THINK Storm Hector is bad? Spare a thought for the weather two million years ago – when almost all of Scotland was under a mammoth ice sheet.
“Breakthrough” research has found the frozen cover, which also blanketed Ireland and Northern England and stretched all the way to Scandinavia, lasted much longer than previously understood.
Teams from Aberdeen and Manchester universities checked sediment cores and seismic data from beneath the North Sea.
According to study leader Dr Brice Rea, of Aberdeen University, the results “completely change” our understanding of the distant past and the conditions that have shaped our world today.
The ice sheets were so extensive that they reached down 250m into what was then a much narrower North Sea, and generated icebergs almost 300m high.
Until now, it was thought that the massive glaciation first happened 1.1m years ago.
However, the research, which also involved Sheffield and Queen’s University Belfast and is published in the Science Advances journal, shows it took place 2.5m years into the past,
It said a British Isles ice sheet met its Scandivian counterpart over the waterway 1.9m years ago.
Dr Rea commented: “Coalescence of the British ice sheet and ice from Scandinavia, which we show occurred at about 1.9m years ago, wasn’t thought to have happened until about 780,000 years ago.
“Our findings completely change our understanding of how far back in time large ice sheets covered the British Isles and merged with ice from Scandinavia.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here