Quaternary glaciation, also known as the
Pleistocene glaciation or the
current ice age, refers to a series of glacial events separated by interglacial events during the
Quaternary period from 2.58
Ma (million years ago) to present. During this period,
ice sheets expanded, notably from out of
Antarctica and
Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets occurred elsewhere (for example, the
Laurentide ice sheet). The major effects of the ice age are
erosion and
deposition of material over large parts of the continents, modification of
river systems, creation of millions of
lakes, changes in
sea level, development of
pluvial lakes far from the ice margins,
isostatic adjustment of the
crust, and abnormal winds. It affects oceans,
flooding, and biological communities. The ice sheets themselves, by raising the
albedo, effect a major feedback on
climate cooling.