Late Paleozoic icehouse

A prolonged interval of glaciation and cool global climate during the Carboniferous and Permian periods, roughly 335–260 million years ago. It coincided with the assembly of Pangaea and major changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Gondwanan glaciation: Glaciation across parts of Gondwana during the late Paleozoic, recorded by widespread deposits and glacial landforms. Ice sheets on southern Gondwana were the defining physical expression of this icehouse.
Carboniferous Rainforest: A humid tropical ecosystem of coal-forming forests that spread across equatorial regions during the Carboniferous. Its expansion buried organic carbon, a process linked to falling atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Dwyka Group: A late Paleozoic rock unit in southern Africa containing deposits associated with Gondwanan glaciation. Its glacial sediments provide a key record of ice advance in southern Gondwana.
Coal: A carbon-rich sedimentary rock formed from buried and altered plant material. Carboniferous coal deposits record extensive plant growth and long-term organic carbon burial during the icehouse.
Late Paleozoic ice age: A broad term for the glacial interval spanning much of the Carboniferous and Permian. This near-synonym is often used for the same interval, though its boundaries vary among studies.
Carboniferous rainforest collapse: A late Carboniferous loss and fragmentation of tropical coal-swamp forests as climate became cooler and drier. The collapse reflects environmental changes within the icehouse and altered carbon storage in vegetation.
Variscan orogeny: A mountain-building event caused by collisions among continental blocks during the assembly of Pangaea. Uplift and erosion during this orogeny may have increased carbon-consuming weathering.
Itararé Group: A Carboniferous–Permian rock succession in southern Brazil containing glacial and glaciomarine deposits. Its varied sediments preserve evidence of changing ice margins and marine conditions.
Paleoclimate proxy: A measurable feature of rocks, fossils, or ice that provides indirect evidence of past climate. Glacial deposits and other proxies allow the icehouse's climate history to be reconstructed.
Ice age: A prolonged interval of Earth's history with persistent ice sheets and repeated glacial cycles. The Late Paleozoic icehouse is one major episode within Earth's longer history of ice ages.

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