The word plummeted in the passage is closest in meaning to:
During the Pleistocene epoch, cyclical expansions and retreats of continental ice sheets exerted profound controls on global hydrology and geomorphology. As continental glaciers locked up enormous volumes of precipitation as perennial ice, eustatic sea levels plummeted by as much as 120 to 130 meters during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) approximately 20,000 years ago. This volumetric drop exposed vast swaths of continental shelf, desiccating shallow epicontinental seas and creating temporary subaerial land bridges such as Beringia between Eurasia and North America. Conversely, interglacial warming stages triggered widespread melting, generating meltwater pulses that rapidly inundated coastal plains and carved immense scablands through catastrophic proglacial lake drainage events.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. dropped steeply
- Step 1: Consider the contextual meaning of "plummeted" in the phrase: "eustatic sea levels plummeted by as much as 120 to 130 meters..."
- Step 2: The verb "plummet" signifies an abrupt, rapid, and sharp downward plunge or fall, making "dropped steeply" the accurate synonym.
Answer
dropped steeply.
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