What is an ice age?
Q: What is an ice age?
A: An ice age is a period of time when the Earth's climate experiences very low temperatures, resulting in the expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers.
Q: What is the definition of 'ice age' in palaeoclimatology?
A: In palaeoclimatology, 'ice age' refers to the period of extensive ice sheets in the recent Pleistocene period.
Q: How many times have ice ages occurred in the past?
A: Ice ages have occurred a number of times in the past.
Q: Which era saw the greatest and longest ice age?
A: The greatest and longest ice age took place in the Proterozoic era, before multi-cellular eukaryotes evolved.
Q: What happens to sea levels during ice ages?
A: During ice ages, sea levels drop as water is held by the large ice sheets at the poles.
Q: What factors affect how much sea levels drop during ice ages?
A: The amount of sea level drop during ice ages depends on several factors, such as the duration of the cold period.
Q: What are the consequences of ice ages?
A: The consequences of ice ages include the expansion of ice sheets, lower sea levels and colder temperatures.
