Concept information
Preferred term
Lower Pleistocene
Definition
- The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, representing the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently estimated to span the time between 2.580 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago) and 0.773 ± 0.005 Ma. The term Early Pleistocene applies to both the Gelasian Age and the Calabrian Age. While the Gelasian and the Calabrian have officially been defined by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) to effectively constitute the Early Pleistocene, the succeeding Chibanian and Tarantian ages have yet to be ratified. These proposed ages are unofficially termed the Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene respectively. The Chibanian provisionally spans time from 773 ka to 126 ka, and the Tarantian from then until the definitive end of the whole Pleistocene, c. 9700 BC in the 10th millennium BC. Based on the Animal skeletons and radiocarbon dating, we can estimate that the Early Pleistocene occurred around 2.6 million to 0.8 million years ago. It is in the timeframe of the Pleistocene that the earth was altering its climate conditions and changing its geological environment. The Pleistocene is acknowledged as the last geological time frame that consists of global cooling, the ice-age and big glaciers in the northern hemisphere. These cooler temperature zones were covered by glaciers during the cold periods, and during the warm periods the glaciers receded. During the Pleistocene, the air was dry because of the vast amount of ice, which also caused lower sea levels and shore lines. In order to make predictions about the climate of the past paleontologists analyze Pleistocene fossil remains. The scientists also drill cores from the ice sheets to study trapped gas and microorganisms. For example, evidence in the ocean from the Pleistocene documents a fluctuation of the Earth's temperature and ice volume. It is acknowledged that there is a period of cooling that was caused by the fluctuating heat melting glaciers into lakes and the ocean. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Pleistocene)
Broader concept
Narrower concepts
Entry terms
- Early Pleistocene
In other languages
-
French
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-D89TCKVS-2
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