Arikah Map

Timeline of glaciation

There have been four major periods of glaciation in the Earth's past. The first, and possibly most severe, may have occurred from 800 Ma to 600 Ma (million years ago, the late Proterozoic Age) and it has been suggested that it produced a "Snowball Earth" in which the earth iced over completely. It has been suggested also that the end of this cold period was responsible for the subsequent Cambrian Explosion, a time of rapid diversification of multicelled life during the Cambrian era. However, this theory is recent and controversial.

A minor series of glaciations occurred from 460 Ma to 430 Ma. There were extensive glaciations from 350 to 250 Ma. The present Pleistocene ice age has seen more or less extensive glaciation on 40,000 and later, 100,000 year cycles. The last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago.


Contents

Pleistocene glacial cycles

Timeline of glaciation:Glacial and interglacial cycles as represented by Atmospheric CO2, measured from ice core samples going back 650,000 years
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Glacial and interglacial cycles as represented by Atmospheric CO2, measured from ice core samples going back 650,000 years

Originally, the periods were named after characteristic geological features, and these names vary from region to region. It is now perhaps more common (before the previous interglacial to the current (Holocene) one, the Eemian) to refer to periods by their Marine isotopic stage number. The marine record preserves all the past glaciations; the land-based evidence is less complete because successive glaciations may wipe out evidence of their predecessors. Hence the "names" system is incomplete: the Pastonian glaciation is MIS63, i.e., the 30th interglacial before present.

The last glacial and interglacial phases of the Pleistocene are named, from most recent to most distant, as follows. Dates shown are in thousand years BCE.

Backwards
Glacial
Index		 Name
Alpine		 Name
N. American		 Name
N. European		 Name
Great Britain		 Inter/Glacial Period (ka) MIS Epoch
     Flandrian interglacial present – 12 MIS1 Holocene
1st Würm Wisconsinan Weichsel
or Vistula		 Devensian glacial period 12 – 110 MIS2-4
& 5a-d		 Pleistocene
 Riss-WürmSangamonEemianIpswichian interglacial 110 – 130 MIS5e
2ndRissIllinoianSaaleWolstonian or Gipping glacial period 130 – 200 MIS6
  Mindel-Riss Yarmouth Holstein Hoxnian interglacial(s) 200 – 300/380 MIS7
3rd – 6th Mindel Kansan Elster Anglian glacial period(s) 300/380 – 455 
  Günz-Mindel Aftonian  Cromerian interglacial(s) 455 – 620 
7thGünzNebraskanMenapianBeestonian glacial period 620 – 680 

Other older periods of the Pleistocene

Name Inter/Glacial Period (ka) MIS Epoch
Waalian interglacial 470 – 540  Pleistocene
Donau II glacial period 540 – 550 
Tiglian interglacial 550 – 585 
Donau I glacial period 585 – 600 
Pastonian interglacial interglacial 600 – 800 MIS63
Pre-Pastonian glaciation glacial period 800 – 1300 
Bramertonian Interglacial interglacial 1300 – 1550 

The Brunhes-Matuyama reversal occurred 780,000 years ago, approximately coincident with MIS19, the "Cromerian Complex" interglacial I, and can be used to date sediment cores.

Major glacial periods

Timeline of glaciation:500 million year record shows current and previous two major glacial periods
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500 million year record shows current and previous two major glacial periods
Name Period (Ma) Period Era
  30 - present Neogene Cenozoic
Karoo 360 - 260 Carboniferous and Permian Paleozoic
Andean-Saharan 450 - 420 Ordovician and Silurian Paleozoic
Cryogenian
(or Sturtian-Varangian)		 800 - 635 Cryogenian Neoproterozoic
Huronian 2100 - 2400 Siderian and Rhyacian Paleoproterozoic

References

See also

Categories


Climate change | Glaciology | History of climate | Geology timelines

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