1 M J Rollins B.Sc, M.Sc, Cert Ed. Is Britain in the grips of an Ice Age? By definition an Ice Age is ³any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface´ 1 , therefore by this definition we are still in the grips of an ice age. However we are in a period of relative warmth called an Interglacial period ³A comparatively short period of warmth during an overall period of glaciation. Interglacials are characterized both by the melting of ice and by a change in vegetation´ 2 These short interglacial periods generally last on average 10,000 years or so, whilst their big brother the Glacial periods in which average global temperatures fall s by several degrees can last 100,000 years or so. These changes can be illustrated by reference to ice core analysis, in this case the Vostock ice core, which you can see indicates longer per iods of ³colder than today´ i .e. the glacial periods compared to ³warm than today´ the interglacial periods. Temperature Plot:- Average Global Temperature, 1880 -2009 The graph below is compiled by Earth Policy Institute (EPI) from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), ³Global Land-Ocean Temperature Index in 0.01 Degrees Celsius,´ at data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt, updated December 2009, and from Reto Ruedy, NASA GISS, e-mail to Amy Heinzerling, EPI, 12 January 2010.
