Glacial epoch
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A specific geological time period: Refers to the Pleistocene epoch, a period from about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, characterized by extensive ice sheets and the evolution of modern humans.
- Any ice age period: Refers to any geological period during which large portions of the Earth's surface were covered by continental ice sheets.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Scientists study fossils from the glacial epoch to understand climate change.
- During the last glacial epoch, sea levels were much lower than they are today.
Advanced Usage
- "the Glacial Epoch": Often capitalized when referring specifically to the Pleistocene epoch.
- The megafauna of the Glacial Epoch, like mammoths, became extinct.
Variants and Related Words
- Ice age: A synonym for a glacial epoch.
- Glacial period: A subdivision within an ice age when ice cover is at its maximum extent.
- Interglacial: A warmer period between glacial advances within an ice age.
Synonyms
- Ice age
- Pleistocene epoch (for the specific recent period)
Related Phrases
- Glacial-interglacial cycle: The repeated fluctuation between cold glacial periods and warmer interglacial periods.
- The Earth's climate has undergone many glacial-interglacial cycles.
Noun
- from two million to 11 thousand years ago; extensive glaciation of the northern hemisphere; the time of human evolution
- any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface
- the most recent ice age was during the Pleistocene