ASTRONOMICAL THEORY OF PALEOCLIMATE: A NEW CONCEPT

Abstract

Essentials of Milankovitch theory are considered in order to reveal its consistency with paleoclimatic and astronomical data obtained during the last 30 years. Numerical data calculated by Milankovitch are shown to be inappropriate for paleoclimatic interpretations due to a series of outlined reasons. A new concept of astronomical theory of paleoclimate is suggested. Its essence consists in the new, as compared to the previous one, substantiation of climatic influence of orbital elements variations, primarily of the eccentricity fluctuations during the last million years, whose impact is shown to be exclusively significant and decisive. The insolation-climatic diagram plotted for the last million years is well compatible with empirical paleoclimatic data (oxygen isotope records).