The Late Cenozoic Ice Age falls within the Cenozoic Era which started 66 million years ago. The Cenozoic Era is part of the Phanerozoic Eon which started ~538.8 million years ago.
94-715: The Late Cenozoic Ice Age , or Antarctic Glaciation , began 34 million years ago at the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary and is ongoing. It is Earth's current ice age or icehouse period . Its beginning is marked by the formation of the Antarctic ice sheets. Six million years after the start of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet had formed, and 14 million years ago it had reached its current extent. In
188-706: A dependency ( biland ), and the Antarctic Treaty officially came into force on 23 June 1961. Norwegian activity during the 1960s was limited to some minor co-expeditions with the United States, until it gradually picked up again following a larger expedition to western Queen Maud Land and the eastern Weddell Sea by the Norwegian Polar Institute in 1976–77. Founded in 1978, the Polar Affairs Department of
282-607: A base called Maudheim at 71°S, 11°W, and mapped much of western Queen Maud Land. During the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958), year-round stations were established in Queen Maud Land by Norway, the Soviet Union , Belgium and Japan. The Norwegian expedition continued with topographical mapping, while the others started geophysical and geological research. Norway's Norway Station
376-468: A bed inside. He said the purposes of the visit were to claim Norway's possessions in Antarctica, as well as to learn more about the climate research at Troll, which he said was key to better understanding of global climate change. In 2015, King Harald V became the world's first reigning monarch to visit Antarctica when he went to Queen Maud Land. Like all other territorial claims in Antarctica ,
470-644: A break between endemic European faunas before the break and mixed faunas with a strong Asian component afterwards. Before the Grande Coupure, European faunas were dominated by anoplotheriid, xiphodontid, choeropotamid, cebochoerid, dichobunid, and amphimerycid artiodactyls, palaeotheriid perissodactyls, pseudosciurid rodents, adapid and omomyid primates, and nyctitheriids. Post-Grande Coupure artiodactyl faunas in Europe are dominated by gelocids, anthracotheriids, and entelodontids, with true rhinoceroses representing
564-722: A causal link remains highly controversial. 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa. They began replacing other Hominins in Asia. They also began replacing Neanderthals in Europe. However, some of the Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred. Currently, persons of European descent are two to four percent Neanderthal. With the exception of this small amount of Neanderthal DNA that exists today, Neanderthals became extinct 30,000 years ago. The Last Glacial Maximum ran from 26,500 years ago to 20,000 years ago. Although different ice sheets reached maximum extent at somewhat different times, this
658-569: A precipitous drop in mean annual temperature (MAT) over approximately 400,000 years. Malagasy lemurs experienced a significant extinction during the EOT. The Grande Coupure, or 'great break' in French , with a major European turnover in mammalian fauna about 33.5 Ma, marks the end of the last phase of Eocene assemblages, the Priabonian , and the arrival in Europe of Asian species. The Grande Coupure
752-634: A short-term size increase during the biotic recovery. Orthophragminid foraminifera (late Paleocene–early Eocene larger benthic foraminifera of two families, Discocyclinidae and Orbitoclypeidae) disappeared in the extinction event; in Alpine carbonates, bryozoan facies show an expansion in response to the loss of orthophragminids. The EOT is often considered to be a critical turning point in the rise of diatoms to their present-day evolutionary prominence, though this paradigm has been criticised for being based on incomplete evidence. Some sites contain evidence that
846-508: Is Japan's main research station in Antarctica. A vast array of research is conducted there, including upper atmosphere physics, meteorology, seismology, gravimetry , geodesy/mapping, oceanography, glaciology, geology, marine and terrestrial biology, and medical research. Japan's other station, Dome Fuji Station was opened as part of a major ice-coring project. It mainly studies climate change and conducts deep drilling and atmospheric observations. Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Antarctica base
940-615: Is a roughly 2.7-million-square-kilometre (1.0-million-square-mile) region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory . It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east . In addition, a small unclaimed area from 1939 was annexed in June 2015. Positioned in East Antarctica , it makes out about one-fifth of the continent, and
1034-608: Is also divided into alternating stadials (colder periods) and interstadials (warmer periods) The last stadial reached its peak in the Last Glacial Maximum , between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago, and the Earth is now in an interstadial. The oscillation between glacial and interglacial periods is due to the Milankovitch cycles . These are cycles that have to do with Earth's axial tilt and orbital eccentricity. Earth
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#17327724844981128-589: Is characterized by widespread extinctions and allopatric speciation in small isolated relict populations . It was given its name in 1910 by the Swiss palaeontologist Hans Georg Stehlin , to characterise the dramatic turnover of European mammalian fauna, which he placed at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. A comparable turnover in Asian fauna has since been called the "Mongolian Remodelling". The Grande Coupure marks
1222-705: Is currently home to at least 13 research stations, six of which are operated year-round. Norway , Germany and Japan all operate both a perennial and a seasonal station. These are the Norwegian Troll and Tor ; the German Neumayer Station III and Kohnen ; and the Japanese Showa and Dome Fuji . India , Russia and South Africa also operate one permanent station each. Maitri , Novolazarevskaya , and SANAE IV , respectively. The remaining stations are seasonal, and include:
1316-451: Is currently tilted at 23.5 degrees. Over a 41,000 year cycle, the tilt oscillates between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees. When the tilt is greater (high obliquity), the seasons are more extreme. During times when the tilt is less (low obliquity), the seasons are less extreme. Less tilt also means that the polar regions receive less light from the sun. This causes a colder global climate as ice sheets start to build up. The shape of Earth's orbit around
1410-481: Is less ice than there was during the last glacial period. However, the last glacial period was just one part of the ice age that still continues today. Even though Earth is in an interglacial, there is still more ice than times outside of ice ages. There are also currently ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere , which means that there is more ice on Earth than there was during the first 31 million years of
1504-680: Is named after the Norwegian Queen Maud (1869–1938). In 1930, the Norwegian Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen was the first person known to have set foot in the territory. On 14 January 1939, the territory was claimed by Norway. On 23 June 1961, Queen Maud Land became part of the Antarctic Treaty System , making it a demilitarised zone . It is one of two Antarctic claims made by Norway, the other being Peter I Island . They are administered by
1598-487: Is referred to as EOT-1, which occurred approximately 34.1-33.9 Ma. Carbon dioxide concentrations dropped from about 885 ppm to about 560 ppm. The Oligocene Oi-1 event, an oxygen isotope excursion that occurred around 33.55 Ma, was the second major pulse of Antarctic ice sheet formation. These large climate changes have been linked to biotic turnovers. Even before the Eocene-Oligocene boundary itself, during
1692-691: Is thus only possible to disembark from a ship in a few places. Some 150 to 200 kilometres (90 to 120 mi) from the coast, rocky peaks pierce the ice cap, itself at a mean height of around 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, with the highest point at Jøkulkyrkja (3,148 metres or 10,328 feet) in the Mühlig-Hofmann Mountains . The other major mountain ranges are the Heimefront Range , Orvin Mountains , Wohlthat Mountains and Sør Rondane Mountains . Geologically,
1786-544: The Grande Coupure in Europe and the Mongolian Remodeling of mammalian communities. Another speculation points to several large meteorite impacts near this time, including those of the 40-kilometre (25 mi) diameter Chesapeake Bay crater and the 100-kilometre (62 mi) diameter Popigai impact structure of central Siberia , which scattered debris perhaps as far as Europe. New dating of
1880-626: The Eocene-Oligocene transition ( EOT ) or Grande Coupure ( French for "great cut"), is the transition between the end of the Eocene and the beginning of the Oligocene , an extinction event and faunal turnover occurring between 33.9 and 33.4 million years ago. It was marked by large-scale extinction and floral and faunal turnover, although it was relatively minor in comparison to the largest mass extinctions . The boundary between
1974-525: The German Antarctic Expedition in 1938, led by Alfred Ritscher , to fly over as much of it as possible. The ship Schwabenland reached the pack ice off Antarctica on 19 January 1939. During the expedition, an area of about 350,000 square kilometres (140,000 sq mi) was photographed from the air by Ritscher, who dropped darts inscribed with swastikas every 26 kilometres (16 mi). Germany eventually attempted to claim
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#17327724844982068-767: The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police , headquartered in Oslo, has been assigned the administration of the Norwegian polar areas including Queen Maud Land. Since 1979, the Norwegian Polar Institute has been a directorate under the Ministry of the Environment . In 1992, an expedition by Ivar Tollefsen made the first ascents of several mountains, including the tallest, Jøkulkyrkja . Norway established
2162-532: The Princess Martha Coast , Princess Astrid Coast , Princess Ragnhild Coast , Prince Harald Coast and Prince Olav Coast . The territory is estimated to cover around 2,700,000 square kilometres (1,000,000 sq mi), which roughly corresponds to the sizes of India , Argentina or Kazakhstan . The limits of the claim, put forth in 1939, did not fix the northern and southern limits other than as "the mainland beach in Antarctica ... with
2256-474: The Princess Martha Coast , Princess Astrid Coast , Princess Ragnhild Coast , Prince Harald Coast and Prince Olav Coast : The waters off the coast are called the King Haakon VII Sea . There is no permanent population, although there are 12 active research stations housing a maximum of around 40 scientists, the numbers fluctuating depending on the season. Six are occupied year-round, while
2350-609: The Richard Evelyn Byrd expedition. In 1948, Norway and the United Kingdom agreed to limit Queen Maud Land to longitudes from 20°W to 45°E, and that the Bruce Coast and Coats Land were to be incorporated into Norwegian territory. The Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1949–52 was the first international scientific expedition in Antarctica. The expedition established its winter quarters at
2444-621: The Tasmanian Passage , and South America drifted away from Antarctica forming the Drake Passage . This caused the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current , a current of cold water surrounding Antarctica. This current still exists today, and is a major reason for why Antarctica has such an exceptionally cold climate. The Eocene-Oligocene Boundary 33.9 million years ago was the transition from
2538-814: The Troll Airfield , located at the Troll research station, or the runway at the Novolazarevskaya Station . From these two main airfields, smaller aircraft may fly further to other Antarctic destinations. Norway's Troll station serves as a major hub of the DROMLAN network through the Troll Airfield. Research at Troll include air and atmospheric measurements, monitoring of greenhouse gases and bird colonies, as well as meteorological and climate research. The other Norwegian station, Tor ,
2632-533: The " sector principle " for Arctic Ocean claims by the Soviet Union. In 2015, Norway partially rectified this question by formally laying its claim to the area between the Queen Maud Land and the South Pole. Norwegian administration of Queen Maud Land is controlled by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police , located in Oslo. The annexation of the territory is regulated by
2726-485: The ACC is uncertain. The deepening of the calcite compensation depth increased carbonate ion storage in the ocean shortly before the onset of the Antarctic glaciation, suggesting the events may have been coupled. Evidence points to the glaciation of Antarctica occurring in two steps, with the first step, the less pronounced and more modest step of the two, taking place at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary itself. This first step
2820-940: The Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctica base; the Finnish Aboa ; the Pakistani Jinnah ; and the Swedish Wasa . These stations' total summer population is approximately 494, but with considerably fewer in winter. These stations are connected by the Dronning Maud Land Air Network Project ( DROMLAN ), which is a cooperative agreement for transportation between eleven nations with research stations in East Antarctica. Long-range aircraft fly between Cape Town, South Africa and either
2914-590: The British as the King Edward VII Plateau, which was in conflict with the Norwegian claim. Amundsen's claim has never been officially claimed by the Norwegian government. The name Queen Maud Land was initially applied in January 1930 to the land between 37°E and 49°30′E discovered by Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen and Finn Lützow-Holm during Lars Christensen 's Norvegia expedition of 1929–30. It
Late Cenozoic Ice Age - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-689: The Dependency Act of 24 March 1933; Queen Maud Land was added on 21 June 1957. It declares that Norwegian criminal law, private law and procedural law apply to the territory, in addition to other laws that explicitly state they are valid in the territory. Furthermore, it establishes that all the land belongs to the state, and prohibits both nuclear detonations and the storage of nuclear waste. Since 5 May 1995, Norwegian law has required all Norwegian activity in Antarctica to follow international environmental law for Antarctica. Norwegian citizens who plan activities in Queen Maud Land must therefore report to
3102-549: The EOT's aftermath. Deep ocean temperatures plummeted in the eastern equatorial Pacific during the EOT. A leading model of climate cooling at this time predicts a decrease in atmospheric carbon dioxide , which slowly declined over the course of the Middle to Late Eocene. Significant cooling took place in the final hundreds of thousands of years prior to the start of major Antarctic glaciation. This cooling reached some threshold approximately 34 million years ago, precipitating
3196-570: The Earth is currently in an ice age that began around 30 million years ago can be dated back to at least 1966. As a geologic time period, the Late Cenozoic Ice Age was used at least as early as 1973. The last greenhouse period began 260 million years ago during the late Permian Period at the end of the Karoo Ice Age . It lasted all through the time of the non-avian dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era , and ended 33.9 million years ago in
3290-597: The Eocene and Oligocene epochs is marked by the glaciation of Antarctica and the consequent beginning of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age . This enormous shift in climatic regime is the leading candidate for the extinction event's cause. Though ephemeral ice sheets may have existed on the Antarctic continent during parts of the Middle and Late Eocene, this interval of severe global cooling marked the beginning of permanent ice sheet coverage of Antarctica , and thus
3384-452: The Eocene–Oligocene extinction was not a sudden event but a prolonged biotic transition drawn out over as much as 6 million years. Localities near Eugene, Oregon , record a plant extinction 33.4 Ma (million years ago) and a marine invertebrate turnover 33.2 Ma; both of these turnovers post-date the supposed extinction event by hundreds of thousands of years. Dronning Maud Land Queen Maud Land ( Norwegian : Dronning Maud Land )
3478-574: The Grande Coupure as occurring in the earliest Oligocene, with a hiatus of about 350 millennia prior to the first record of post-Grande Coupure Asian immigrant taxa. Research suggests that in the Ebro Basin of Spain, the turnover lagged the Eocene-Oligocene boundary by at most 500,000 years (500 kyr). Additionally, a second dispersal event of Asian taxa into Europe, known as the Bachitherium Dispersal Event (named after
3572-575: The Grande Coupure. It has been suggested that this was caused by climate change associated with the earliest polar glaciations and a major fall in sea levels, or by competition with taxa dispersing from Asia. However, few argue for an isolated single cause . Other possible causes are related to the impact of one or more large bolides in the Northern Hemisphere at Popigai , Toms Canyon , and Chesapeake Bay . Improved correlation of northwest European successions to global events confirms
3666-430: The Grande Coupure. However, the 1999 discovery of a mouse -sized early Oligocene omomyid , reflecting the better survival chances of small mammals, undercut the Grande Coupure paradigm . Herpetotheriids, cainotheriids, dormice, and theridomyids survived the Grande Coupure undiminished. Balkanatolia acted as a staging ground for Asian taxa that immigrated into Europe following the extinction of its own mammal fauna during
3760-625: The Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) estimate a slightly lower global temperature than the figures given by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. However, these figures are not exact figures and are open more to interpretation. According to the IPCC, average global temperatures increased by 5.5 ± 1.5 °C (9.9 ± 2.7 °F) since the last glacial maximum, and the rate of warming
3854-529: The King Haakon VII Sea off Queen Maud Land. The Ross seal is notably found in its greatest numbers in the King Haakon VII Sea. The nunatak areas have a scarcity of flora, limited to lichen , bryophyte and algae. Flowering plants are not found there. The Norwegian Polar Institute has not registered the occurrence of any threatened or rare plants or animals in Queen Maud Land, the known ones thus existing in healthy populations. Queen Maud Land
Late Cenozoic Ice Age - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-473: The Late Cenozoic Ice Age. During that time, only the Antarctic ice sheets existed. Currently (as of 2012), about 3.1% of Earth's surface and 10.7% of the land area is covered in year-round ice according to the USGS. The total volume of ice presently on Earth is about 33,000,000 km (7,900,000 cu mi) (as of 2004). The current sea level (as of 2009) is 70 m (230 ft) lower than it would be without
4042-574: The Netherlands in 1964–66. The United States established the temporary Plateau Station in 1966. In 1948, the newly created Norwegian Polar Institute was assigned the administration of Norwegian territories in the Arctic and Antarctic, including Queen Maud Land. Norway sent two major expeditions to the territory in the 1940s and 1950s, but its efforts declined after that. On 21 June 1957, Queen Maud Land became subject to Norwegian sovereignty as
4136-474: The Norwegian Polar Institute, which may prohibit any non-compliant activity. Those who visit Queen Maud Land must follow laws regarding protection of nature, treatment of waste, pollution and insurance for search and rescue operations. There are three types of birds around Troll station: the Antarctic petrel , the snow petrel and the south polar skua . The Antarctic petrel lives on the sea ice for most of
4230-439: The Norwegian claim of Queen Maud Land (along with its claim of Peter I Island ) is subject to the Antarctic Treaty System . The treaty makes clear that Antarctica can only be used for peaceful purposes and assures the freedom of scientific activity. It promotes international scientific cooperation and bans any nuclear -related activities. Although territorial claims are not invalidated by the treaty, all claims under Article III of
4324-495: The Pleistocene, large areas of northern North America and northern Eurasia have been covered by ice sheets. In 1837, German naturalist Karl Friedrich Schimper coined the term Eiszeit , meaning ice age (or ice time for a more literal translation). For a long time, the term referred only to glacial periods. Over time, this developed into the concept that they were all part of a much longer ice age. The concept that
4418-466: The Polar Affairs Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Oslo . Most of the territory is covered by the east Antarctic ice sheet , and a tall ice wall stretches throughout its coast. In some areas farther within the ice sheet, mountain ranges breach through the ice, allowing for birds to breed and the growth of a limited flora . The region is divided into, from west to east,
4512-569: The Popigai meteor strengthens its association with the extinction. However, other studies have failed to find any association between the extinction event and any impact event. Imprints of sunspot cycles from the Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) show no evidence that any significant change in solar activity occurred across the EOT. In central North America, reptiles, amphibians, and gastropods underwent drastic faunal turnover likely spurred on by
4606-490: The Sun affects the Earth's climate. Over a 100,000 year cycle, Earth oscillates between having a circular orbit to having a more elliptical orbit. From 2.58 million years ago to about 1.73 million ± 50,000 years ago, the degree of axial tilt was the main cause of glacial and interglacial periods. Around 850,000 ± 50,000 years ago, the degree of orbital eccentricity became the main driver of glacial and interglacial periods rather than
4700-573: The air. Captain H. Halvorsen of the whaler Sevilla discovered the Princess Astrid Coast independently at the same time. Six years later, during Christensen's expedition of 1936–37, Viggo Widerøe flew over and discovered the Prince Harald Coast. Negotiations with the British government in 1938 resulted in the western border of Queen Maud Land being set at 20°W. Norway's claim was disputed by Germany, which dispatched
4794-425: The climate continued to get colder. At 28.1 million years ago, the Gamburtsev and Transantarctic ice caps merged into a main central ice cap. At this point, ice was now covering a majority of the continent. The Dronning Maud ice cap merged with the main ice cap 27.9 million years ago. This was the formation of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet . Global refrigeration set in 22 million years ago. About 15 million years ago
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#17327724844984888-656: The climate will begin to cool due to the Milankovich cycles. However, the high levels of greenhouse gases are predicted to keep it from getting cold enough to build up enough ice to meet the criteria of a glacial period. This would effectively extend the current interglacial period an additional 100,000 years placing the next glacial period 125,000 to 150,000 years in the future. Hypothetical runaway greenhouse state Tropical temperatures may reach poles Global climate during an ice age Earth's surface entirely or nearly frozen over Eocene%E2%80%93Oligocene extinction event The Eocene–Oligocene extinction event , also called
4982-400: The degree of tilt, and this pattern continues to present-day. The Last Glacial Period began 115,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago. This time period saw the great advancement of polar ice sheets into the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The Toba eruption 75,000 years ago in present-day Sumatra , Indonesia has been linked to a bottleneck in the human DNA, although such
5076-446: The early Priabonian, extinction rates went up in connection with falling global temperatures. Radiolarians suffered major losses thanks to a decrease in nutrient availability in deep and intermediate waters. In the Gulf of Mexico , marine turnover is associated with climatic change, though the ultimate cause according to the study was not the drop in average temperatures themselves but colder winters and increased seasonality. On land,
5170-401: The effect of creating ocean gyres that promote upwelling of cold bottom waters and diminishing heat transport to Antarctica by isolating the water around it. Likewise, the Tasmanian Gateway also opened up around the time of the EOT. Ocean circulation changes were, however, not as significant in engendering cooling as the decline in p CO 2 . On top of that, the timing of the creation of
5264-481: The end of the greenhouse climate of the Early Palaeogene. In central North America, the mean annual temperature (MAT) fell by about 8.2 ± 3.1 °C over a span of 400,000 years. Near-freezing conditions existed in central Tibet. The global cooling also correlated with marked drying conditions in low-latitudes Asia, though a causal relationship between the two has been contradicted by some research. The equatorial seas were marked by exceptionally low palaeoproductivity in
5358-399: The first decades of the 20th century. The Antarctic Plateau was claimed for Norway by Roald Amundsen as the King Haakon VII Plateau when his expedition was the first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. It was mapped as a circular territory comprising the plateau around the South Pole, including all the land above latitude 85°S. However, roughly the same area had been claimed by
5452-402: The formation of a large ice sheet in East Antarctica in response to falling carbon dioxide levels. The cause of the drop in p CO 2 was the drift of the Indian Subcontinent into equatorial latitudes, supercharging the silicate weathering of the Deccan Traps . Another factor was the opening of the Drake Passage and the creation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), which had
5546-439: The ground of Queen Maud Land is dominated by Precambrian gneiss , formed c. 1 to 1.2 Ga , before the creation of the supercontinent Gondwana . The mountains consist mostly of crystalline and granitic rocks, formed c. 500 to 600 Ma in the Pan-African orogeny during the assembly of Gondwana. In the farthest western parts of the territory, there are younger sedimentary and volcanic rocks . Research on
5640-418: The high elevations of Antarctica. One ice cap formed in the Dronning Maud Land . Another ice cap formed in the Gamburtsev Mountain Range . Another ice cap formed in the Transantarctic Mountains . At this point, the ice caps weren't very big yet. Most of Antarctica wasn't covered by ice. By 28.7 million years ago, the Gamburtsev ice cap was now much larger due to the colder climate. CO 2 continued to fall and
5734-436: The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. Based on the Milankovitch cycles, the current interglacial period is predicted to be unusually long, continuing for another 25,000 to 50,000 years beyond present times. There are also high concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activity, and it is almost certain to get higher in the coming decades. This will lead to higher temperatures. In 25,000 to 50,000 years,
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#17327724844985828-405: The increased seasonality brought on by this abrupt cooling caused the Grande Coupure faunal turnover in Europe. In the Ebro Basin , major aridification occurred amidst the Grande Coupure, suggesting causality. The remarkable cooling period in the ocean is correlated with pronounced mammalian faunal replacement within continental Asia as well. The Asian biotic reorganization events are comparable to
5922-424: The land that lies beyond this beach and the sea beyond". The sea that extends off the coast between the longitudinal limits of Queen Maud Land is generally called King Haakon VII Sea . There is very limited ice-free land at the coast, in the vicinity of Japan's Showa station. The remainder of the coast consists of a 20-to-30-metre high (70 to 100 ft) wall of ice almost throughout the entire territory. It
6016-417: The last greenhouse period to the present icehouse climate. At this point, when ~25% more of Antarctica's surface was above sea level and able to support land-based ice sheets relative to today, CO 2 levels had dropped to 750 ppm. This was the beginning of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. This was when the ice sheets reached the ocean, the defining point. At 29.2 million years ago, there were three ice caps in
6110-415: The last three million years, glaciations have spread to the northern hemisphere. It commenced with Greenland becoming increasingly covered by an ice sheet in late Pliocene (2.9-2.58 Ma ago) During the Pleistocene Epoch (starting 2.58 Ma ago), the Quaternary glaciation developed with decreasing mean temperatures and increasing amplitudes between glacials and interglacials. During the glacial periods of
6204-441: The late 19th century. In addition, Norway was forced to contend with competing claims made by the United Kingdom and other countries in the years prior to the Norwegian claim, including the new threat of German claims in Queen Maud Land. The Norwegian claim was sometimes referred to as the "Bouvet sector", drawing from the previously annexed Bouvet Island . During 1946 and 1947, vast areas of Queen Maud Land were photographed during
6298-455: The limits of the Australian Antarctic Territory in the east (45° east long.), with the land lying within this coast and the environing sea, shall be brought under Norwegian sovereignty. The primary basis for the annexation were the Norwegian explorations and the need to secure the Norwegian whaling industry's access to the region. Scientific operations were also a basis, with Norwegian contributions to international polar science extending back to
6392-435: The middle of the Cenozoic Era (the current Era). This greenhouse period lasted 226.1 million years. The hottest part of the last greenhouse earth was the Late Paleocene - Early Eocene. This was a hothouse period that lasted from 65 to 55 million years ago. The hottest part of this torrid age was the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum , 55.5 million years ago. Average global temperatures were around 30 °C (86 °F). This
6486-408: The mountainous areas of Queen Maud Land. During the breeding season, the south polar skua feeds exclusively upon the eggs, as well as both young and adult birds, of both petrel species. The emperor penguin has some of its breeding places concentrated in Queen Maud Land. All four of the true Antarctic seals, namely the Weddell seal , leopard seal , crabeater seal and Ross seal , can be found in
6580-422: The perissodactyl fauna, eomyids, hamsters, and beavers representing the rodent fauna, and hedgehogs representing the eulipothyphlan fauna. The speciose genus Palaeotherium plus Anoplotherium and the families Xiphodontidae and Amphimerycidae were observed to disappear completely during the Grande Coupure. An element of the paradigm of the Grande Coupure was the apparent extinction of all European primates at
6674-404: The present day. This turnover has been named the Caribbean Mangrove Revolution. In the marine realm, the frequency of drilling in recovery faunas, especially among bivalves, was drastically higher than in assemblages before the extinction event, a phenomenon attributed to a high extinction rate among escalated prey taxa with highly evolved defences against predators. Veneroid bivalves experienced
6768-555: The present, or give any exact set of years as being the present. It also does not state whether or not they agree with the figures given by Berkeley Earth. According to the United States Geographical Survey (USGS), permanent summer ice covered about 8% of Earth's surface and 25% of the land area during the last glacial maximum. The USGS also states that sea level was about 125 m (410 ft) lower than in present times (2012). The volume of ice on Earth
6862-495: The remainder are seasonal summer stations. The main aerodromes for intercontinental flights, corresponding with Cape Town , South Africa, are Troll Airfield , near the Norwegian Troll research station, and a runway at the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station . Queen Maud Land extends from the boundary with Coats Land in the west to the boundary with Enderby Land in the east, and is divided into
6956-462: The ruminant Bachitherium ), occurred later, around 31 Ma. Unlike the Grande Coupure, which took place via Central and Northern Asia, this later dispersal occurred via a southern corridor. In the Caribbean , mangroves dominated by Pelliciera rapidly disappeared, becoming replaced by mangroves that were dominated by Rhizophora , which remains the main constituent of Caribbean mangroves in
7050-876: The successor to three former stations, was completed in 1997. Research at SANAE IV include invasion biology /ecology, geology, geomorphology and atmospheric sciences . Its facilities include a small hospital and a two-helicopter hangar. The Swedish Wasa station and the Finnish Aboa station together make up the Nordenskiöld Base , and cooperate in research and logistics. Research carried out includes geodesy/mapping, glaciology, human biology, meteorological observations, geology and geophysics. The German Neumayer Station III , finished in 2009, succeeded two former stations that were buried by snow and ice. It conducts geophysical, meteorological and seismological research, as well as air chemistry measurements and atmospheric ozone monitoring. Germany's other station, Kohnen ,
7144-606: The summer station Troll in 1989–90. In 2003, Minister of the Environment Børge Brende was the first Norwegian minister to visit Queen Maud Land, and he soon allocated funds to expand the Troll station. Troll was upgraded to a year-round station in 2005 as part of the centenary of Norway's independence. Among the guests were Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Petersen and Minister of the Environment Knut Arild Hareide , and Troll
7238-625: The territory surveyed by Ritscher under the name New Swabia , but lost any claim to the land following its defeat in the Second World War . On 14 January 1939, five days prior to the German arrival, Queen Maud Land was annexed by Norway, by royal decree: That part of the mainland coast in the Antarctic extending from the limits of the Falkland Islands Dependencies in the west (the boundary of Coats Land) to
7332-858: The thickness of the ice has revealed that without the ice, the coast would be similar to those of Norway and Greenland , with deep fjords and islands. Queen Maud Land was the first part of Antarctica to be sighted, on 27 January 1820 by Fabian von Bellingshausen . However, it was among the last to be explored, as it required aircraft in combination with ships to undertake systematic exploration. Early Norwegian research activities in Antarctica rested entirely on whaling and sealing expeditions funded by ship owners, particularly by Christen Christensen and his son Lars . The first two Norwegian expeditions were carried out by sealing ships in 1892–93 and 1893–94. While they were primarily sent for exploring, sealing, and whaling possibilities, they also performed scientific research. Further Norwegian expeditions were mounted into
7426-406: The treaty are in effect suspended as long as it is in force. Norway, Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have all mutually recognised each other's claims in Antarctica. But there is a question on the actual boundaries of the claim, since the initial Norwegian demarcations both towards the South Pole and into the sea were left unclear. Apparently this was to avoid accepting use of
7520-438: The winter. The climate was so warm that trees grew in Antarctica. Arecaceae (palm trees) grew on the coastal lowlands, and Fagus (beech trees) and Pinophyta (conifers) grew on the hills just inland from the coast. As the global climate became cooler, the planet was seeing a decrease in forests, and an increase in savannas. Animals were evolving to have a larger body size. Australia drifted away from Antarctica forming
7614-534: The year, with the exception of its breeding season (in Antarctica, from November to February), when it moves to the inland mountains and nunataks . The 3.9-square-kilometre (1.5 sq mi) area of ice-free cliffs in Princess Astrid Coast called Svarthamaren Mountain hosts Antarctica's largest known inland colony of breeding seabirds, almost 1 million (250,000 pairs) Antarctic petrels. Many snow petrels and south polar skuas also breed in this area. Snow petrels are generally spread out in smaller colonies throughout
7708-400: Was 13.8 °C (56.8 °F). When subtracting 5.5 ± 1.5 °C (9.9 ± 2.7 °F) from the 1850-1929 average, the average temperature for the last glacial maximum comes out to 8.3 ± 1.5 °C (46.9 ± 2.7 °F). This is about 6.7 ± 1.5 °C (12.0 ± 2.7 °F) colder than the 2011-2020 average. This figure is open to interpretation because the IPCC does not specify 1850-1829 as being
7802-571: Was a sudden but brief warming period. The glaciation of the Arctic in the Northern Hemisphere commenced with Greenland becoming increasingly covered by an ice sheet in late Pliocene (2.9-2.58 Ma ago). The current period is the Quaternary , which started 2.58 million years ago. It is divided into the Pleistocene , which ended 11,700 years ago, and the current Holocene . The Quaternary
7896-486: Was about 10 times slower than that of the 20th century. It appears that they are defining the present as the early period of instrumental records when temperatures were less affected by human activity, but they do not specify exact years, or give a temperature for the present. Berkeley Earth publishes a list of average global temperatures by year. It shows that temperatures were stable from the beginning of records in 1850 until 1929. The average temperature during these years
7990-517: Was around 17,000,000 cu mi (71,000,000 km), which is about 2.1 times Earth's current volume of ice. The Earth is currently in an interglacial period called the Holocene epoch. However, there is debate as to whether it is actually a separate epoch or merely an interglacial period within the Pleistocene epoch. Between 9,000 and 5,000 years ago there was a warm period called the Holocene climatic optimum . Being in an interglacial, there
8084-401: Was established as a project to promote polar sciences, as well as to demonstrate the possibility of building a zero emission station. Research is conducted by an international team of scientists, studying climatology, glaciology and microbiology . Queen Maud Land is featured in the 2021 video game Battlefield 2042 as the setting of the multiplayer map Breakaway. A Norwegian pop group
8178-482: Was established for researching birds at the breeding colony in Svarthamaren Mountain . Activities conducted by Russia's Novolazarevskaya Station include environmental monitoring, geodesy /mapping, geomagnetic and meteorological observations, glaciology , biology, ionospheric / auroral observations, limnology , geology, geophysics and seismology . South Africa's SANAE IV station,
8272-621: Was lent to South Africa following the withdrawal of the Norwegian expedition in 1960. South Africa later built the SANAE station, near the now-defunct Norway Station. The Soviet Union, and later Russia, has maintained continual operations, although it moved from Lazarev Station to Novolazarevskaya Station . Japan has been based at its Showa Station since 1957, except for a hiatus of a few years. Belgium closed its King Baudouin Station in 1961, though it mounted limited operations in cooperation with
8366-543: Was named after the Norwegian queen Maud of Wales , wife of the then-reigning King Haakon VII . The territory was explored further during the Norvegia expedition of 1930–31. During this whaling season, a total of 265 whaling ships, mostly Norwegian, worked off the coast of Queen Maud Land. In the same season, Riiser-Larsen discovered the Prince Olav Coast, Princess Martha Coast and Princess Ragnhild Coast from
8460-406: Was officially opened by Queen Sonja of Norway , the first queen to ever visit Antarctica. In 2008, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg , accompanied by forty officials, scientists and reporters, became the first Norwegian prime minister to visit Queen Maud Land. He personally named three mountains around the Troll station where he was based, although he chose to sleep outdoors in a tent, rather than in
8554-753: Was only the second time that Earth reached this level of warmth since the Precambrian . The other time was during the Cambrian Period , which ran from 538.8 million years ago to 485.4 million years ago. During the early Eocene , Australia and South America were connected to Antarctica. 53 million years ago during the Eocene Epoch , summer high temperatures in Antarctica were around 25 °C (77 °F). Temperatures during winter were around 10 °C (50 °F). It did not frost during
8648-546: Was opened as part of a major ice-drilling project. The Maitri station succeeded the Dakshin Gangotri station in 1989, India's first Antarctic base. Maitri's research focus on geology, and the study of the supercontinent Gondwana , when India and Antarctica belonged to the same landmass. It also includes low-temperature engineering research that is relevant to conditions in the Himalayas . The Showa Station
8742-425: Was the time when ice sheets overall were at maximum extent. According to Blue Marble 3000 (a video by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences), the average global temperature around 19,000 BCE (about 21,000 years ago) was 9.0 °C (48.2 °F). This is about 4.8 °C (8.6 °F) colder than the 1850-1929 average, and 6.0 °C (10.8 °F) colder than the 2011-2020 average. The figures given by
8836-547: Was the warmest part of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, with average global temperatures around 18.4 °C (65.1 °F). Atmospheric CO 2 levels were around 700 ppm. This time period was called the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). By 14 million years ago, the Antarctic ice sheets were similar in size and volume to present times. Glaciers were starting to form in the mountains of the Northern Hemisphere. Between 3.6 and 3.4 million years ago, there
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