During an interglacial, sea levels rise as ice sheets and glaciers melt with the increase in temperature, thus resulting in an increase in volume of the ocean as water is heated.
Glacial/interglacial cycles. Refers to the glacial and interglacial periods throughout time, caused by variation in Earth's orbit. Periods with large ice sheets are known as glacial periods, and periods with reduced ice cover (such as the present) are known as interglacial periods.
: a warm period between glacial epochs.
We are in an interglacial period right now. It began at the end of the last glacial period, about 10,000 years ago. Scientists are still working to understand what causes ice ages. One important factor is the amount of light Earth receives from the Sun.
According to the Milankovitch theory, glacial periods are caused by three different changes in Earth's movement relative to the sun. These changes are cyclical, but they all occur at different rates. Earth's movement relative to the sun is always changing, and does not have a single repeating pattern.
the HoloceneThe most recent glacial period occurred between about 120,000 and 11,500 years ago. Since then, Earth has been in an interglacial period called the Holocene.
about 11,700 years agoAn interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene interglacial began at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,700 years ago.
The last glacial period started about 120,000 years ago and ended about 11,500 years ago. During interglacial periods of an ice age, the average global temperature increases. Ice sheets and glaciers get smaller. The climate is warmer and wetter than it is during glacial periods.
about 130,000 years agoThe Eemian (also called the last interglacial, Sangamonian Stage, Ipswichian, Mikulin, Kaydaky, penultimate, Valdivia or Riss-Würm) was the interglacial period which began about 130,000 years ago at the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and ended about 115,000 years ago at the beginning of the Last Glacial Period.
By analogy with the conditions during the Last Interglacial it is concluded that this cycle will remain moderately warm. With the end of the third cycle at about 18,800 years AP, the Present Interglacial will end and the First Future Glacial Age begin.
Currently, we are in a warm interglacial that began about 11,000 years ago. The last period of glaciation, which is often informally called the “Ice Age,” peaked about 20,000 years ago. At that time, the world was on average probably about 10°F (5°C) colder than today, and locally as much as 40°F (22°C) colder.
Abstract. Interglacials, including the present (Holocene) period, are warm, low land ice extent (high sea level), end-members of glacial cycles. Based on a sea level definition, we identify eleven interglacials in the last 800,000 years, a result that is robust to alternative definitions.