Greenlandian
| Greenlandian | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronology | |||||||||||||||
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| Etymology | |||||||||||||||
| Name formality | Formal | ||||||||||||||
| Name ratified | 14 June 2018[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Usage information | |||||||||||||||
| Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||||||||
| Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||||||||
| Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||||||||
| Definition | |||||||||||||||
| Chronological unit | Age | ||||||||||||||
| Stratigraphic unit | Stage | ||||||||||||||
| 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 | 14 June 2018 (as base of Greenlandian)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Upper boundary definition | 8.2 kiloyear event | ||||||||||||||
| Upper boundary GSSP | NGRIP1 ice core, Greenland 75°06′00″N 42°19′12″W / 75.1000°N 42.3200°W | ||||||||||||||
| Upper GSSP ratified | 14 June 2018[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Part of a series on |
| Human history |
|---|
| ↑ Prehistory (Stone Age) (Pleistocene epoch) |
| ↓ Future |
In the geologic 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 or 300 HE) and ending with the 8.2-kiloyear event (c. 8200–8300 BP, 6200–6300 BCE, 3600–3700 HE), it is the earliest of three sub-divisions of the Holocene. It was officially ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in June 2018 with the later Northgrippian and Meghalayan Ages/Stages. The lower boundary of the Greenlandian Age is the GSSP sample from the North Greenland Ice Core Project in central Greenland (75.1000°N 42.3200°W). The Greenlandian GSSP has been correlated with the end of Younger Dryas (from near-glacial to interglacial) and a "shift in lower deuterium excess values".[1][3]
Climate
After the sudden rise in temperatures marking the end of the Late Pleistocene, global warming continued at a slightly more moderate pace during the Greenlandian. It was interrupted at the end of the period by the 8.2 kiloyear event, where the world experienced a relative drop in temperature. This isolated climate fluctuation was used to define the boundary between the Greenlandian and Northgrippian ages.
Global warming led to a rapid rise in sea levels, which engulfed vast regions that were once landforms and transformed portions of continents into islands. Affected areas include the British Isles, the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea and Tasmania, cut off from Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia respectively. Additionally, the Beringian land bridge was submerged by these rising levels, forming the Bering Strait and separating Asia from the Americas.
Paleofauna
Many species of megafauna became extinct during the Greenlandian, continuing the rate of extinctions from the end of the Late Pleistocene. These extinctions collectively constituted the Late Pleistocene extinction event.
Prehistory
In the Eurasian continent, the beginning of the Greenlandian paved the way for the Mesolithic period, which generally continued until the beginning of the Northgrippian age. In the Near East, agriculture and livestock farming emerged during the Greenlandian age, marking the beginning of the Neolithic period.
See also
References
- ^ a b "International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. December 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Walker, Mike; Head, Martin J.; Berkelhammer, Max; Björck, Svante; Cheng, Hai; Cwynar, Les; Fisher, David; Gkinis, Vasilios; Long, Anthony; Lowe, John; Newnham, Rewi; Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Weiss, Harvey (1 December 2018). "Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/ Epoch (Quaternary System/Period): two new Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) and three new stages/subseries" (PDF). Episodes. 41 (4). Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS): 213–223. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ "Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Points". International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 25 September 2025.