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Nature 456, 47-48 (6 November 2008) | doi:10.1038/456047a; Published online 5 November 2008

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Global change: Climate's astronomical sensors

Michel Crucifix1

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A re-evaluation of the relationship between Earth's orbital parameters, ice-sheet extent and ocean circulation sets further puzzles for those trying to disentangle cause from effect in long-term climatic changes.

Earth's climate 'feels' the slow changes in the parameters of our orbit around the Sun. The great ice sheets of the Northern Hemisphere are one sensor, in that they are sensitive to the amount of solar energy they receive in summer.

  1. Michel Crucifix is at the Institut d'Astronomie et de Géophysique G. Lemaître, Université catholique de Louvain, BE-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
    Email: michel.crucifix@uclouvain.be

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