A comparison of competing explanations for the 100,000-yr ice age cycle

There currently exists no consensus as to the cause of the ice ages of the late Pleistocene. Many of the competing hypotheses have been formulated int o mathematical models which enables a rigorous comparison to be made. Spect ral analysis fails to distinguish rival models. Using regression analysis, we examine the relative performance of several models, each representative of a different type of modeling approach, as explanations of both the globa l ice volume and also the time rate of change of the global ice volume. We find there is no objective evidence in the record in favor of any particula r model. The respective merits of the different theories must therefore be judged on physical grounds.