Quaternary - wikipedia Quaternary For other uses, see Quaternary ( disambiguation ). Quaternary Period 2.58 -- 0 million years ago PreЄ Є O Pg Mean atmospheric O 2 content over period duration c. 20.8 vol % ( 104 % of modern level Mean atmospheric CO 2 content over period duration c. 250 ppm ( 1 times pre-industrial level ) Mean surface temperature over period duration c. 14 ° C ( 0 ° C above modern level ) Quaternary ( / kwəˈtɜːrnəri / ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy ( ICS ). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary Period is divided into two epochs : the Pleistocene ( 2.588 million years ago to 11.7 thousand years ago ) and the Holocene ( 11.7 thousand years ago to today ). The informal term `` Late Quaternary '' refers to the past 0.5 -- 1.0 million years. The Quaternary Period is typically defined by the cyclic growth and decay of continental ice sheets associated with Milankovitch cycles and the associated climate and environmental changes that occurred. Contents 1 Research history 2 Geology 3 Climate 4 Quaternary glaciation 4.1 Last glacial period 5 Journals relating to the Quaternary Period 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Research history The term Quaternary ( `` fourth '' ) was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po River valley in northern Italy. It was introduced by Jules Desnoyers in 1829 for sediments of France 's Seine Basin that seemed clearly to be younger than Tertiary Period rocks. The Quaternary Period follows the Neogene Period and extends to the present. The Quaternary covers the time span of glaciations classified as the Pleistocene, and includes the present interglacial time - period, the Holocene. This places the start of the Quaternary at the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation approximately 2.6 million years ago. Prior to 2009, the Pleistocene was defined to be from 1.805 million years ago to the present, so the current definition of the Pleistocene includes a portion of what was, prior to 2009, defined as the Pliocene. Subdivisions of the Quaternary System System / Period Series / Epoch Stage / Age Age ( Ma ) Quaternary Holocene 0 0.0117 Pleistocene Tarantian 0.0117 0.126 Ionian 0.126 0.781 Calabrian 0.781 1.80 Gelasian 1.80 2.58 Neogene Pliocene Piacenzian older Subdivision of the Quaternary period according to the ICS, as of 2017. In Europe and North America, the Holocene is subdivided into Preboreal, Boreal, Atlantic, Subboreal, and Subatlantic stages of the Blytt -- Sernander time scale. There are many regional subdivisions for the Upper or Late Pleistocene ; usually these represent locally recognized cold ( glacial ) and warm ( interglacial ) periods. The last glacial period ends with the cold Younger Dryas substage. Quaternary stratigraphers usually worked with regional subdivisions. From the 1970s, the International Commission on Stratigraphy ( ICS ) tried to make a single geologic time scale based on GSSP 's, which could be used internationally. The Quaternary subdivisions were defined based on biostratigraphy instead of paleoclimate. This led to the problem that the proposed base of the Pleistocene was at 1.805 Mya, long after the start of the major glaciations of the northern hemisphere. The ICS then proposed to abolish use of the name Quaternary altogether, which appeared unacceptable to the International Union for Quaternary Research ( INQUA ). In 2009, it was decided to make the Quaternary the youngest period of the Cenozoic Era with its base at 2.588 Mya and including the Gelasian stage, which was formerly considered part of the Neogene Period and Pliocene Epoch. The Anthropocene has been proposed as a third epoch as a mark of the anthropogenic impact on the global environment starting with the Industrial Revolution, or about 200 years ago. The Anthropocene is not officially designated by the ICS, however, but a working group is currently aiming to complete a proposal for the creation of an epoch or sub-period by 2016. Geology Further information : Quaternary geology The 2.6 million years of the Quaternary represents the time during which recognizable humans existed. Over this short time period, there has been relatively little change in the distribution of the continents due to plate tectonics. The Quaternary geological record is preserved in greater detail than that for earlier periods. The major geographical changes during this time period included the emergence of the Strait of Bosphorus and Skagerrak during glacial epochs, which respectively turned the Black Sea and Baltic Sea into fresh water, followed by their flooding ( and return to salt water ) by rising sea level ; the periodic filling of the English Channel, forming a land bridge between Britain and the European mainland ; the periodic closing of the Bering Strait, forming the land bridge between Asia and North America ; and the periodic flash flooding of Scablands of the American Northwest by glacial water. The current extent of Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes and other major lakes of North America are a consequence of the Canadian Shield 's readjustment since the last ice age ; different shorelines have existed over the course of Quaternary time. Climate This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( May 2015 ) The climate was one of periodic glaciations with continental glaciers moving as far from the poles as 40 degrees latitude. There was a major extinction of large mammals in Northern areas at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Many forms such as saber - toothed cats, mammoths, mastodons, glyptodonts, etc., became extinct worldwide. Others, including horses, camels and American cheetahs became extinct in North America. Quaternary glaciation Main article : Quaternary glaciation Glaciation took place repeatedly during the Quaternary Ice Age -- a term coined by Schimper in 1839 that began with the start of the Quaternary about 2.58 Mya and continues to the present day. Last glacial Period Artist 's impression of Earth during the Last Glacial Maximum Main article : Last glacial period In 1821, a Swiss engineer, Ignaz Venetz, presented an article in which he suggested the presence of traces of the passage of a glacier at a considerable distance from the Alps. This idea was initially disputed by another Swiss scientist, Louis Agassiz, but when he undertook to disprove it, he ended up affirming his colleague 's hypothesis. A year later, Agassiz raised the hypothesis of a great glacial period that would have had long - reaching general effects. This idea gained him international fame and led to the establishment of the Glacial Theory. In time, thanks to the refinement of geology, it has been demonstrated that there were several periods of glacial advance and retreat and that past temperatures on Earth were very different from today. In particular, the Milankovitch cycles of Milutin Milankovitch are based on the premise that variations in incoming solar radiation are a fundamental factor controlling Earth 's climate. During this time, substantial glaciers advanced and retreated over much of North America and Europe, parts of South America and Asia, and all of Antarctica. The Great Lakes formed and giant mammals thrived in parts of North America and Eurasia not covered in ice. These mammals became extinct when the glacial period Age ended about 11,700 years ago. Modern humans evolved about 315,000 years ago. During the Quaternary Period, mammals, flowering plants, and insects dominated the land. Journals relating to the Quaternary Period Boreas - An International Journal of Quaternary Research Geografiska Annaler ( only the title is in Swedish ) Journal of Quaternary Science Quaternary Geochronology Quaternary International Quaternary Research Quaternary Science Reviews The Quaternary Times See also List of Quaternary volcanic eruptions Quaternary extinction event Quaternary science References Jump up ^ Image : Sauerstoffgehalt - 1000mj. svg Jump up ^ File : OxygenLevel - 1000ma. svg Jump up ^ Image : Phanerozoic Carbon Dioxide. png Jump up ^ Image : All palaeotemps. png ^ Jump up to : Cohen, K.M. ; Finney, S.C. ; Gibbard, P.L. ; Fan, J. - X. `` International Chronostratigraphic Chart 2013 '' ( PDF ). stratigraphy.org. ICS. Retrieved 15 June 2014. Jump up ^ Earthquake Glossary - Late Quaternary U.S. Geological Survey Jump up ^ Denton, G.H. ; Anderson, R.F. ; Toggweiler, J.R. ; Edwards, R.L. ; Schaefer, J.M. ; Putnam, A.E. ( 2010 ). `` The Last Glacial Termination ''. Science. 328 : 1652 -- 1656. doi : 10.1126 / science. 1184119. Jump up ^ Lowe, J.J. ; Walker, M.J.C. ( 1997 ). Reconstructing Quaternary Environments. Routledge. ISBN 0582101662. Jump up ^ `` Late Quaternary Fluvial and Coastal Sequences Chapter 1 : Introduction '' ( PDF ). Retrieved March 26, 2017. Jump up ^ Wiz Science TM ( 2015 - 09 - 28 ), Quaternary - Video Learning - WizScience.com, retrieved 2017 - 03 - 26 Jump up ^ http://www.stratigraphy.org/index.php/ics-chart-timescale Jump up ^ See the 2009 version of the ICS geologic time scale Jump up ^ Zalasiewicz, J. ; Williams, M. ; Haywood, A. ; Ellis, M. ( 2011 ). `` The Anthropocene : a new epoch of geological time ? ''. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 369 ( 1938 ) : 835 -- 841. doi : 10.1098 / rsta. 2010.0339. PMID 21282149. Jump up ^ `` Working Group on the ' Anthropocene ' ''. Subcomission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. Retrieved 16 June 2014. Jump up ^ Haynes. `` Stanford Camelops '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` Extinct American Cheetah Fact Sheet ''. library.sandiegozoo.org. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 10. External links Wikisource has original works on the topic : Cenozoic # Quaternary Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy Global correlation tables for the Quaternary Gibbard, P.L., S. Boreham, K.M. Cohen and A. Moscariello, 2005, Global chronostratigraphical correlation table for the last 2.7 million years v. 2005c., PDF version 220 KB. Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England Gibbard, P.L., S. Boreham, K.M. Cohen and A. Moscariello, 2007, Global chronostratigraphical correlation table for the last 2.7 million years v. 2007b., jpg version 844 KB. Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England Silva, P.G.C. Zazo, T. Bardají, J. Baena, J. Lario, A. Rosas, J. Van der Made. 2009, `` Tabla Cronoestratigrafíca del Cuaternario en la Península Ibérica - V. 2 ''. ( Versión PDF, 3.6 Mb ). Asociación Española para el Estudio del Cuaternario ( AEQUA ), Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, Spain. ( Corelation chart of European Quaternary and cultural stages and fossils ) Welcome to the XVIII INQUA - Congress, Bern, 2011 Media related to Quaternary at Wikimedia Commons Quaternary Pleistocene Holocene Early Middle Late Preboreal Boreal Atlantic Subboreal Subatlantic Preceded by Proterozoic Eon Phanerozoic Eon Paleozoic Era Mesozoic Era Cenozoic Era Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene 4ry Geologic history of Earth Cenozoic era ( present -- 66.0 Mya ) Quaternary ( present -- 2.588 Mya ) Holocene ( present -- 11.784 kya ) Pleistocene ( 11.784 kya -- 2.588 Mya ) Neogene ( 2.588 -- 23.03 Mya ) Pliocene ( 2.588 -- 5.333 Mya ) Miocene ( 5.333 -- 23.03 Mya ) Paleogene ( 23.03 -- 66.0 Mya ) Oligocene ( 23.03 -- 33.9 Mya ) Eocene ( 33.9 -- 56.0 Mya ) Paleocene ( 56.0 -- 66.0 Mya ) Mesozoic era ( 66.0 -- 252.17 Mya ) Cretaceous ( 66.0 -- 145.0 Mya ) Late ( 66.0 -- 100.5 Mya ) Early ( 100.5 -- 145.0 Mya ) Jurassic ( 145.0 -- 201.3 Mya ) Late ( 145.0 -- 163.5 Mya ) Middle ( 163.5 -- 174.1 Mya ) Early ( 174.1 -- 201.3 Mya ) Triassic ( 201.3 -- 252.17 Mya ) Late ( 201.3 -- 237 Mya ) Middle ( 237 -- 247.2 Mya ) Early ( 247.2 -- 252.17 Mya ) Paleozoic era ( 252.17 -- 541.0 Mya ) Permian ( 252.17 -- 298.9 Mya ) Lopingian ( 252.17 -- 259.8 Mya ) Guadalupian ( 259.8 -- 272.3 Mya ) Cisuralian ( 272.3 -- 298.9 Mya ) Carboniferous ( 298.9 -- 358.9 Mya ) Pennsylvanian ( 298.9 -- 323.2 Mya ) Mississippian ( 323.2 -- 358.9 Mya ) Devonian ( 358.9 -- 419.2 Mya ) Late ( 358.9 -- 382.7 Mya ) Middle ( 382.7 -- 393.3 Mya ) Early ( 393.3 -- 419.2 Mya ) Silurian ( 419.2 -- 443.8 Mya ) Pridoli ( 419.2 -- 423.0 Mya ) Ludlow ( 423.0 -- 427.4 Mya ) Wenlock ( 427.4 -- 433.4 Mya ) Llandovery ( 433.4 -- 443.8 Mya ) Ordovician ( 443.8 -- 485.4 Mya ) Late ( 443.8 -- 458.4 Mya ) Middle ( 458.4 -- 470.0 Mya ) Early ( 470.0 -- 485.4 Mya ) Cambrian ( 485.4 -- 541.0 Mya ) Furongian ( 485.4 -- 497 Mya ) Series 3 ( 497 -- 509 Mya ) Series 2 ( 509 -- 521 Mya ) Terreneuvian ( 521 -- 541.0 Mya ) Proterozoic eon ( 541.0 Mya -- 2.5 Gya ) Neoproterozoic ( 541.0 Mya -- 1 Gya ) Ediacaran ( 541.0 - ~ 635 Mya ) Cryogenian ( ~ 635 - ~ 720 Mya ) Tonian ( ~ 720 Mya - 1 Gya ) Mesoproterozoic ( 1 -- 1.6 Gya ) Stenian ( 1 - 1.2 Gya ) Ectasian ( 1.2 - 1.4 Gya ) Calymmian ( 1.4 - 1.6 Gya ) Paleoproterozoic ( 1.6 -- 2.5 Gya ) Statherian ( 1.6 - 1.8 Gya ) Orosirian ( 1.8 - 2.05 Gya ) Rhyacian ( 2.05 - 2.3 Gya ) Siderian ( 2.3 - 2.5 Gya ) Archean eon ( 2.5 -- 4 Gya ) Eras Neoarchean ( 2.5 -- 2.8 Gya ) Mesoarchean ( 2.8 -- 3.2 Gya ) Paleoarchean ( 3.2 -- 3.6 Gya ) Eoarchean ( 3.6 -- 4 Gya ) Hadean eon ( 4 -- 4.6 Gya ) ( Informal ) kya = thousands years ago. Mya = millions years ago. Gya = billions years ago. Source : ( 2015 / 01 ). International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 13 July 2015. Divisions of Geologic Time -- Major Chronostratigraphic and Geochronologic Units USGS Retrieved 10 March 2013. Physical geography Atmospheric science / Meteorology Biogeography / Phytogeography Climatology / Paleoclimatology / Palaeogeography Coastal geography / Oceanography Edaphology / Pedology or Soil science Geobiology Geology Geomorphology Geostatistics Glaciology Hydrology / Limnology Landscape ecology Quaternary science GND : 4048009 - 4 NDL : 00561220 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quaternary&oldid=806624682 '' Categories : Quaternary Cenozoic Cenozoic geochronology Geological periods Physical geography Physical oceanography Hidden categories : Articles to be expanded from May 2015 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009 Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Alemannisch Asturianu Azərbaycanca Bân - lâm - gú Basa Banyumasan Башҡортса Беларуская Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Galego 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Nordfriisk Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча پنجابی Piemontèis Plattdüütsch Polski Português Română Русский Саха тыла Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 23 October 2017, at 04 : 57. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the quaternary period begin and end
Answer: 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present