Scientists have discovered that the orbital movements of Earth play a crucial role in the onset of ice ages.

According to their forecasts, widespread freezing will not occur for at least 10,000 years; however, human activities may prevent this from happening altogether.

This research has been published in the journal Science, as reported by IFLScience.

Researchers analyzed the changes in our planet's orbital movement alongside global temperature fluctuations, leading to the conclusion that slight variations in Earth's position in space, including eccentricity, tilt, and precession, could be potential triggers for ice ages.

The tilt of the planet affects seasonal changes over a cycle lasting 41,000 years, influencing the amount of solar energy received by higher latitudes during summer.

Conversely, precession alters the peak of summer intensity at mid and high latitudes over a period of 21,000 years.

The authors assert that both parameters and their interactions are significant, yet precession has a greater impact on the onset of ice ages, while the change in tilt is crucial for peaks during interglacial periods.

By comparing orbital parameter changes with ice ages, scientists found that eccentricity varies within cycles lasting 100,000 years.

"Over the past millions of years, we have identified a predictable pattern in Earth's climate changes between ice ages and warm periods like today, which are referred to as interglacial periods", stated Lorraine Lisiecki, a co-author of the study and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

She added that she and her colleagues were "astonished" to discover such clear trends in the influence of orbital parameters on climate change.

"It's hard to believe that this pattern had not been seen before. This is important, as it confirms that the natural climate changes we observe on Earth are largely predictable rather than random or chaotic", the scientist admitted.

The researchers calculated that the next ice age would be expected to occur in about 10,000 years; however, human actions have significantly impacted natural climate changes due to CO2 emissions.

"Such a transition to an ice age in 10,000 years is very unlikely", believes Gregor Norr, a co-author of the research from the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Previously, we discussed the Little Ice Age, which lasted from the early 14th century to the mid-19th century, and its impact on life in Europe.