Earth System Dynamics
Earth System Dynamics
ESD
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1569-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1569-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
Research article
 | 
26 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 26 Sep 2025

100 kyr ice age cycles as a timescale-matching problem

Takahito Mitsui, Peter Ditlevsen, Niklas Boers, and Michel Crucifix

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Latest update: 14 Nov 2026
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Short summary
The late Pleistocene glacial cycles are dominated by a 100-kyr periodicity, rather than other major astronomical periods like 19, 23, 41, or 400 kyr. Various models propose distinct mechanisms to explain this, but their diversity may obscure the key factor behind the 100-kyr periodicity. We propose a timescale-matching hypothesis, suggesting that the ice-sheet climate system responds to astronomical forcing at ∼100 kyr because its intrinsic timescale is closer to 100 kyr than to other periods.
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