Holocene | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Map of Earth as it appeared 10 thousand years ago during the beginning of the Holocene | |||||||||||||||
Chronology | |||||||||||||||
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Etymology | |||||||||||||||
Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||||||
Usage information | |||||||||||||||
Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||||||||
Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||||||||
Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||||||||
Definition | |||||||||||||||
Chronological unit | Epoch | ||||||||||||||
Stratigraphic unit | Series | ||||||||||||||
Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||||||||
Lower boundary definition | End of the Younger Dryas stadial. | ||||||||||||||
Lower boundary GSSP | NGRIP2 ice core, Greenland 75°06′00″N 42°19′12″W / 75.1000°N 42.3200°W | ||||||||||||||
Lower GSSP ratified | 2008[1] | ||||||||||||||
Upper boundary definition | Present day | ||||||||||||||
Upper boundary GSSP | N/A N/A | ||||||||||||||
Upper GSSP ratified | N/A |
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 correlates with the last maximum axial tilt of the Earth towards the Sun, and 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]