Last Glacial Maximum

E179498

The Last Glacial Maximum was the most recent period in Earth’s history when ice sheets reached their greatest extent, dramatically lowering sea levels and reshaping global climates and ecosystems.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Quaternary climatic phase
glacial maximum
paleoclimatic event
alsoKnownAs Würm glaciation
surface form: LGM
associatedWith lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations
causedExposureOf Bering Land Bridge
North Sea
surface form: Doggerland in the North Sea

Sahul Shelf
surface form: Sahul Shelf land areas

Sunda Shelf
surface form: Sunda Shelf land areas
characterizedBy altered global atmospheric circulation
altered ocean circulation patterns
colder global temperatures
drier conditions in many regions
expanded deserts and semi-arid regions
expanded mountain glaciers worldwide
large continental ice sheets over Asia
large continental ice sheets over North America
large continental ice sheets over northern Europe
lower global sea level
maximum global ice-sheet extent in the late Pleistocene
followedBy deglaciation of the last glacial period
transition to the Holocene
hasApproximateCO2Concentration about 180 to 190 ppm
hasApproximateEnd about 19,000 to 20,000 years ago
hasApproximateStart about 26,500 years ago
hasEstimatedGlobalMeanTemperatureChange about 4 to 7 degrees Celsius cooler than preindustrial
hasEstimatedGlobalSeaLevelChange about 120 to 130 meters lower than present
hasKeyProxy dust concentrations in ice cores
foraminifera assemblages
oxygen isotope ratios
hasMajorIceSheet Barents–Kara Ice Sheet
British–Irish Ice Sheet
Cordilleran Ice Sheet
East Antarctic Ice Sheet
Fennoscandian Ice Sheet
Greenland Ice Sheet (North American sector)
surface form: Greenland Ice Sheet

Laurentide Ice Sheet in North America
surface form: Laurentide Ice Sheet

Patagonian Ice Fields
surface form: Patagonian Ice Sheet

West Antarctica
surface form: West Antarctic Ice Sheet
hasPeakAround about 21,000 years ago
impacted distribution of plant and animal species
global ecosystems
human migration routes
partOf Last Glacial Period
Pleistocene epoch
Quaternary period
precededBy earlier Pleistocene glacial maxima
studiedUsing glacial geomorphological evidence
ice core records
marine sediment cores
pollen and plant macrofossils
terrestrial sediment records

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Quaternary period contains Last Glacial Maximum
Wisconsin glaciation maximumIceExtentReached Last Glacial Maximum
Bering Land Bridge mostRecentExposure Last Glacial Maximum
Holocene climatic optimum follows Last Glacial Maximum
this entity surface form: Last Glacial Period
Fennoscandian Ice Sheet lastMaximum Last Glacial Maximum
Yoldiahavet (Swedish) formedAfter Last Glacial Maximum
subject surface form: Yoldiahavet
Yoldiahavet (Swedish) formedAfter Last Glacial Maximum
subject surface form: Yoldiahavet
this entity surface form: Weichselian glaciation
Sahul Shelf exposedDuring Last Glacial Maximum
Beringian standstill hypothesis timePeriod Last Glacial Maximum