Abstract
It has been suggested1â8 that variations in the latitudinal distribution of land and sea have been important in controlling climate, especially the initiation of glacial epochs, through geological time. It is thought that surface albedo may be increased and ice caps initiated by the placement of land (and hence snow cover) near the poles2,6or by the placement of land in low latitudes4,5,7 or the placement of land with extensive deserts in low latitudes8. I document here the relevant Phanerozoic landâsea variations based on recent global palaeogeographical reconstructions9, to assess total surface albedo variation and use these data to test the above mentioned hypotheses.
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Burrett, C. Phanerozoic landâsea and albedo variations as climate controls. Nature 296, 54â56 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/296054a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/296054a0
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