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Presentation Time: 9:15 AM

FORMAL SUBDIVISION OF THE HOLOCENE SERIES/EPOCH


WALKER, M., School of GeoSciences, Univ of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh, EH89XP, United Kingdom, BERKELHAMMER, M.B., Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, BJÖRCK, Svante, GeoBiosphere Science Centre, Dept of Quaternary Sciences, Lund University, Solvegatan 12, Lund, SE-223, Sweden, CWYNAR, Les, Department of Biology, Univ of New Brunswick, Bailey Hall, Rm. 103, Fredericton, NB E3B 6E1, Canada, FISHER, David Andrew, Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Marion Hall, Ottawa, ON 00000, Canada, LONG, Antony J., Sea Level Research Unit, Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom, LOWE, J.J., Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, 00000, United Kingdom, NEWNHAM, R.M., School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University, Wellington, 00000, New Zealand, RASMUSSEN, So, Center for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark and WEISS, H., School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, max.berkelhammer@colorado.edu

This proposal, by a Working Group of INTIMATE (Integration of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records) and the Subcommision on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), considers the prospects for a formal subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch. Although previous attempts to subdivide the Holocene have proved inconclusive, recent developments in Quaternary stratigraphy, notably the definition of the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary and the emergence of formal subdivisions of the Pleistocene Series/Epoch, mean that it may be timely to revisit this matter. The Quaternary literature reveals a widespread but variable informal usage of a tripartite division of the Holocene (‘early’, ‘middle’ or ‘mid’, and ‘late’), and we suggest that this de facto subdivision should now be formalised to ensure consistency in stratigraphic terminology. We propose an Early-Middle Holocene Boundary at 8200 a BP and a Middle-Late Holocene Boundary at 4200 a BP, each of which is linked to a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP).

Session No. 246

T159. Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology: Past, Present, and Future (Posters)
Tuesday, 29 October 2013: 9:00 AM-6:30 PM
Hall D (Colorado Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 45, No. 7, p.577
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