Canadian study: Climate change may have stopped a new ice age

A Canadian study suggests climate change may have halted the advance of the Barnes ice cap, potentially preventing a new ice age that had begun around 2,000 years ago. The Barnes ice cap in northeastern Canada expanded until the 1960s, marking what researchers call the start of a new glacial period. However, warming temperatures, with Canadian summers now 2.1 degrees Celsius hotter, reversed this growth and stopped the glaciation. Researchers used carbon-14 dating of vegetation to track the ice's expansion, identifying the recent growth as the beginning of a new ice age. The ice cap's potential disappearance could alter future glacial cycles, with effects possibly extending to Europe.