How did large ice sheets affect jet streams and storm tracks during glacial periods?
During the Quaternary period, the presence of massive continental ice sheets significantly altered atmospheric circulation patterns.12
The physical height of these ice sheets, combined with the domes of cold, high-pressure air that formed over them, displaced the polar jet streams. This displacement forced storm tracks to shift southward, steering them toward the glacial margins and into regions beyond.2
Furthermore, the cold air sinking over these expansive ice sheets generated powerful katabatic winds. These winds had a drying effect on the land surrounding the glaciers, contributing to the development of periglacial landscapes characterized by permafrost and tundra, while vast, cold, and dry grasslands known as steppes formed in areas further removed from the ice.2