Milankovitch Cycles

An example of a natural climate forcing would be the Milankovitch cycles, named after the Serbian astronomer and mathematician who calculated their magnitude. These periods of glacial and interglacial climatic regimes are caused by changes in the circumnavigation of the earth around the sun. Changes in the Earth’s axial tilt, eccentricity, and precession can change the seasonal amount of solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth even if the amount of solar radiation released by the Sun does not change.

Milutin Milankovitch

Milutin Milankovitch (1879-1958). Serbian astrophysicist best known for developing one of the most significant theories relating Earth motions and long-term climate change. Source: Milutin Milankovitch | NASA