glacial cycles

Glacial cycles are long-term climate patterns where Earth's climate alternates between colder periods with large ice sheets (glacials) and warmer periods, called interglacials. These cycles are mainly driven by changes in Earth's orbit and tilt, affecting how solar energy is distributed across the planet. During glacials, ice sheets expand, lowering sea levels and affecting global climate, while during interglacials, ice melts, sea levels rise, and temperatures warm. These cyclical changes typically occur over tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years and have significantly shaped Earth's surface and climate history.