Researchers at UC Riverside say they have identified a critical gap in how scientists have long understood Earth’s carbon recycling system. By filling in this missing piece, they now believe that periods of global warming can swing too far in the opposite direction, potentially setting the stage for an ice age.
For decades, scientists have thought Earth’s climate was regulated by a slow but dependable natural process driven by rock weathering. This mechanism was seen as a stabilizing force that kept temperatures from drifting too far in either direction.
