Ice Age
Environment and Climate
The Ice Age was 50,000 to 250,000 years ago. The climate differs from what the climate is today. The climate was like a big winter storm like what we have today but more extreme. The ice age had cold temperatures and very heavy winds. The land was covered in thick sheets of ice. The land was bare everywhere. Valleys were separated and other landmasses in disarray.
Flora and Fauna
Of course there was the well known Mammoth and the Saber-tooth tiger but there were many others. There were many mammals, including sloths, moles, jaguars, beavers, and many more. But of course they were a little different especially in size. At the time there were not many plants but forest plants.
The Ice Age was 50,000 to 250,000 years ago. The climate differs from what the climate is today. The climate was like a big winter storm like what we have today but more extreme. The ice age had cold temperatures and very heavy winds. The land was covered in thick sheets of ice. The land was bare everywhere. Valleys were separated and other landmasses in disarray.
Flora and Fauna
Of course there was the well known Mammoth and the Saber-tooth tiger but there were many others. There were many mammals, including sloths, moles, jaguars, beavers, and many more. But of course they were a little different especially in size. At the time there were not many plants but forest plants.
What's Happening?
One of the major events is glaciers. Glaciers form when fallen snow is compacted into thick ice blocks/masses. Because of that the snow crystallizes into ice. The air pockets between the snow decreases leading the snow to compact/tighten. The snow then turns to furn. Which leads to glacial till formation. Glacial till formation is unsorted glacial sediment. It is part of a glacial drift; when a glacier moves. It can lead to mixtures of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders. Glacial till will lead to soil being formed because of the mixtures it will leave behind. Both of those combined lead to the most damaging event which is glacial erosion. When the glaciers move they carve away anything usually rock that is in their path or way. The glacier erodes the rock and land around it. The glacier can form This caused our most landmass change during the ice age. This is like the next threshold because the animals were the same but the climate shifted and everything starts to melt.
One of the major events is glaciers. Glaciers form when fallen snow is compacted into thick ice blocks/masses. Because of that the snow crystallizes into ice. The air pockets between the snow decreases leading the snow to compact/tighten. The snow then turns to furn. Which leads to glacial till formation. Glacial till formation is unsorted glacial sediment. It is part of a glacial drift; when a glacier moves. It can lead to mixtures of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders. Glacial till will lead to soil being formed because of the mixtures it will leave behind. Both of those combined lead to the most damaging event which is glacial erosion. When the glaciers move they carve away anything usually rock that is in their path or way. The glacier erodes the rock and land around it. The glacier can form This caused our most landmass change during the ice age. This is like the next threshold because the animals were the same but the climate shifted and everything starts to melt.
How do we know?
There are fields of study that help us know what has happened. One of those fields of study is glaciology. Glaciology is the study of glaciers. The glaciologists help tell us what the glaciers did and why it happened. An example would be glacial till. Another field of study is climatology ( See picture to the left). Climatology is the study of climate of course! The climatologists can help provide information and evidence based on the climate of the ice age. There was also the physical evidence such as fossils. It relates to the Devonian time period in ways such as the fossils and sea. We also have fossilized life forms that were left behind, life a frozen baby mammoth. We know what happened because of the evidence that has been gathered throughout by using different fields of study, logic, and many more throughout the years.
There are fields of study that help us know what has happened. One of those fields of study is glaciology. Glaciology is the study of glaciers. The glaciologists help tell us what the glaciers did and why it happened. An example would be glacial till. Another field of study is climatology ( See picture to the left). Climatology is the study of climate of course! The climatologists can help provide information and evidence based on the climate of the ice age. There was also the physical evidence such as fossils. It relates to the Devonian time period in ways such as the fossils and sea. We also have fossilized life forms that were left behind, life a frozen baby mammoth. We know what happened because of the evidence that has been gathered throughout by using different fields of study, logic, and many more throughout the years.
Why does it matter?
There were many things that happened during the ice age that are important to where we are today. Because of what happened Iowa's general landscape is different (See picture to the left). If the glaciers did not happen, we would not have the same Iowa that we have today. The Jurassic or Triassic rock layers would not exist. It happens when the glaciers come through they took everything underneath them and helped form new layers of rock. The stones in our fields affect our farming. If the glaciers did not come through there would be no rocks, which could be a good thing. When a glacier moves they stir up rocks. Without the ice age, Iowa's whole landscape would be different. |
Sources-
http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/ice_age_animals.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=0lhlIH5VT78C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=igsar&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fq%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fir.uiowa.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1298%2526context%253Digsar%26sa%3DD%26sntz%3D1%26usg%3DAFQjCNFulv2ETew0PlDntZqj5EYC0zNGzg#search=%22http%3A%2F%2Fir.uiowa.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1298%26context%3Digsar%22
http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=GLACIERS
http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000132
http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/larson/ice_age_animals.html
http://books.google.com/books?id=0lhlIH5VT78C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=igsar&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fq%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fir.uiowa.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1298%2526context%253Digsar%26sa%3DD%26sntz%3D1%26usg%3DAFQjCNFulv2ETew0PlDntZqj5EYC0zNGzg#search=%22http%3A%2F%2Fir.uiowa.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1298%26context%3Digsar%22
http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=GLACIERS
http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000132