[From Dynamic Stratigraphy, by RK Matthews]
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| Scientists found the continuous sediment sequences needed to test the Milankovitch hypothesis in the deep sea. But how would they extract a climate signal from them? To first approximation, the ratio of O-18 to O-16 in sea water varies with the size of polar ice caps because O-16 atoms evaporates from ocean water more easily than O-18, while O-18 atoms rain out more easily. Because this ratio is preserved in the oxygen atoms in marine carbonates, scientists have a means of assessing the size of polar ice caps through time. |
[From Dynamic Stratigraphy, by RK Matthews]
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