The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-05-12
The Cause of the Glacial Epochs.
From the Scientific American


tered in the center of the SUMS orbit
I Fourth, a retrogressiye motion round
the center of the suns orbit, and always
as the same rate as SOILS motion. Fifth
and last, motion at right angles TO the
plane of her.equator. 1t l. bv this mo-
tion that the earth's obliqnity to the
plane ofthe ecliptic Is gradually becom-
ing less and less.
1t was held by La Place and several
! other astronomers that the obliqnity of
the earth 10 the plane Of the eclipiic
would ever be permanent, and that the
earth would, as it were, rock to and fro,
never departing more than two or two
and half degrees from her present in
clined position" We claim that there
is not a power, neither in the earth nor
the sun, that will sustain that idea. The
earth must land we claim that the forces
in her and in the sun compel her to- re-
volve round an axis running through
4 her equator, as it were from one side of
it to the other: and thus comes first, say
I the equator, next her pole or poles, if you
will; next her equator again, next her
pole or poles; and 20 on for ever, To the
sun.
1t is by this motion Of the earth that
she has had all her glacial epochs; and
the motion is not at all peculiar to the
earth. No doubt all the planets have
seen their glacial times, for they all re-
volve in the manner alluded to. See
Uranus at the present hour; he is pas
sing now through such an epoch. Fear
| fully grand it must be, compared to
those of the earth; but it is nothing to
what it would be were the plane of his
equator in the plane of the ecliptic or OF
! solar motion. No, that is the period
when the vastly broad and thick sheets
\ of ice gather over and all around hir
| poles for many thousands of miles
I Look at Jupiter, and think of the vast
I ice sheets which must now and for ma
and nearly one half of each hemisphere
How exceedingly thick and vastly
broad must Jupiter'S glacial ice fields be
at this present moment.
/ Turning to the earth, we find, by
/ quoting from certain of our authors,
that at the beginning of this century the
obliquity was 230 on 54.7S<>, and that it
shall be, by the end of this century, 23o
/ 27\ 9.0S". That gives, for the nine
teenth century. 1910" Now suppo-ing
| the motion to be regular and UNIFORM
the earth will complete her revolution,
and, say, her glacial epoch revolution,
1 in a period of about 1882 200 years.
| Therefore, we have four glacial epochs
/ in less time than three millions Of years
Five hundred and twenty-three thons-
and three hundred years ago, the poles
of the earth lay in the plane ofthe eclip-
tic. Then each pole, during its winter.
would be subjected to intense cold and
| darkness for more than three months,
and IN summer to thirty days (720 hours)
of lmost perpendicular sunshine. Dur
ing such epochs as that, tropical vegeta-
tion would grow right at the poles, and
animals, accordingly, would feed and
dwell there. Broad and thick sheets Of
! ice would accumulate annually, and COW
er nearly whole hemisphere at time,
although but thin around their edges
And the speedy thawing of them would
cause great foodings and carvings of
debris from certain localities to other
parts. But now to the coming epoch.
In about 1S4, 800 years from now, the
equator of the earth will again lie in the
plane of the ecliptic That will be the
middle of one of the greatest glacial
epochs which come TO our earth. 1t
comes on and goes of gradually, of
conrse, and therefore it will begin some
Fifty or sixty thousand years before that,
and be gone in another fifty or sixty
thousand years.
Then will be the time when the vast
circular fields of ice grow in thickness TO
perhaps several miles, especially at and
near the poles Think of ice accumulat-
ing for perhaps 10000 years, and con-
ceive of it's thickness. Think of the at
tractive force of the sun drawing such
huge fields .outwardly toward the fqua-
tor, and causing them to move with an
eastward tendency all the time; and see
how it becomes possible for the ice mass
to tear the crest off one mountain and
set it down on the top of another lying
in its path. 1t was, doubtless. during
the latest one of the kind tthat is, some
thing near 1.231 900 years ago. that the
crest of certain mountain was placed
on top of another. | forget their names
just now, but the fact is we'll known to
geologists. sat
These are the periods which, as ii
were, turn animal and vegetable creation
upside down. The gradual change ot
inclination of the earth to the sun caus.
es all her climatic changes; and thus
creatures and vegetation, foreign to GER.
tain localities now, will be found in 9th
ers than they are now in, in the far fin
ture, as has been the case many times II
the past; for the earth has seen several
glacial cycles, and her animal and vege
table genera may truly be called wan
dering, restless, and ever shifting things
for neither, individually, has any PEI
manent abiding place on the earth. Nc
not any one thing!
/ humbly recommend the above theory
to geologists and other scientists, mel
whose practical knowledge and superior
talent can show the facts up to better
advantage than I can do.
n JOHN IIEPBURN.
Gloucester City, N. J.
He was gentleman Of perhaps sixty
: years of age; professed Christian o
steady habits. He stood upon the cor
: ner of the street for several hours durin!
Wednesday. Wednesday was wind,