interglacial
Between the freezes
An interglacial is a warm period between ice ages, when glaciers retreat and temperatures rise.
The current interglacial, the Holocene, began roughly 12,000 years ago.
As an adjective, interglacial describes conditions or events occurring during such periods: interglacial climate, interglacial deposits.
Ancient glacial geological period
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- QuaternaryLast 2.6 million years
- Milankovitch cyclesOrbital shifts affecting climate
- geochronologyStudy of geological ages
stratigraphy · faunal succession · sediments · core samples · oxygen isotopes · oxygen-18 · carbon-14 · pollen
Retreat of glaciers
- ice sheetThick glacial landmass covering
- moraineGlacier-deposited debris pile
- meltwaterWater from melted ice
- permafrost thawPermanently frozen soil melting
cryosphere · geomorphology · till · outwash · erratic · fjord · ice core · ablation
Species over 44 kilograms
- mammothExtinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- faunaAnimal life collectively
- floraPlants of a region
paleobotany · paleoecology · fossil record · extinction · migration · tree line · grasslands · boreal forest
Increasing in temperature
- temperateMild, avoiding extremes
- mildModerate in intensity
- sea level riseIncreasing ocean surface height
- temperatureMeasured heat intensity
precipitation · vegetation · coral reefs · coastlines · monsoons · humidity · rainfall · growing seasons
Era of human dominance
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
- domesticationAdapting species to captivity
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- civilizationsComplex organized human societies
pottery · metallurgy · Bronze Age · human migration · land use · deforestation
Pleistocene
Ancient glacial geological period
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- QuaternaryLast 2.6 million years
- Milankovitch cyclesOrbital shifts affecting climate
geochronology · stratigraphy · faunal succession · sediments · core samples · oxygen isotopes · oxygen-18 · carbon-14 · pollen · diatoms
deglaciation
Retreat of glaciers
- ice sheetThick glacial landmass covering
- moraineGlacier-deposited debris pile
- meltwaterWater from melted ice
permafrost thaw · cryosphere · geomorphology · till · outwash · erratic · fjord · ice core · ablation · terminus
megafauna
Species over 44 kilograms
- mammothExtinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- faunaAnimal life collectively
flora · paleobotany · paleoecology · fossil record · extinction · migration · tree line · grasslands · boreal forest · refugia
warming
Increasing in temperature
- temperateMild, avoiding extremes
- mildModerate in intensity
- sea level riseIncreasing ocean surface height
temperature · precipitation · vegetation · coral reefs · coastlines · monsoons · humidity · rainfall · growing seasons · biodiversity
anthropocene
Era of human dominance
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
- domesticationAdapting species to captivity
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
civilizations · pottery · metallurgy · Bronze Age · human migration · land use · deforestation
- Ice Ageice age, mammoths, saber-tooth cat, mammoth, woolly mammoth
- glacierscrevasse, moraine, iceberg, firn, ice shelves
- Climate Erasice age, Little Ice Age, cooling period, ice ages, icehouse
- climate patternsEl Nino, La Nina, ice age, warming, cooling
- Ice Agesice age, ice sheet, Pleistocene, ice cores, Little Ice Age
- glaciationice age, ice sheet, Pleistocene, Quaternary, Kansan
interval, glacial, glacier, glaciers, glaciation, glaciology, glaciated, glaciologist, subglacial