A period of global frigidity (cold) during which glaciers and ice sheets advance towards the lower latitudes They usually last about 100,000 years and are associated with the Milankovitch Cycles The last major glacial ended about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago See also interglacial
{s} of or covered with glaciers or large masses of ice; caused by glaciers; cold, icy, frigid; unfriendly, icily indifferent; extremely slow
disapproval If you say that a person, action, or atmosphere is glacial, you mean that they are very unfriendly or hostile. Inside the jeep the atmosphere was glacial. = frosty, icy
(1) Period of time during an ice age when glaciers advance because of colder temperatures
(1) Period of time during an ice age when glaciers advance because of colder temperatures (2) Involving glaciers and moving ice Usually pertaining to processes associated with glaciers
devoid of warmth and cordiality; expressive of unfriendliness or disdain; "a frigid greeting"; "got a frosty reception"; "a frozen look on their faces"; "a glacial handshake"; "icy stare"; "wintry smile"
the cold part of a fixed cycle of warm and cool periods during a major ice age The cycle is related to changing heat from the sun due to shifts in the pattern of Earth’s orbit and tilt
(1) Characterized or dominated by the existence of Glaciers Used of a geologic or Glacial Epoch period of time, i e , the Pleistocene epoch (2) Extremely cold; icy (3) Having the appearance of ice ADVANCE \x 540 (4) Extremely slow -- as are the movements of glaciers
During the last Ice Age – the Pleistocene – which lasted from 2,000,000 years ago to about 10,000 years ago, there were periods of intense cold – the glacial stages – during which ice sheets and glaciers extended over much of North America, North-West Europe and Asia, and these were broken by warmer interstadials, during which the ice retreated During the glacials, Britain was tundra, with short grasses and lichens covering the landscape The ground was permanently frozen to a depth of several metres Pine trees grew in sheltered valleys of the north, with deciduous forests growing in Southern Europe The cool conditions favoured large mammals: woolly mammoth, hyaena, bison, lion, musk ox, reindeer The sea-level dropped by as much as 500 ft, and Britain was still joined to western Europe
extremely cold; "an arctic climate"; "a frigid day"; "gelid waters of the North Atlantic"; "glacial winds"; "icy hands"; "polar weather"