ESS101C
Prof.
Jin-Yi Yu
The Polar Position Hypothesis
qThe polar position hypothesis focused on latitudinal
position as a cause of glaciation of continents.
qThis hypothesis
suggested that ice sheets should appear on continents when they are located at polar
or near-polar latitudes.
qTo explain the occurrence of icehouse intervals, this
hypothesis calls not on worldwide climate changes but simply on the movements of
continents on tectonic plates.
qThis hypothesis can not explain the climate of the Late
Proterozoic Era, when both continents and
glaciers appear to have been situated at relatively low latitudes.
qIt can not explain
the warm Mesozoic Era when high-latitude continents were present but were almost
completely ice-free.
(from Earth’s Climate: Past and Future)