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... > geologic time scale > geological age > Phanerozoic > Cenozoic > Quaternary > Pleistocene > Upper Pleistocene

Preferred term

Upper Pleistocene  

Definition

  • The late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently defined as the time between c. 129,000 and c. 11,700 years ago. The late Pleistocene equates to the proposed Tarantian Age of the geologic time scale, preceded by the officially ratified Chibanian (commonly known as Middle Pleistocene) and succeeded by the officially ratified Greenlandian. The estimated beginning of the Tarantian is the start of the Eemian interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage 5). It is held to end with the termination of the Younger Dryas, some 11,700 years ago when the Holocene Epoch began. The main feature of the late Pleistocene was glaciation, for example the Würm glaciation in the Alps of Europe, to 14 ka, and the subsequent Younger Dryas. Many megafaunal animals became extinct during this age as part of the Quaternary extinction event, a trend that continued into the Holocene. In palaeoanthropology, the late Pleistocene contains the Upper Palaeolithic stage of human development, including many of the early human migrations and the extinction of the last remaining archaic human species. The proposed beginning of the late Pleistocene is the end of the Penultimate Glacial Period (PGP) 126 ka when the Riss glaciation (Alpine) was being succeeded by the Eemian (Riß-Würm) interglacial period. The Riss-Würm ended 115 ka with the onset of the Last Glacial Period (LGP) which is known in Europe as the Würm (Alpine) or Devensian (Great Britain) or Weichselian glaciation (northern Europe); these are broadly equated with the Wisconsin glaciation (North America), though technically that began much later. The Last Glacial Maximum was reached during the later millennia of the Würm/Weichselian, estimated between 26 ka and 19 ka when deglaciation began in the Northern Hemisphere. The Würm/Weichselian endured until 16 ka with Northern Europe, including most of Great Britain, covered by an ice sheet. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Pleistocene)

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Entry terms

  • late Pleistocene
  • Late Pleistocene
  • upper Pleistocene

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-Z9GFB7ZN-S

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