science

Late Cenozoic Ice Age

Late Cenozoic Ice Age is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Late Cenozoic Ice Age rather than just read about it. In short: The Late Cenozoic Ice Age, or Antarctic Glaciation, began around 33.9 million years ago at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary and is ongoing. It is Earth's current ice age or icehouse period.

Key takeaways

Late Cenozoic Ice Age belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Late Cenozoic Ice Age to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Late Cenozoic Ice Age from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Late Cenozoic Ice Age, or Antarctic Glaciation, began around 33.9 million years ago at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary and is ongoing. It is Earth's current ice age or icehouse period. Its beginning is marked by the formation of the Antarctic ice sheets. Around 6 million years after the start of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet had formed, and around 14 million years ago it had reached its current extent. In the last 3 million years, glaciations have spread to the northern hemisphere. It commenced with Greenland becoming increasingly covered by an ice sheet in late Pliocene (2.9-2.58 Mya) During the Pleistocene Epoch (starting 2.58 Mya), the Quaternary glaciation developed with decreasing mean temperatures and increasing amplitudes between glacials and interglacials. During the glacial periods of the Pleistocene, large areas of northern North America and northern Eurasia have been covered by ice sheets.

History of discovery and naming In 1837, German naturalist Karl Schimper coined the term Eiszeit, meaning ice age (or ice time for a more literal translation). For a long time, the term referred only to glacial periods. Over time, this developed into the concept that they were all part of a much longer ice age. The concept that the Earth is currently in an ice age that began around 30 million years ago can be dated back to at least 1966. As a geologic time period, the Late Cenozoic Ice Age was used at least as early as 1973.

The climate before the polar ice caps

The last greenhouse period began around 255 million years ago during the late Permian Period at the end of the Late Paleozoic icehouse. It lasted all through the time of the non-avian dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, and ended around 33.9 million years ago during the Paleogene Period. This greenhouse period lasted around 221.1 million years. The hottest part of the last greenhouse earth was during the Paleogene Period. This was a hothouse period that lasted from around 65 to 55 million years ago. The hottest part of this torrid age was the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, which lasted from around 55.9-55.7 million years ago. Average global temperatures were around 86 °F (30 °C). This was only the second time that Earth reached this level of warmth since the Precambrian. The other time was during the Paleozoic Era, which ran from around 538.8-485.4 million years ago. During the early Eocene, Australia and South America were connected to Antarctica. Around 53 million years ago during the Eocene, summer high temperatures in Antarctica were around 77 °F (25 °C). Temperatures during winter were around 50 °F (10 °C). It did not frost during the winter. The climate was so warm that trees grew in Antarctica. Palm trees grew on the coastal lowlands, and beech trees and conifers grew on the hills just inland from the coast. As the global climate became cooler, the planet was seeing a decrease in forests, and an increase in savannas. Animals were evolving to have a larger body size.

Glaciation of the southern hemisphere

Australia drifted away from Antarctica forming the Tasmanian Passage, and South America drifted away from Antarctica forming the Drake Passage. This caused the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a current of cold water surrounding Antarctica. This current still exists today, and is a major reason for why Antarctica has such an exceptionally cold climate. The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary 33.9 million years ago was the transition from the last greenhouse period to the present icehouse climate. At this point, when around 25% more of Antarctica's surface was above sea level and able to support land-based ice sheets relative to today, carbon dioxide levels had dropped to 750 ppm. This was the beginning of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. This was when the ice sheets reached the ocean, the defining point. Around 29.2 million years ago, there were three ice caps in the high elevations of Antarctica. One ice cap formed in the Dronning Maud Land. Another ice cap formed in the Gamburtsev Mountain Range. Another ice cap formed in the Transantarctic Mountains. At this point, the ice caps weren't very big yet. Most of Antarctica wasn't covered by ice. Around 28.7 million years ago, the Gamburtsev ice cap was now much larger due to the colder climate. carbon dioxide continued to fall and the climate continued to get colder. Around 28.1 million years ago, the Gamburtsev and Transantarctic ice caps merged into a main central ice cap. At this point, ice was now covering a majority of the continent. The Dronning Maud ice cap merged with the main ice cap around 27.9 million years ago. This was the formation of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Global refrigeration set in around 22 million years ago. Around 15 million years ago was the warmest part of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, with average global temperatures around 65.1 °F (18.4 °C). Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were around 700 ppm. This time period was called the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). Around 14 million years ago, the Antarctic ice sheets were similar in size and volume to present times. Glaciers were starting to form in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere. Around 3.5 million years ago, there was a sudden but brief warming period.

Glaciation of the northern hemisphere

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Late Cenozoic Ice Age

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Late Cenozoic Ice Age claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Late Cenozoic Ice Age before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Late Cenozoic Ice Age ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Late Cenozoic Ice Age

In research: Late Cenozoic Ice Age appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Late Cenozoic Ice Age in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Late Cenozoic Ice Age is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Antarctic region, Aquitanian age, Burdigalian, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Late Cenozoic Ice Age outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Late Cenozoic Ice Age in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Late Cenozoic Ice Age means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Late Cenozoic Ice Age out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Late Cenozoic Ice Age in simple terms?

The Late Cenozoic Ice Age, or Antarctic Glaciation, began around 33.9 million years ago at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary and is ongoing. It is Earth's current ice age or icehouse period.

Why does Late Cenozoic Ice Age matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Late Cenozoic Ice Age?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Late Cenozoic Ice Age.