Ice age

An ice age is a period of time when decreased temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere results in the prolonged presence or expansion of continental alpineglaciers and polar ice caps. The term is applied in several different senses to very long and comparatively short periods of cooling. An ice age may consist of numerous sub-periods where the global temperature and glaciation fluctuates, with the colder periods called glacials, and relatively warmer periods called interglacials.

Earth's climate alternates between icehouse and greenhouse periods based on whether there are glaciers on the planet, and for most of Earth's history it has been in a greenhouse period with little or no permanent ice. Over the very long term, Earth is currently in an icehouse period called the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, which started 34 million years ago. There have been colder and warmer periods within this ice age, and the term is also applied to the Quaternary glaciation, which started 2.58 million years ago. Within this period, the Last Interglacial ended 115,000 years ago, and was followed by the Last Glacial Period (LGP), which gave way to the current warm Holocene, which started 11,700 years ago. The most severe cold period of the LGP was the Last Glacial Maximum, which reached its maximum between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. The most recent glaciation was the Younger Dryas between 12,800 and 11,700 years ago.