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In the Pliocene (about two-five million years ago) global climate fluctuated with a period corresponding well to the 41-thousand-year cycle of changes in the Earth's axis obliquity. Then, this period disappeared, despite the fact that the obliquity cycle even slightly increased its swing and, therefore, the climatic response to this external climate forcing would have only strengthened. By analyzing paleoclimatic records covering the whole Pliocene and Pleistocene epoch, we show that the climatic response to the obliquity cycle simply became unstable, and therefore unobservable. At the same time, through the period-doubling bifurcation, which is well-known in dynamical system theory, new stable, and so observable, climatic fluctuations have been excited with an approximately doubled period. Further, these fluctuations experienced several secondary bifurcations, and, as a result, their periods increased even more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet has been calculated based on instrumental estimates of the grounded ice discharge and snow accumulation data. The boundaries and sectional areas of the main ice catchment basins in West and East Antarctica have been determined, and the data on the grounded ice discharge and snow accumulation in these basins have been systematized. The intensity of accumulation and ablation processes in Antarctica has noticeably increased over the last 50 years. The mass balance of the ice sheet in East Antarctica has been and remains positive, while in West Antarctica it was positive in the middle of the last century and has become negative by now. The mass balance of the entire Antarctic Ice Sheet has been and remains positive, while the mass growth has noticeably decreased over the last 50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]