| Subdivisions of the Quaternary Period | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| System/ Period |
Series/ Epoch |
Stage/ Age |
Age | |
| Quaternary | Holocene | Meghalayan | 0 | 4,200 |
| Northgrippian | 4,200 | 8,200 | ||
| Greenlandian | 8,200 | 11,700 | ||
| Pleistocene | 'Upper' | 11,700 | 129ka | |
| Chibanian | 129ka | 774ka | ||
| Calabrian | 774ka | 1.80Ma | ||
| Gelasian | 1.80Ma | 2.58Ma | ||
| Neogene | Pliocene | Piacenzian | 2.58Ma | 3.60Ma |
Subdivision of the Quaternary Period according to the ICS, as of January 2020.[1]
For the Holocene, dates are relative to the year 2000 (e.g. Greenlandian began 11,700 years before 2000). For the beginning of the Northgrippian a date of 8,236 years before 2000 has been set.[2] The Meghalayan has been set to begin 4,250 years before 2000.[1] 'Tarantian' is an informal, unofficial name proposed for a stage/age to replace the equally informal, unofficial 'Upper Pleistocene' subseries/subepoch. In Europe and North America, the Holocene is subdivided into Preboreal, Boreal, Atlantic, Subboreal, and Subatlantic stages of the Blytt–Sernander time scale. There are many regional subdivisions for the Upper or Late Pleistocene; usually these represent locally recognized cold (glacial) and warm (interglacial) periods. The last glacial period ends with the cold Younger Dryas substage. | ||||
See also
edit- Older {{Neogene}}
- Younger {{Holocene}}
- Related {{Quaternary footer}}
- Related {{Quaternary climate}}
- More {{Three-age system}}
- More {{Stone Age}}
Notes
edit- ^ a b c Cohen, K. M.; Finney, S. C.; Gibbard, P. L.; Fan, J.-X. (January 2020). "International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b Mike Walker; et al. (December 2018). "Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period)" (PDF). Episodes. 41 (4). Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS): 213–223. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016. Retrieved 11 November 2019. This proposal on behalf of the SQS has been approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) and formally ratified by the Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).