Interglacials

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Interglacials are a long period of warmth that separates glacials, or ice ages. The most recent interglacial periods took place during the second million years of the Pleistocene. "Hominid fossils found in association with animals known to occur in cold or warm climates, respectively, permit us to date them to glaical or interglacial periods"¹. Interglacials are not a remnant of the past. In fact, at present, the Earth is in the middle of an interglacial, and is part of a period of time known as the Quaternary Period. By analysing oxygen isotopes, we can then predict when the next ice age will occur.

Interglacials during the Pleistocene

During the Pleistocene, several ice ages were present. These were called glacials, or significant advances of continental ice sheets in North America and Europe. These glacial periods were separated by interglacials, which were extended periods of warm climate. With each advance of the glaciers, the climate of the world cooled, and huge ice sheets covered the northern areas of Europe and North America. Climates that are temperate today were once arctic during the glacials.

During the interglacials, the climate warmed and the tundra receded to the north following the ice sheets. Forests returned to areas that once supported the tundra vegetation. The ice sheets advanced and receded several times during the last glacial, which occurred during the time period (75,000 to 12,000 B.P.)

Brief periods of warmth that occurred during the last glacial are called interstadials. They differ from interglacials in that the do not last as long. Interglacials are a useful tool for anthropologists, as they can be used as a dating method for homonid fossils.

Throughout history, the earth has gone through many glacials and interglacials. Currently our earth is in the interglacial stage, which accounts for part of the annual rise of the global temperature.

References

Kottak, Conard Phillip. "Window on Humanity". New York, New York. 2005.

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