When will the Holocene epoch end?

Who knows? All scientists can do is make predictions. Most of us will probably be long gone before the current geological era ends.

If I ever get my crystal ball to work I’ll tell ya…for a small fee of course…

Good question. It is the current warm interglacial period of this current ice age, and began about 12,000 years ago. I suppose geologically, it will end when we either fall into another period of massive glaciation or emit so much CO2 we melt all the Earth’s glaciers permanently and set the whole cycle completely off the charts.

But what would we call the new age that ends this one. Holocene is from the Greek meaning holos (whole or in entirety) and kainos (new or recent); i.e., entirely recent. So what’s more recent than entirely recent, or do we rename this epoch once it’s done and move Holocene up to whatever comes next?

unfortunatly our efforts to prevent global warming began to succeed. Little did we know we were about to enter another ice age.

Muahahhaahah

I doubt we have succeeded, Doc. The deep ocean temperature fell a few tenths of a degree this past decade when it had been expected to rise. That fall should indicate the onset of cooling. It may relate to so much cold water pouring into the coeans from glacier melting. That’s the mechanism that is theorized to disrupt the oceanic conveyor and limit warming.

But global air temperatures so far haven’t cooperated this past decade was the warmest since records have been kept. 2005 was the warmest on record and 2009 the second warmest. Truth told, there is no model for what happens when all earth’s cooling mechanisms kick in but we keep pouring 130 times more CO2 into the atmosphere each year than all of earth’s volcanic activity contributes. At some point, the CO2 has got to overwhelm any thermostat.

@ETpro I know, I just hungered for a new version of the modern apocalypse myth. The current one needs a little dressing up. We do need to be environmentally responsible. We should start by outlawing hamburgers, and forcing people to walk to work. (no cow farts, no car farts)

Yeah, Doc, I know. But run on that platform in the USA today and see how far you get/ :-)