glaciation

noun

Etymology: From French glaciation, from glace (“ice”).

1. The process of covering with a glacier, or the state of being glaciated; the production of glacial phenomena; an ice age

   “That the habitability of our planet was severely endangered by the significant rise in oxygen levels and reduction in methane due to oxygen-producing bacteria combined with the low luminosity of the Sun in the Proterozoic era (2500– 542 million years ago) is suggested by geological evidence for severe global glaciations in this epoch.”

   “This simulation aims at describing the hydrological conditions at a Swedish deep repository of nuclear waste during a glaciation.”

2. A particular instance of glacier formation.

   “Deposits of the Caribou Hills glaciation only locally retain a distinct hummocky morainal form, with filled kettle depressions and subdued knobs. Along the mountain fronts the marginal deposits of this glaciation reach an average altitude of slightly more than 3,000 feet.”

   “Deposits from the glaciation are sparse, but glacial surfaces at 4150–4300 m in the Hunza area, above 2600 m in the Gilgit region, above 3200 m in the Haramosh region, above 4000 m on Deosai, and at 3200–3500 m in the Shigar valley area provide much evidence for this glaciation.”

3. The act of freezing.

   “For cave glaciation to occur it is necessary that the air temperature outside the caves be negative either for all or part of a year; such conditions exist in many regions of the world.”