New study reveals average temperature of Ice Age was 46 degrees Fahrenheit

(Karachi) Scientists have managed to analyse the average temperature during the last Ice Age, reveals a new study.

The research was headed by Associate Professor at the University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Jessica Tierney, Professor Christopher Poulsen from the University of Michigan and Postdoctoral Researcher Jiang Zhu.

As per details, the researchers found out the temperature of the Last Glacial Maximum 20,000 years back was about 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The paper also transpired that the global temperature was about 11 degrees Fahrenheit or 6 degrees Celsius less warm than it is today. The study also mentioned that the average global temperature in the beginning of 20th century was 14 degrees Celsius.

During the course of study, scientists reached a conclusion that every time the amount of atmospheric carbon will double, global temperatures should go up by 3.4 C (6.1 F). They maintained that carbon levels during the Ice Age were about 180 parts per million which rose to about 280 parts per million during the Industrial Revolution. Now carbon levels have reached 415 parts per million.

In a bid to calculate the average temperature in Ice Age, the team used models that connected data from ocean plankton fossils to sea-surface temperatures. They made use of a technique called data assimilation which is used in weather forecasting. Researchers employed the technique to link the fossil data with climate model simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum.

Researchers also created maps to illustrate how temperature differences varied in specific regions across the globe.

Commenting on the startling revelation, Tierney said: "In your own personal experience that might not sound like a big difference, but, in fact, it's a huge change." She pointed out, "We have a lot of data about this time period because it has been studied for so long. But one question science has long wanted answers to is simple: How cold was the ice age?"

She added, "In North America and Europe, the most northern parts were covered in ice and were extremely cold. Even here in Arizona, there was big cooling. But the biggest cooling was in high latitudes, such as the Arctic, where it was about 14 C (25 F) colder than today."

The findings of the study will prove to be a breakthrough for climate researchers in evaluating the reason how rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide influence the average temperatures around the world.