Cenozoic glaciations

E102229

glaciation event paleoclimatic phenomenon

Cenozoic glaciations are a series of major ice age cycles during the Cenozoic Era that saw extensive growth and retreat of continental ice sheets, profoundly shaping Earth’s climate and landscapes.

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All labels observed (9)

Label	Occurrences
Antarctic glaciation	2
Cenozoic glaciations canonical	1
Marine Isotope Stages 5d–2	1
Mid-Miocene climate transition	1
Neoglaciation	1
Pleistocene glaciation	1
Quaternary glacial history of North America	1
Quaternary glaciation	1
Quaternary science	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T869933 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Cenozoic glaciations
Context triple: [Cenozoic, includesEvent, Cenozoic glaciations]

A. Wisconsin glaciation
The Wisconsin glaciation was the last major advance of continental ice sheets in North America during the Pleistocene, profoundly reshaping the continent’s landscapes and drainage systems.
B. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
C. Eocene–Oligocene climate transition
The Eocene–Oligocene climate transition was a major global cooling event around 34 million years ago that marked the shift from a greenhouse to an icehouse Earth, including the formation of large Antarctic ice sheets.
D. Quaternary period
The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.
E. Holocene climatic optimum
The Holocene climatic optimum was a warm period roughly 9,000–5,000 years ago when global temperatures, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, were higher than today, influencing the spread of forests and early human civilizations.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Cenozoic glaciations
Target entity description: Cenozoic glaciations are a series of major ice age cycles during the Cenozoic Era that saw extensive growth and retreat of continental ice sheets, profoundly shaping Earth’s climate and landscapes.

A. Wisconsin glaciation
The Wisconsin glaciation was the last major advance of continental ice sheets in North America during the Pleistocene, profoundly reshaping the continent’s landscapes and drainage systems.
B. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
C. Eocene–Oligocene climate transition
The Eocene–Oligocene climate transition was a major global cooling event around 34 million years ago that marked the shift from a greenhouse to an icehouse Earth, including the formation of large Antarctic ice sheets.
D. Quaternary period
The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.
E. Holocene climatic optimum
The Holocene climatic optimum was a warm period roughly 9,000–5,000 years ago when global temperatures, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, were higher than today, influencing the spread of forests and early human civilizations.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	glaciation event ⓘ paleoclimatic phenomenon ⓘ
causes	deposition of glacial sediments ⓘ expansion of polar ice sheets ⓘ glacial erosion of continents ⓘ global cooling trend ⓘ isostatic crustal adjustment ⓘ sea-level fluctuations ⓘ
drivenBy	Milankovitch cycles ⓘ changes in Earth’s orbital parameters ⓘ changes in ocean circulation ⓘ decline in atmospheric CO2 ⓘ tectonic uplift ⓘ
evidenceFrom	glacial landforms ⓘ ice cores ⓘ marine sediment cores ⓘ oxygen isotope records ⓘ
hasPart	Antarctic glaciation ⓘ linked to: Cenozoic glaciations Eocene–Oligocene glaciation ⓘ linked to: Eocene–Oligocene climate transition Holocene glacial fluctuations ⓘ Late Cenozoic ice age ⓘ Miocene glaciations ⓘ Oligocene glaciations ⓘ Pleistocene glaciations ⓘ Pliocene glaciations ⓘ Quaternary glaciation ⓘ linked to: Cenozoic glaciations
influences	development of modern landscapes ⓘ distribution of species ⓘ evolution of terrestrial ecosystems ⓘ river drainage patterns ⓘ
mainLocation	Alpine region ⓘ Antarctica ⓘ Fennoscandia ⓘ Greenland ⓘ Himalaya region ⓘ linked to: Himalayan region Laurentia ⓘ Patagonia ⓘ
occursDuring	Cenozoic Era ⓘ linked to: Cenozoic Neogene Period ⓘ linked to: Neogene Paleogene Period ⓘ linked to: Paleogene Quaternary Period ⓘ linked to: Quaternary period
partOf	Cenozoic Era ⓘ linked to: Cenozoic
significantEvent	Eocene–Oligocene climate transition ⓘ Mid-Miocene climate transition ⓘ linked to: Cenozoic glaciations growth of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets ⓘ intensification of Quaternary glaciation ⓘ onset of Antarctic ice sheet ⓘ
startTime	Paleogene Period ⓘ linked to: Paleogene approximately 34 million years ago ⓘ
studiedIn	Quaternary geology ⓘ linked to: Quaternary science glaciology ⓘ paleoclimatology ⓘ

How these facts were elicited