Exam 17: Cenozoic Earth History the Quaternary Period

Pollen analysis is a useful tool to describe how climate and vegetation types have changed in a region.

Short-term climatic changes may be caused by ____.

During a glacial period, sea level would be expected to be ____.

During a glacial period, ice contains ____ than seawater, while seawater has ____ than ice.

Describe the Little Ice Age. What geographic areas were affected, and what consequences did the Little Ice Age have on them?

The two most recent epochs of the Neogene Period, from oldest to youngest, are the ____.

How did continental glaciations affect areas far away from ice sheets? What were some of these effects?

Interglacial periods are commonly periods of regression.

Planktonic foraminifera provide evidence for glaciation based on ____.

All sediment deposited by streams that issue from glaciers is called ____.

Parts of Scandinavia are presently increasing in elevation because of ____________________.

During the Pleistocene, Earth's temperature was relatively static although it was cooler than today.

A glacier forms when ____.

Global warming is causing most glaciers to ____.

During the Wisconsinan, Death Valley contained a(n) ____________________.

Explain the concept of isostatic rebound, and cite evidence for rebound that has occurred since the end of the Pleistocene.

What concept describes Earth's crust as "floating" on denser underlying mantle?

Which method of movement is most important to glaciers?

Explain the Milankovitch Theory.

The periods between glaciations are separated by warmer ____ stages.