Robert Johnson- “new ice sheet growth depends less on cold temperatures than on strong moisture and very heavy snow fall in the northern hemisphere”

Present day distribution of ice

Ice Albedo

Ice albedo

Distribution of the earth’s heat

Slope/aspect north facing

•Land and sea differ in the ability to absorb heat/ transfer heat.•Sea is more transparent and can absorb down to 10m and then transfer to greater depths through circulation- wave and currents.•Sea also has a greater specific heat which is the amount of energy needed to raise temperature of 1 kg of substance to 1c expressed as kilojoulesWater 1.0Land 0.5•Water therefore needs 2x as much energy. During the summer it heats up more slowly than land •In the winter it is the reverse•Therefore places on the same latitude line can have very different temperatures / climate /supporting or not glaciers.Omsk Russia – 22c Shannon Ireland 5c but both on 53o north.

Effects of continentality