Concept information
Preferred term
Eemian
Definition
- The Eemian (also called the last interglacial, Sangamonian Stage, Ipswichian, Mikulin, Kaydaky, penultimate interglacial, Valdivia or Riss-Würm) was the interglacial period which began about 130,000 years ago at the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period and ended about 115,000 years ago at the beginning of the Last Glacial Period. It corresponds to Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Although sometimes referred to as the "last interglacial" (in the "most recent previous" sense of "last"), it was the second-to-latest interglacial period of the current Ice Age, the most recent being the Holocene which extends to the present day (having followed the last glacial period). The prevailing Eemian climate was, on average, around 1 to 2 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 3.6 Fahrenheit) warmer than that of the Holocene. During the Eemian, the proportion of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 280 parts per million. The Eemian climate is believed to have been warmer than the current Holocene. Changes in the Earth's orbital parameters from today (greater obliquity and eccentricity, and perihelion), known as Milankovitch cycles, probably led to greater seasonal temperature variations in the Northern Hemisphere. During the northern summer, temperatures in the Arctic region were about 2–4 °C higher than in 2011. The Eemian climate was highly unstable, with pronounced temperature swings revealed by δ18O fluctuations in Greenlandic ice cores, though some of the instability inferred from Greenland ice core project records may be a result of mixing of Eemian ice with ice from the preceding or succeeding glacial intervals. The warmest peak of the Eemian was around 125,000 years ago, when forests reached as far north as North Cape, Norway (which is now tundra) well above the Arctic Circle at 71°10′21″N 25°47′40″E. Hardwood trees such as hazel and oak grew as far north as Oulu, Finland. At the peak of the Eemian, the Northern Hemisphere winters were generally warmer and wetter than now, though some areas were actually slightly cooler than today. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eemian)
Broader concept
Entry terms
- Eemian interglacial
- Eemian interglaciation
- Eemian interstade
- Eemian interstadial
- Eemian stade
- Eemian Stage
In other languages
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French
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Eemien
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interglaciaire de l'Éémien
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interglaciaire eemien
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interglaciaire Eemien
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interglaciaire éémien
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interglaciation de l'Eémien
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interglaciation de l'Éémien
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interglaciation éémienne
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interstade Eémien
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interstade éémien
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-HCX47ZDJ-4
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