Human Activity May Have Averted an Ice Age, Scientists Warn
WHO:
KSL News - Nicolás Young, a study author and geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Columbia Climate School, said the ice cap’s regrowth was “just getting started” before it stopped and called the change “a very powerful example of how we have jolted the system.”
CNN - Nicolás Young, a study author and geochemist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, part of the Columbia Climate School, said the ice cap’s regrowth was “just getting started” before it stopped and called the change “a very powerful example of how we have jolted the system.”
KSL News - Meredith Kelly, an earth sciences professor at Dartmouth College who was not involved in the study, said the researchers used techniques including “novel radiocarbon dating of plants” and that comparisons with other advancing glaciers could clarify the mechanisms.
CNN - Meredith Kelly, an earth sciences professor at Dartmouth College who was not involved in the study, said the researchers used techniques including “novel radiocarbon dating of plants” and that comparisons with other advancing glaciers could clarify the mechanisms.
KSL News - Andrey Ganopolski, a physicist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said the Barnes Ice Cap’s growth was “insufficient to support the conclusion that a new glacial cycle had already begun and was subsequently aborted.”
CNN - Andrey Ganopolski, a physicist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said the Barnes Ice Cap’s growth was “insufficient to support the conclusion that a new glacial cycle had already begun and was subsequently aborted.”
WHAT:
KSL News - A study published in *Science* argues that the Barnes Ice Cap’s regrowth marked the beginning of a new glaciation, but that the growth reversed before the ice age developed beyond its infancy.
CNN - A study published in *Science* argues that the Barnes Ice Cap’s regrowth marked the beginning of a new glaciation, but that the growth reversed before the ice age developed beyond its infancy.
KSL News - The Laurentide Ice Sheet once extended from the Arctic Circle to Illinois and reached up to two miles thick in parts. The Delaware-sized Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island is described as its remaining ice.
CNN - The Laurentide Ice Sheet once extended from the Arctic Circle to Illinois and reached up to two miles thick in parts. The Delaware-sized Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island is described as its remaining ice.
KSL News - Researchers found the ice cap reached its minimum size about 3,000 years ago and began growing again roughly 2,000 years ago.
CNN - Researchers found the ice cap reached its minimum size about 3,000 years ago and began growing again roughly 2,000 years ago.
KSL News - Ganopolski said modeling studies, including his own, indicate the next ice age would not be expected for about 50,000 years, even without global warming.
CNN - Ganopolski said modeling studies, including his own, indicate the next ice age would not be expected for about 50,000 years, even without global warming.
WHERE:
KSL News - The Barnes Ice Cap is on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Arctic Canada.
CNN - The Barnes Ice Cap is on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Arctic Canada.
CNN - Captions identify meltwater ponds on the ice cap’s southwest side and meltwater channels on its northeast side.
WHEN:
KSL News - The Laurentide Ice Sheet existed around 20,000 years ago; the Barnes Ice Cap began regrowing roughly 2,000 years ago and began shrinking around 1960.
CNN - The Laurentide Ice Sheet existed around 20,000 years ago; the Barnes Ice Cap began regrowing roughly 2,000 years ago and began shrinking around 1960.
KSL News - Young said the ice cap would have taken thousands of years to grow large enough to affect people’s everyday lives.
CNN - Young said the ice cap would have taken thousands of years to grow large enough to affect people’s everyday lives.
WHY:
KSL News - The study authors associate the ice cap’s regrowth with cooler temperatures and its reversal with rising summer temperatures linked to human-driven climate change and greenhouse-gas emissions.
CNN - The study authors associate the ice cap’s regrowth with cooler temperatures and its reversal with rising summer temperatures linked to human-driven climate change and greenhouse-gas emissions.
HOW:
KSL News - Researchers dated long-dead mosses entombed as the ice advanced and tested nearby rocks for a rare radioactive isotope that accumulates after exposure to air.
CNN - Researchers dated long-dead mosses entombed as the ice advanced and tested nearby rocks for a rare radioactive isotope that accumulates after exposure to air.
KSL News - The Barnes Ice Cap is frozen to bedrock and does not slide, preserving plants that it covered as it grew.
CNN - The Barnes Ice Cap is frozen to bedrock and does not slide, preserving plants that it covered as it grew.
(UPDATED October 30, 2026 10:35 UTC)
The Barnes Ice Cap began regrowing, but rising temperatures reversed its growth before a new ice age developed. Researchers say cooler conditions fueled regrowth, while human-driven warming later caused the cap to shrink. Experts caution the brief advance doesn’t prove a new glacial cycle had begun.
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(UPDATED October 30, 2026 04:02 UTC)
A study argues that the Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin Island briefly began a new glaciation, regrowing after reaching its smallest size about 3,000 years ago, but shrinking again as summer temperatures rose with human-driven climate change. Researchers dated ancient mosses buried by advancing ice and tested nearby rocks; geochemist Nicolás Young said the regrowth was “just getting started” before it stopped. Physicist Andrey Ganopolski cautioned that the growth was not enough to show a new ice age had begun, and said models suggest the next one is not expected for about 50,000 years even without global warming.