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A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate between glacial periods. The Last Glacial Period ended about 15,000 years ago. [1]
Within ice ages, there exist periods of more severe glacial conditions and more temperate conditions, referred to as glacial periods and interglacial periods, respectively. The Earth is currently in such an interglacial period of the Quaternary glaciation, with the Last Glacial Period of the Quaternary having ended approximately 11,700 years ago.
Last Glacial Period, not to be confused with the Last Glacial Maximum or Late Glacial Maximum below. (The following events also fall into this period.) 48,000–28,000: Mousterian Pluvial wet in North Africa 26,500–19,000: Last Glacial Maximum, what is often meant in popular usage by "Last Ice Age" 16,000–13,000
An illustration of ice age Earth at its glacial maximum. A "greenhouse Earth" is a period during which no continental glaciers exist anywhere on the planet. [6] Additionally, the levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (such as water vapor and methane) are high, and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) range from 28 °C (82.4 °F) in the tropics to 0 °C (32 °F) in the polar regions. [7]
During this warming period, called a termination, [3] huge Northern hemisphere ice sheets melted away; sea level rose about 120 meters (390 ft); and interglacial climate emerged across the planet in a few thousand years. In case of the termination of the last glacial cycle, the retreat of continental ice sheets in the Northern hemisphere began ...
Movement (of ice) in a constant direction. Fracture Brittle failure (breaking of ice) under the stress raised when movement is too rapid to be accommodated by creep. It happens, for example, as the central part of a glacier moves faster than the edges. Glacial landform Collective name for the morphologic structures in/on/under/around a glacier ...
These can be divided broadly into prehistorical periods and historical periods (when written records began to be kept). In archaeology and anthropology , prehistory is subdivided into the three-age system , this list includes the use of the three-age system as well as a number of various designation used in reference to sub-ages within the ...
During the Quaternary glaciation, ice sheets appeared, expanding during glacial periods and contracting during interglacial periods. Since the end of the last glacial period, only the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have survived, while other sheets formed during glacial periods, such as the Laurentide Ice Sheet, have completely melted.