Is it possible that an ice age may come as a consequence of Global Warming?

Question

I ask this because of what it is said in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow"... I want to know if science says something related to it...

Answer 1

Sure- Warmer, cooler, floods, droughts, hurricanes, calm, are all caused by global warming.

Man is to be blamed for everything. Accept the guilt.

The only way that we know global warming is happening is because the "scientist" are telling us. We should listen to them because their "consensus" tells us if we don't, we're DOOMED!

Answer 2

The Day After Tomorrow wasn't based at all on science. It's just a disaster movie with cool special effects. Ice Ages come and go periodically and have for millions of years. Right now, we're coming out of an Ice Age. This may account for our current Global Warming.

Answer 3

Most of the scientist that today are talking about life on earth ending because of global warming were saying the same thing only it would be the next ice age 20 years ago. If global warming causes water to evaporate and the cloud cover is sufficient then we will have global cooling. The earth has gone through several cycles of cooling and warming, most before humans were alive, so it is not too hard to realize it will happen again. Nothing happens suddenly, and the movie is not anything like what could or will happen.

Answer 4

The movie takes one possible consequence of global warming and takes it to extremes.

There is a possibility that global warming *could* lead to a *small* ice age in *some* parts of the world.

It revolves around the Gulf Stream (North Atlantic Conveyor); this is a current of warm water that moves north through the Atlantic carrying warm water from the Caribbean to the shores of northwestern Europe. Without the warming influence of the Gulf Stream countries including the UK, Ireland and Iceland would be up to 7°C colder than they are now, it also warms the coastlines of Greenland, Scandinavia, France etc but to a lesser extent.

If the conveyor were disrupted in some way and warm waters no longer carried to these regions they would cool down. Hardest hit would be Scotland; parts of England, Ireland and Iceland would also be significantly affected. Over a period of several hundred years there would be a slow glacial advance. In Scotland, glaciers and permanent ice fields would return after an absence of 10,000 years. Ultimately approx 30 million people would be forced to move.

So how could it happen? The Gulf Stream is part of a much larger system of ocean currents collectively known as the Thermohaline Circulation. Thermo means density and haline means salt – the two factors that drive the Circulation. A change in salinity or density of the oceans could affect these ocean currents and most at risk from such a change is the Gulf Stream.

As the ice from the Arctic and Greenland Ice Cap melts it introduces cold, fresh water into the North Atlantic. One line of thinking is that this could disrupt the Gulf Stream, quite how is matter of debate – there are several possibilities. The meltwater could do nothing, it could split the Gulf Stream in two, it could diver it elsewhere, truncate it somewhere in the Mid Atlantic or switch it off altogether.

We don’t understand enough about the thermohaline circulation to say with confidence what may or may not happen so for now it’s just a possibility.

Answer 5

The Day After Tomorrow as others have already said is purely fiction. There is however a plausible theory that indicates such a possibility.

It goes something like this....

As the Earth warms rapidly for whatever reason, and subsequently causes massive loss of sea ice at the north pole. Winter will inevitably come and refreeze the sea ice, there will be a period in which all continents that are in close proximity to the Arctic Circle, will experience unusually heavy snow fall (kind of like lake effect snow) before the sea refreezes. If some of this snow does not melt next summer, it changes the Earth' albedo (or reflectivity). If this phenomena continues for multiple years you will reach a tipping point. CO2 saturates around 300 PPM (has very little effect beyond). So if ocean cooling decreases overall atmospheric H2O and CO2 levels (CO2 levels down below 250PPM), and the greenhouse process crashes, you have yourself an ice age. Just one of many possible scenarios.

That's the theory I like....

Have a better one.
.
.

Answer 6

Theoretically, it has been shown to be a possible scenario, sometime in the not to distant future. Scientists know this from studying geology and the layers of the earth that record past ice ages. Also, models of the weather can be created and studied, and show how conditions on the surface of the planet could change dramatically by drastic changes in weather patterns.

Answer 7

A global ice age is very unlikely. Global warming does mean the Earth gets warmer as a whole.

But melting ice could disrupt ocean currents and cause local cooling. Europe is particularly vulnerable.

However, that's unlikely, too. Most likely everything will get warmer, some places more than others.

The movie is completely unrealistic, if fun.

Answer 8

I think it's possible because I heard there was a heat wave before the ice age that killed the dinosaurs. Also it just makes since because our weather is ever changing no matter what se do to affect it so it is possible to have a very hot spell then a very cold one!

Answer 9

i watched something on the discovery channel that talked about how the earth has gone through many different ice ages and that another one is bound to happen. Although unlike in the movie, there is no way that it could happen so rapidly and chances our that humans would have destroyed the earth before then anyways

Answer 10

There is no saying to what will happen tomorrow with 100% accuracy.

It depends on the magnitude of the disturbance of the global temperature

But things r changing rapidly.

Answer 11

we are currently in an "ice age".

the "experts" told us in the 70's, we'd be in one by the year 2000 if we didn't stop using fossil fuels.

did we listen?

NO!
look where we are now.

some "warm-mongers" will say that the global cooling wasn't mainstream to cover their tracks.

but it was taught in schools. it was on tv, in newspapers and magazines. just like now.