Formal Subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch

• Main Authors: Walker, M. J. C., Gibbard, P. L., Berkelhammer, M., Björck, Svante, Cwynar, L. C., Fisher, D. A., Long, A. J., Lowe, J. J., Newnham, R. M., Rasmussen, S. O., Weiss, H.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2014
• Subjects: Geology; Holocene; Stratigraphic subdivision; 8.2 ka and 4.2 ka events; NGRIP ice; core; Mawmluh Cave stalagmite; ice core; NGRIP
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7975670; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04364-7_186

This proposal, by a Working Group of Integration of ice-core, marine, and terrestrial records (INTIMATE) and the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), is 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 propose that this de facto subdivision should now be formalised to ensure consistency in stratigraphic terminology. We advocate a formal Early-Middle Holocene boundary at 8200 a BP and a formal Middle-Late Holocene boundary at 4200 a BP, each of which is linked to a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP).