How could mankind of ancient times cause significant climate change?
They don't posses any advanced knowledge, their knowledge is in fact irrelevant, just their possible actions (it doesn't matter how irrational those actions might be) that would cause significant environmental changes.
- Any kind of climate change. Making Earth less hospitable, making a very earth-like world more like Earth - it doesn't matter.
- A long period of time is allowed (let's say a maximum timeframe is 100 000 years). Natural climate change doesn't count. Reaching industrialization doesn't count, so let's assume we halt their civilization's development at an earlier point if it takes them too long.
- Whole mankind globally is involved.
- If it would still not be possible, what changes to the world would allow it?
How could mankind of ancient times cause significant climate change?
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1 answer
Redirecting rivers may be some help by causing desertification and changes in local rainfall. Directing them into blind valleys may cause salt pans that reflect sunlight locally which may not be desired.
The best way to melt ice is to cover it with something that will absorb more sunlight. A black cloth over the edges of the north and south icecaps that is moved in as it melts would eventually raise sea levels and change salinity enough to interrupt the normal temperate currents from the traditionally habitable zones. They zones may move or almost disappear. Alternately slag and ash may be used but this will be covered with snow so something that will be shaken clean and lifted above new snow by thousands of conscript workers. As soon as the ice layer is melted and the ground surface is reached it could be covered with black pitch, slag or stones to increase the local air temperature and the black cloth repositioned over the retreating ice sheet. This could be tested first on all inland glaciers as the system is deployed.
Deforestation may also work due to albedo changes. It may also affect the greenhouse CO2 levels, however it may eventually be cancelled by some virulent ocean plankton that starts to grow in the increased CO2 reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Alternately if all plants are killed then animals will have no oxygen to breath. A plague that eats all plant life should be enough to test the theory :-/
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