago, a trend accompanied by glaciation at the poles. Modelling results suggest when and where the ice closed in.

As atmospheric carbon dioxide is predicted to rise to concentrations not seen in perhaps 25 million years (Myr)1, scientists are working to understand the impact on Earth's climate and ice sheets. This requires a shift in perspective: geologists typically use the present as a key to the past, but in this case the past might well be the key to predicting how climate will change in the future.

  1. Stephen F. Pekar is at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, 65–30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, New York 11367, USA, and at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, New York.
    Email: stephen.pekar@qc.cuny.edu

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