retreataladj.
/rᵻˈtriːtl/, U.S. /rəˈtridl/, /riˈtridl/ Geology.
Of or relating to the contraction and retreat of ice sheets and glaciers, or the retreat of the sea as sea level falls.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > [adjective] > contraction and retreat of ice sheets
retreatal1893
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [adjective] > contraction or retreat of
retreatal1893
1893 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 146 121 To this steeper gradient and consequently more vigorous glacial currents I attribute the larger morainic accumulations of drift marking retreatal stages than on the outermost drift boundary.
1896 Amer. Geologist 18 156 The stages of retreatal deposits ending in Greenwich cove illustrate the shrinkage and final disappearance of a tongue of the ice.
1921 A. W. Grabau Textbk. Geol. I. xvii. 559 A retreatal movement of the sea.
1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 327/1 A series of studies on the Närke plain where estuarine clays from the Baltic progressively overlap closely spaced ridges of retreatal moraines.
1981 Geografiska Annaler A. 63 244/1 This glacier has a long history of fluctuation from a mid-Neoglacial stadial position at 4150 m to several higher retreatal points.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1893