A hundred years of Milutin Milankovic's climate change theory-geological implications

Abstract

Milanković’s cycles theory published hundred years ago is the most important theory in climate science and had great influence on Earth disciplines. Nevertheless, his work waited for more than fifty years for confirmation. It could be said that Milanković’s work had most influence in creation of Astronomic Time Scale, supporting of continental drift hypothesis and palaeoclimatology implications. Positive results of the implementation of the astronomic time scale to the Neogene stratigraphy initiated the application of this method within the Mesozoic, and lately also to the Paleozoic sediments. Milanković’s manuscript of astronomical forcing of climate changes led to fruitful cooperation with Alfred Wegener who was searching for additional arguments to validate his continental drift hypothesis. The factors that cause climate changes enable insight to the geological past, but also the possibility to model the climate conditions which await us in the future. Climate change prediction allowed people, as only being aware of its influence, to act preventively and take all measurements needed to reduce greenhouse gasses emission.