What does LGM mean in Ocean Science?

Last Glacial Maximum

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period that ice sheets were at their greatest extent. Vast ice sheets covered much of North America, Northern Europe, and Asia and profoundly affected Earth's climate by causing drought, desertification, and a large drop in sea levels. The ice sheets reached their maximum coverage about 26,500 years ago (26.5 ka BP). Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere at approximately 19 ka and in Antarctica approximately at 14.5 ka, consistent with evidence for an abrupt rise in the sea level at about 14.5 ka.The LGM is referred to in Britain as the Dimlington Stadial, dated by Nick Ashton to between 31 and 16 ka. In the archaeology of Paleolithic Europe, the LGM spans the Gravettian, Solutrean, Magdalenian and Périgordian. The LGM was followed by the Late Glacial.

see more »