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Ice Age Timeline

(c. 2.58 million years ago – c. 11,700 years ago (Pleistocene epoch))

The Ice Age refers to a series of glacial periods during the Pleistocene epoch, when vast ice sheets covered much of North America, Europe, and Asia. It shaped Earth's landscapes, drove the evolution and extinction of megafauna like mammoths and saber-toothed cats, and influenced early human migration across land bridges such as Beringia. Less

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Early Glacial Theories

Pierre Martel visits the valley of Chamonix

1742

In 1742, Pierre Martel (1706–1767), an engineer and geographer living in Geneva, visited the valley of Chamonix in the Alps of Savoy. His observations of the landscape contributed to early discussions about the role of glaciers in shaping mountain valleys.

Daniel Tilas suggests drifting sea ice as cause of erratics

1742

The Swedish mining expert Daniel Tilas (1712–1772) was, in 1742, the first person to suggest that drifting sea ice was a cause of the presence of erratic boulders in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions.

Ice discussed as a means of transport

1750

From the middle of the 18th century, some scholars discussed ice as a means of transport, an idea used to explain how large rocks could have been moved great distances across northern Europe.

James Hutton explains erratic boulders by glacial action

1795

In 1795, the Scottish philosopher and gentleman naturalist James Hutton (1726–1797) explained erratic boulders in the Alps by the action of glaciers, an early scientific acknowledgment of glacial transport.

Jean-Pierre Perraudin attributes erratics to former glaciers

1815

In 1815 the carpenter and chamois hunter Jean-Pierre Perraudin (1767–1858) explained erratic boulders in the Val de Bagnes in the Swiss canton of Valais as being due to glaciers previously extending further.

Göran Wahlenberg publishes theory of Scandinavian glaciation

1818

Two decades after Hutton's work, in 1818, the Swedish botanist Göran Wahlenberg (1780–1851) published his theory of a glaciation of the Scandinavian peninsula.

Jens Esmark argues for a sequence of worldwide ice ages

1824

Only a few years later, the Danish-Norwegian geologist Jens Esmark (1762–1839) argued for a sequence of worldwide ice ages. In a paper published in 1824, Esmark proposed changes in climate as the cause of those glaciations.

Unknown woodcutter advocates glacial explanation to Charpentier

1834

An unknown woodcutter from Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland advocated a similar idea in a discussion with the Swiss-German geologist Jean de Charpentier (1786–1855) in 1834, reinforcing local knowledge of past glaciation.

Ernst von Bibra hears natives attribute moraines to glaciers

1849 - 1850

When the Bavarian naturalist Ernst von Bibra (1806–1878) visited the Chilean Andes in 1849–1850, the natives attributed fossil moraines to the former action of glaciers, showing widespread recognition of glacial landforms.

Development of Glaciology

Perraudin attempts to convert Jean de Charpentier

1815

In Val de Bagnes, a valley in the Swiss Alps, there was a long-held local belief that the valley had once been covered deep in ice. In 1815 a local chamois hunter called Jean-Pierre Perraudin attempted to convert the geologist Jean de Charpentier to the idea, pointing to deep striations in the rocks and giant erratic boulders as evidence.

Ignatz Venetz joins Perraudin and Charpentier

1818

In 1818 the engineer Ignatz Venetz joined Perraudin and Charpentier to examine a proglacial lake above the valley created by an ice dam as a result of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, which threatened to cause a catastrophic flood when the dam broke.

Venetz reads prize-winning paper to the Swiss Society

1821

In 1821 Venetz read a prize-winning paper on his glacial theory to the Swiss Society, but it was not published until Charpentier, who had also become converted, published it with his own more widely read paper in 1834.

Robert Jameson shows openness to Esmark's ideas

1824

At the University of Edinburgh Robert Jameson (1774–1854) seemed to be relatively open to Esmark's ideas, as reviewed by Norwegian professor of glaciology Bjørn G. Andersen, helping spread awareness of glacial theory in Britain.

Albrecht Bernhardi adopts Esmark's theory

1832

In Germany, Albrecht Reinhardi Bernhardi (1797–1849), a geologist and professor of forestry at an academy in Dreissigacker, adopted Esmark's theory. In a paper published in 1832, Bernhardi speculated about the polar ice caps once reaching as far as the temperate zones of the globe.

Charpentier publishes Venetz's paper with his own

1834

Venetz's 1821 prize-winning paper was finally published in 1834, when Charpentier, who had also become converted to the glacial theory, published it together with his own more widely read paper.

Karl Friedrich Schimper studies mosses on erratic boulders

1835

In the meantime, the German botanist Karl Friedrich Schimper (1803–1867) was studying mosses which were growing on erratic boulders in the alpine upland of Bavaria, leading him toward insights about past glaciation.

Schimper makes excursions to the Bavarian Alps

Jul 1835 - Sep 1835

During the summer of 1835 Karl Friedrich Schimper made excursions to the Bavarian Alps, gathering observations that supported his developing ideas about former glaciers.

Schimper holds lectures in Munich

Dec 1835 - Feb 1836

In the winter of 1835–36 Schimper held lectures in Munich, spreading his ideas about the glacial transformation of the landscape among German naturalists.

Schimper spends summer at Devens with Agassiz and Charpentier

Jun 1836 - Sep 1836

Schimper spent the summer months of 1836 at Devens, near Bex, in the Swiss Alps with his former university friend Louis Agassiz (1801–1873) and Jean de Charpentier, exchanging ideas about glaciers and erratics.

Agassiz and Schimper develop theory of sequenced glaciations

Dec 1836 - Feb 1837

During the winter of 1836–37, Louis Agassiz and Karl Friedrich Schimper developed the theory of a sequence of glaciations, proposing that Earth had experienced multiple ice ages rather than a single glacial episode.

Schimper coins the term "Ice age" ("Eiszeit")

Jan 1837

At the beginning of 1837, Karl Friedrich Schimper coined the term "ice age" ("Eiszeit") for the period of the glaciers, giving the new science its defining vocabulary.

Agassiz presents synthesis at Neuchâtel meeting

Jul 1837

In July 1837 Louis Agassiz presented their synthesis before the annual meeting of the Swiss Society for Natural Research at Neuchâtel, dramatically announcing the theory of a great ice age to the scientific community.

Agassiz publishes Study on Glaciers

1840

Louis Agassiz published his book Study on Glaciers ("Études sur les glaciers") in 1840, laying out comprehensive evidence for past glaciation and cementing the ice age theory in scientific discourse.

Ice Age Science

James Croll publishes Climate and Time

1875

The acceptance of ice age theory happened on an international scale in the second half of the 1870s, following the work of James Croll, including the publication of Climate and Time, in Their Geological Relations in 1875, which provided a credible explanation for the causes of ice ages.

Modern Climate Research

Ewing and Donn hypothesize ice-free Arctic Ocean effects

1956

In 1956, Maurice Ewing and William Donn hypothesized that an ice-free Arctic Ocean leads to increased snowfall at high latitudes, offering a mechanism that could trigger the growth of ice sheets.

Nature article compares Holocene to longer interglacials

2004

Earth has been in an interglacial period known as the Holocene for around 11,700 years, and an article in Nature in 2004 argues that it might be most analogous to a previous interglacial that lasted 28,000 years.

Evidence links solar insolation to post-Ice Age warming

2009

In 2009, further evidence was provided that changes in solar insolation provide the initial trigger for Earth to warm after an Ice Age, with secondary factors like increases in greenhouse gases accounting for the magnitude of the change.

Research identifies carbon thresholds affecting glaciation

2010

Building on work such as Keith Montgomery's 2010 review of the development of glacial theory, scientists have identified thresholds such as atmospheric CO2 remaining above 300 ppm or cumulative carbon emissions exceeding 1000 Pg C as factors influencing whether future glaciation can occur.

Study links Antarctic iceberg shifts to glacial periods

2021

According to a study published in Nature in 2021, all glacial periods of ice ages over the last 1.5 million years were associated with northward shifts of melting Antarctic icebergs which changed ocean circulation patterns, leading to more CO2 being pulled out of the atmosphere.

Projected brief ice-free Arctic Ocean period by 2050

2050

Current projected consequences of global warming include a brief ice-free Arctic Ocean period by 2050. Additional fresh water flowing into the North Atlantic during a warming cycle may also reduce the global ocean water circulation.

Key Facts

  1. The most recent Ice Age, the Pleistocene, began about 2.58 million years ago and ended roughly 11,700 years ago with the start of the Holocene epoch.
  2. At its peak, ice sheets up to two miles thick covered large portions of North America, northern Europe, and Asia, lowering global sea levels by over 300 feet.
  3. Lower sea levels exposed land bridges like Beringia, which allowed humans and animals to migrate between Asia and North America.
  4. Iconic Ice Age megafauna included woolly mammoths, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths, and woolly rhinoceroses, many of which went extinct as the climate warmed.
  5. Ice ages are driven by Milankovitch cycles—long-term variations in Earth's orbit and tilt that alter the amount of solar energy reaching the planet.

Source

This Ice Age timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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