How long can we expect the present Interglacial period to last?
No one knows for sure. In the Devils Hole, Nevada, paleoclimate record, the last four interglacials lasted over ~20,000 years with the warmest portion being a relatively stable period of 10,000 to 15,000 years duration. This is consistent with what is seen in the Vostok ice core from Antarctica and several records of sea level high stands. These data suggest that an equally long duration should be inferred for the current interglacial period as well. Work in progress on Devils Hole data for the period 60,000 to 5,000 years ago indicates that current interglacial temperature conditions may have already persisted for 17,000 years. Other workers have suggested that the current interglacial might last tens of thousands of years.
Related Content
How many glaciers currently exist in Alaska?
How old is glacier ice?
Was all of Alaska covered by glaciers during the Pleistocene Ice Age?
Are today's glaciers leftovers from the Pleistocene ice age?
Is glacier ice a type of rock?
Why is glacier ice blue?
How much of the Earth's water is stored in glaciers?
How does present glacier extent and sea level compare to the extent of glaciers and global sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)?
How would sea level change if glaciers melted?
Is there a size criterion for a glacier?
What is a glacier?
Sculpted by water, elevated by earthquakes—The coastal landscape of Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Within Glacier Bay National Park in southeastern Alaska, the Fairweather Fault represents the onshore boundary between two of Earth’s constantly moving tectonic plates: the North American Plate and the Yakutat microplate. Satellite measurements indicate that during the past few decades the Yakutat microplate has moved northwest at a rate of nearly...
Witter, Robert C.; LeWinter, Adam; Bender, Adrian M.; Glennie, Craig; Finnegan, David
State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century : glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments: Chapter A in Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world
This chapter is the tenth in a series of 11 book-length chapters, collectively referred to as “this volume,” in the series U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. In the other 10 chapters, each of which concerns a specific glacierized region of Earth, the authors used remotely...
Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.; Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.
The United States National Climate Assessment - Alaska Technical Regional Report
The Alaskan landscape is changing, both in terms of effects of human activities as a consequence of increased population, social and economic development and their effects on the local and broad landscape; and those effects that accompany naturally occurring hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Some of the most prevalent...
Markon, Carl J.; Trainor, Sarah F.; Chapin, F. Stuart; Markon, Carl J.; Trainor, Sarah F.; Chapin, F. Stuart
Why Study Paleoclimate?
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers are at the forefront of paleoclimate research, the study of past climates. With their unique skills and perspective, only geologists have the tools necessary to delve into the distant past (long before instrumental records were collected) in order to better understand global environmental conditions that...
Robinson, Marci; Dowsett, Harry
Glaciers of North America - Glaciers of Alaska
Glaciers cover about 75,000 km2 of Alaska, about 5 percent of the State. The glaciers are situated on 11 mountain ranges, 1 large island, an island chain, and 1 archipelago and range in elevation from more than 6,000 m to below sea level. Alaska's glaciers extend geographically from the far southeast at lat 55 deg 19'N., long 130 deg 05'W., about...
Molnia, Bruce F.
Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World
In 1978, the USGS began the preparation of the 11-chapter USGS Professional Paper 1386, 'Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World'. Between 1979 and 1981, optimum satellite images were distributed to a team of 70 scientists, representing 25 nations and 45 institutions, who agreed to author sections of the Professional Paper concerning either...
Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.
Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world -- North America
Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.
Satellite image atlas of glaciers of the world
U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World, contains 11 chapters designated by the letters A through K. Chapter A provides a comprehensive, yet concise, review of the "State of the Earth's Cryosphere at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Glaciers, Global Snow Cover, Floating Ice, and Permafrost...
Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.; Williams, Richard S.; Ferrigno, Jane G.
Glaciers Rapidly Shrinking and Disappearing: 50 Years of Glacier Change in Montana
The warming climate has dramatically reduced the size of 39 glaciers in Montana since 1966, some by as much as 85 percent, according to data released by the U.S. Geological Survey and Portland State University.
Fifty Years of Glacier Change Research in Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of the longest continuous glacier research efforts in North America.
From Icefield to Ocean - What Glacier Change Might Mean for the Future of Alaska
Frozen bodies of ice cover nearly 10 percent of the state of Alaska, but the influence of glaciers on the environment, tourism, fisheries, hydropower, and other important Alaska resources is rarely discussed.
Melting Glaciers Increase the Flow of Carbon to Downstream Ecosystems
ANCHORAGE, Alaska Melting glaciers are not just impacting sea level, they are also affecting the flow of organic carbon to the world’s oceans, according to new research that provides the first ever global-scale estimates for the storage and release of organic carbon from glaciers.
ICE AGE STILL AFFECTING GLOBAL CHANGE... NEW ATLAS PRESENTS MOST COMPLETE LOOK OF GREENLAND ICE SHEET
Greenland’s inland glacier ice -- covering a combined area larger than Alaska and Oregon and the largest remnant of the last "Ice Age" in North America -- is described and illustrated in the latest chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) "Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World."
Glacier off Sargent Icefield
Landscape view of an un-named glacier off the Sargent Icefield, directly across from Wolverine Glacier, above the Nellie Juan River, in Alaska. Taken during a visit to a wolverine glacier field site as part of a study to examine how alpine areas are changing as temperatures rise in Alaska.
USGS Public Lecture: Warm Ice—Dynamics of Rapidly Changing Glaciers
- Glacier Numerology – The how big, how long, how thick, how much, how often, of glacier science.
- Glacier Photography – While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a collection of images may tell a complete forensic story.
- Glacier Geophysics – How new technologies are being introduced to reexamine and refine decades old glacier analyses.
Glacier Animation
The simulation below reflects the predicted exponential rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, a 2xCO2 "global warming" scenario, with a concurrent warming of 2-3 degrees centigrade (4-5 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2050. In addition it assumes that precipitation, primarily in the form of rain, will increase over the same time period about 10 percent (based on the
...
Monitoring glaciers in Glacier National Park.
Monitoring glaciers in Glacier National Park.
The Cold Facts About Melting Glaciers
Most glaciers in Washington and Alaska are dramatically shrinking in response to a warming climate.
USGS scientist Edward Josberger discusses research from the past 50 years to measure changes in the mass (length and thickness) of three glaciers in Alaska and Washington. These are the longest such records in North America and among the longest in the world.
Tidewater glaciers of south-central Alaska
Present-day tidewater glaciers of south-central Alaska can be found in Prince William Sound and southern Kenai Peninsula. Icebergs form as portions of the glacier terminus collapses. Modern tidewater glaciers in Alaska are very small in comparison with massive glaciers that reached the sea during full glacial time.
Muir and Riggs Glaciers, Muir Inlet, Alaska - 1941
This northeast-looking photograph, on the southeastern side of White Thunder Ridge ,shows the lower reaches of Muir Glacier, then a large tidewater calving valley glacier, and its tributary Riggs Glacier. The séracs in the lower right-hand corner of the photograph mark Muir Glacier’s terminus. The ice thickness is more than 700 meters. Muir Glacier had been retreating
...