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Paleoclimate
Glacial Climate (From 2.5 million years ago to the present)
During glacial periods, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane were lower than they are today, and it was also dry and dusty.
In between the glacial periods are "interglacials", which last about 100,000 years. At the height of the last ice age (about 20,000 years ago):
Links and resources
Glacial Climate (From 2.5 million years ago to the present)
During glacial periods, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane were lower than they are today, and it was also dry and dusty.
In between the glacial periods are "interglacials", which last about 100,000 years. At the height of the last ice age (about 20,000 years ago):
- ice over Canada was about 3 km (1.8 miles) thick!
- the global sea level was lower by about 125 m (410 feet)
- there was no ocean between Alaska and Asia, and early peoples were able to
migrate into North America
- atmospheric CO2 levels were at 180 parts per million (compared to an
average interglacial value of 280 ppm, and today's value of about 380 ppm)
- Greenland was 10C cooler and the tropics were about 4C cooler
Links and resources
