Ice age

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An ice age is a period of time when decreased temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere results in the prolonged presence or expansion of continental alpine glaciers and polar ice caps. The term is applied in several different senses to very long and comparatively short periods of cooling. An ice age may consist of numerous sub-periods where the global temperature and glaciation fluctuates, with the colder periods called glacials, and relatively warmer periods called interglacials. Earth's climate alternates between icehouse and greenhouse periods based on whether there are glaciers on the planet, and for most of Earth's history it has been in a greenhouse period with little or no permanent ice. Over the very long term, Earth is currently in an icehouse period called the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, which started 34 million years ago. There have been colder and warmer periods within this ice age, and the term is also applied to the Quaternary glaciation, which started 2.58 million years ago...

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