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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Weather & Climate

Ice age

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

nounCommon term

In geology & earth sciences, ice age means: A long period in Earth's history when global temperatures were low and large ice sheets covered parts of the continents. The last glacial period ended about 11,700 years ago.

In Turkish: buzul çağı, buzul dönemi

How it is used

In everyday use, 'the Ice Age' means the most recent cold period. Scientists distinguish glacial periods, which are cold, from interglacials, which are warmer, like today. Evidence comes from glacial landforms, sediments and ice cores.

Example sentences

  1. During the last ice age, sea level was more than 100 metres lower than today.

  2. These boulders were carried here by ice during an ice age.

Common collocations

  • the last ice age
  • during an ice age
  • glacial period
  • interglacial period
  • glacierA large, slow-moving mass of ice formed from snow that builds up over many years and flows downhill under its own weight.
  • climateThe typical weather of a region over a long period, usually averaged over 30 years, including temperature, rainfall and wind.
  • greenhouse effectThe warming of the Earth's surface because gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane absorb heat given off by the ground and send part of it back down.
  • geologic time scaleThe system that divides the Earth's roughly 4.6-billion-year history into named units such as eons, eras, periods and epochs, based on rocks and fossils.

More terms: Weather & Climate

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