Formal ratification of subseries for the Pleistocene Series of the Quaternary System

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftReviewForskningfagfællebedømt

Dokumenter

  • the ICS Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy

The Pleistocene Series/Epoch of the Quaternary System/Period has been divided unofficially into three subseries/subepochs since at least the 1870s. On 30th January, 2020, the Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences ratified two proposals approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy formalizing: 1) the Lower Pleistocene Subseries, comprising the Gelasian Stage and the superjacent Calabrian Stage, with a base defined by the GSSP for the Gelasian Stage, the Pleistocene Series, and the Quaternary System, and currently dated at 2.58 Ma; and 2) the term Upper Pleistocene, at the rank of subseries, with a base currently undefined but provisionally dated at ~129 ka. Defining the Upper Pleistocene Subseries and its corresponding stage with a GSSP is in progress. The Middle Pleistocene Subseries is defined by the recently ratified GSSP for the Chibanian Stage currently dated at 0.774 Ma. These ratifications complete the official division of the Pleistocene into three subseries/subepochs, in uniformity with the similarly subdivided Holocene Series/Epoch.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftEpisodes
Vol/bind44
Udgave nummer3
Sider (fra-til)241-247
Antal sider7
ISSN0705-3797
DOI
StatusUdgivet - sep. 2021

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
We are grateful to many colleagues for helpful discussions and assistance, including Dave Harper as Chair of the ICS, and Stan Finney as Secretary-General of the IUGS. Phil Gibbard and an anonymous reviewer kindly provided very helpful comments on the manuscript. We appreciate discussions with Gabi and Jim Ogg on timescale colour codes, and Bruno Vrielynck for helpfully providing the CGMW codes given in Table 2. MJH acknowledges support from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 International Union of Geological Sciences. All rights reserved.

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