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| Quaternary period | |
|---|---|
| Name | Quaternary |
| Time start | 2.58 million years ago |
| Time end | 0.0 million years ago |
| Color | #FFDAB9 |
| Preceding period | Neogene |
| Following period | Holocene |
Quaternary period The Quaternary period marks the most recent interval of the Cenozoic Era and encompasses major episodes such as the onset of cyclic Pleistocene glaciations, the emergence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens, and the establishment of many contemporary biogeographic patterns. It is central to debates among researchers at institutions like the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the Natural History Museum, London, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology on the timing of climatic shifts, extinctions, and anthropogenic impacts. Data from sites including Vostok Station, Greenland Ice Sheet, La Brea Tar Pits, and the Sahara have informed reconstructions used by groups such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Royal Society.
The period is formally bounded by stratigraphic and geochronological markers ratified by bodies such as the International Union of Geological Sciences and the International Commission on Stratigraphy, with the base defined near the Gauss–Matuyama reversal and dated by laboratories like those at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Chronologies integrate results from radiocarbon dating, argon–argon dating, and optically stimulated luminescence studies performed at facilities including the University of Oxford, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge. Major stratigraphic boundaries have been correlated with records recovered from cores drilled by programs such as the International Ocean Discovery Program and expeditions like HMS Challenger-era surveys.
Stratigraphic work divides the interval into formal stages and substages using markers identified by researchers associated with institutions such as the British Geological Survey, the United States Geological Survey, and the Geological Survey of Canada. Marine isotope stratigraphy developed from analyses by teams at Columbia University and the University of California, Santa Cruz ties isotopic stages to terrestrial units mapped by the Geological Society of London and regional surveys in the European Alps, the Rocky Mountains, and the Andes. Subdivisions incorporate type sections and reference sections maintained near sites like Loire Valley, Book Cliffs, and Hoxne and are debated in journals published by the Geological Society of America and the Journal of Quaternary Science.
Palaeoclimatic reconstructions employ proxies from ice cores recovered at EPICA DML, Dome C, and Camp Century, alongside pollen sequences from the Lago Grande di Monticchio and speleothems studied in caves such as Grotta Guattari and Soreq Cave. The rhythm of glacial–interglacial cycles is linked to orbital forcing first formalized by researchers building on the work of Milutin Milanković and later elaborated by teams at Princeton University and the University of Oslo. Climate model intercomparisons coordinated by the World Climate Research Programme and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research simulate ice-sheet dynamics comparable to reconstructions from the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet, and the Patagonian Ice Sheet, while abrupt events like the Younger Dryas and Heinrich events are resolved using records from the North Atlantic Drift and the Iberian Peninsula.
Biotic changes during the interval include extinction pulses documented at localities such as Laetoli, Isla de la Juventud, and New Zealand and faunal turnovers described by researchers at the Natural History Museum, London, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Vegetation shifts reconstructed from pollen analyzed by teams at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the University of Bergen show replacements in the Bering Land Bridge, the Amazon Basin, and the Eurasian Steppe. Iconic megafaunal taxa studied in this context include genera preserved at Rancholabrean sites, specimens curated at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, and extinct lineages examined by paleontologists connected with the Field Museum and the Australian Museum.
The interval encompasses critical events in hominin evolution recorded at sites such as Olduvai Gorge, Dmanisi, Pinnacle Point, and Omo Kibish and excavated by teams affiliated with the National Geographic Society, the Leakey Foundation, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Stone-tool industries from Acheulean to Upper Paleolithic assemblages are central to debates involving laboratories at CNRS, Cambridge University, and the University of Cape Town, while genetic studies from groups at Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, and the Wellcome Sanger Institute trace population events like the Out-of-Africa dispersal, admixture with Neanderthals, and interactions in regions including Siberia, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. Archaeological syntheses are published by presses such as Cambridge University Press and journals like Nature and Science.
Geomorphological evolution during the period is recorded in landscapes shaped by the Missoula Floods, periglacial features in the Tundra Belt, and fluvial terraces along rivers such as the Thames, Mississippi River, and Yangtze River. Research on erosion, sedimentation, and isostatic rebound involves collaborations among the USGS, the British Antarctic Survey, and the Geological Survey of Finland, and employs techniques refined at institutions like ETH Zurich and MIT. Volcanic and tectonic influences documented in volcanic provinces such as Iceland and the Ring of Fire have modulated regional climates and sedimentary records used by stratigraphers and geomorphologists.
Quaternary deposits host resources and hazards managed by agencies including the International Maritime Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and national ministries in Canada, Australia, and China; these deposits affect groundwater in aquifers studied by the United States Geological Survey and mineral prospectivity evaluated by the British Geological Survey. Understanding permafrost thaw in regions like Yamal Peninsula, soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, and sea-level rise affecting coastlines such as Bangladesh and The Netherlands informs policy discussions at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and planning by organizations like UNESCO and IUCN. Conservation strategies for surviving endemic taxa draw on expertise from the World Wildlife Fund and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Category:Geologic periods