The last million years

This page is part of the topic Antarctic climate and environment history in the pre-instrumental period

This section describes the Antarctic climate and environmental history of the last 1 Ma, including the development of the current pattern of glacial-interglacial cycles. This is followed by a description of the transition from the height of the last ice age – the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, c. 21 ka BP), to our present interglacial state, a period known as Termination 1. It includes an account of the deglaciation of the continental shelf, coastal margin and continental interior and the impact of this loss of ice on global sea level. Finally we review the influence of changing sea ice distributions on climate.

Pages in this topic

1. Glacial interglacial cycles
2. The transition to Holocene interglacial conditions
3. Deglaciation of the continental shelf, coastal margin and continental interior
4. Antarctic deglaciation and its impact on global sea level
5. Sea ice over the last million years