Current geological epoch, covering the last 11,700 years
This article is about the geological epoch. For the Bon Iver song, see Holocene (song). For the album by German band The Ocean, see Holocene (album). For the music venue in Portland, Oregon, see Holocene (Portland, Oregon). For the scientific journal, see The Holocene.
"Recent Era" redirects here. For the human sense, see Human history § Modern history.
Holocene
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Cenozoic
Quaternary
Pleistocene
Holocene
Greenlandian
Northgrippian
Meghalayan
Ages of the Holocene Epoch. Axis scale: thousands of years ago.
The Holocene (/ˈhɒl.əsiːn,-oʊ-,ˈhoʊ.lə-,-loʊ-/)[2][3] is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago.[4] It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat.[4] The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene[5] together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial period within the ongoing glacial cycles of the Quaternary, and is equivalent to Marine Isotope Stage 1.
The Holocene corresponds with the rapid proliferation, growth, and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, technological revolutions, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition towards urban living in the present. The human impact on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global significance for the future evolution of living species, including approximately synchronous lithospheric evidence, or more recently hydrospheric and atmospheric evidence of the human impact. In July 2018, the International Union of Geological Sciences split the Holocene Epoch into three distinct ages based on the climate, Greenlandian (11,700 years ago to 8,200 years ago), Northgrippian (8,200 years ago to 4,200 years ago) and Meghalayan (4,200 years ago to the present), as proposed by International Commission on Stratigraphy.[6] The oldest age, the Greenlandian, was characterized by a warming following the preceding ice age. The Northgrippian Age is known for vast cooling due to a disruption in ocean circulations that was caused by the melting of glaciers. The most recent age of the Holocene is the present Meghalayan, which began with extreme drought that lasted around 200 years.[6]
^Walker, Mike; Johnse, Sigfus; Rasmussen, Sune; Steffensen, Jørgen-Peder; Popp, Trevor; Gibbard, Phillip; Hoek, Wilm; Lowe, John; Andrews, John; Björck, Svante; Cwynar, Les; Hughen, Konrad; Kershaw, Peter; Kromer, Bernd; Litt, Thomas; Lowe, David; Nakagawa, Takeshi; Newnham, Rewi; Schwande, Jakob (June 2008). "The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) in the NGRIP ice core". Episodes. 32 (2): 264–267. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2008/v31i2/016. hdl:10289/920.
^ abWalker, Mike; Johnsen, Sigfus; Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Popp, Trevor; Steffensen, Jorgen-Peder; Gibrard, Phil; Hoek, Wim; Lowe, John; Andrews, John; Bjo Rck, Svante; Cwynar, Les C.; Hughen, Konrad; Kersahw, Peter; Kromer, Bernd; Litt, Thomas; Lowe, David J.; Nakagawa, Takeshi; Newnham, Rewi; Schwander, Jakob (2009). "Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype Section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records" (PDF). Journal of Quaternary Science. 24 (1): 3–17. Bibcode:2009JQS....24....3W. doi:10.1002/jqs.1227. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
^Fan, Junxuan; Hou, Xudong. "International Chronostratigraphic Chart". International Commission on Stratigraphy. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
^ abAmos, Jonathan (2018-07-18). "Welcome to the Meghalayan Age a new phase in history". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene together form the Quaternary period. The Holocene is an interglacial...
The Holocene calendar, also known as the Holocene Era or Human Era (HE), is a year numbering system that adds exactly 10,000 years to the currently dominant...
The Holocene extinction, or Anthropocene extinction, is the ongoing extinction event caused by humans during the Holocene epoch. These extinctions span...
The Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO) was a warm period in the first half of the Holocene epoch, that occurred in the interval roughly 9,500 to 5,500 years...
The Holocene is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers research in the field of environmental studies, in particular environmental change over...
Pleistocene (2.58 million years ago to 11.7 thousand years ago) and the Holocene (11.7 thousand years ago to today); a third epoch, the Anthropocene, has...
in the Holocene List of Madagascar and Indian Ocean Island animals extinct in the Holocene List of Macaronesian animals extinct in the Holocene List of...
other names) is a climate period in Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic epochs, when northern Africa was wetter than today. The covering...
Man in the Holocene (1979) is a novella by Swiss author Max Frisch, originally published in German in 1979, and in English in The New Yorker on May 19...
The Holocene glacial retreat is a geographical phenomenon that involved the global retreat of glaciers (deglaciation) that previously had advanced during...
This is a list of European species extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years...
This list of African species extinct in the Holocene covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years before...
700 to 5,000 years ago, spanning the end of the Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene. Some authors consider Bison occidentalis to be an intermediate species...
This is a list of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years...
20 are categorized as "historical" and 59 as "Holocene". The GVP lists volcanoes with historical, Holocene eruptions, or possibly older if strong signs...
The Late Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene saw numerous extinctions of predominantly megafaunal (typically defined as having body masses over...
scale, the Northgrippian is the middle one of three ages or stages of the Holocene Epoch or Series. It was officially ratified by the International Commission...
a list of volcanoes that have had large explosive eruptions during the Holocene (since about 11,650 years Before Present), with a volcanic explosivity...
Madagascar and Indian Ocean Island animals extinct in the Holocene that covers extinctions from the Holocene epoch, a geologic epoch that began about 11,650 years...
time scale, the Greenlandian is the earliest age or lowest stage of the Holocene Epoch or Series, part of the Quaternary. Beginning in 11,650 BP (9701 BCE...
with some migrants. The Holocene is taken to begin 12,000 years ago, after the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. During the Holocene climatic optimum, beginning...
occurred during the Holocene (the last 11,700 years) which account for about 75% of the total known eruptions during the Holocene. Of these 7,742 eruptions...
Dryas is the official start of the current Holocene Epoch. Although it is considered an epoch, the Holocene is not significantly different from previous...
as China and Mongolia during the Late Pleistocene and possibly into the Holocene. The genus Struthio was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The genus...
lake occurred around 7600 years ago, c. 5600 BC . As proposed, the Early Holocene Black Sea flood scenario describes events that would have profoundly affected...
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