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87-528: The Rhinluch was formed during the last ice age and its post-glacial period . About 16,000 years ago, the Eberswald urstromtal was formed by the meltwaters of the glacial ice sheet as they drained away to the sea. Later, this broad river valley dried up as the ice sheet retreated during the late ice age. In the land that makes up the present-day Rhinluch, lakes initially formed in individual places, especially where there were dead ice kettle holes . Over

174-732: A broad trend of very gradual cooling known as Neoglaciation , which lasted from the end of the HCO to before the Industrial Revolution . From the 10th-14th century, the climate was similar to that of modern times during a period known as the Mediaeval Warm Period (MWP), also known as the Mediaeval Climatic Optimum (MCO). It was found that the warming that is taking place in current years is both more frequent and more spatially homogeneous than what

261-604: A larger effect on the mid-to-low latitudes and mid-to-high latitudes after ~5600 B.P. Human activity through land use changes already by the Mesolithic had major ecological impacts; it was an important influence on Holocene climatic changes, and is believed to be why the Holocene is an atypical interglacial that has not experienced significant cooling over its course. From the start of the Industrial Revolution onwards, large-scale anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions caused

348-564: A marine transgression occurred in southeastern Africa; in the Lake Lungué basin, this sea level highstand occurred from 740 to 910 AD, or from 1,210 to 1,040 BP, as evidenced by the lake's connection to the Indian Ocean at this time. This transgression was followed by a period of transition that lasted until 590 BP, when the region experienced significant aridification and began to be extensively used by humans for livestock herding. In

435-650: A more sustainable sedentary lifestyle . This form of lifestyle change allowed humans to develop towns and villages in centralized locations, which gave rise to the world known today. It is believed that the domestication of plants and animals began in the early part of the Holocene in the tropical areas of the planet. Because these areas had warm, moist temperatures, the climate was perfect for effective farming. Culture development and human population change, specifically in South America, has also been linked to spikes in hydroclimate resulting in climate variability in

522-584: A much wetter climate from 11,400 to 11,100 BP due to intensification of the ISM. Over the Early Holocene, the region was very wet, but during the Middle Holocene from 6,200 to 3,900 BP, aridification occurred, with the subsequent Late Holocene being relatively arid as a whole. Coastal southwestern India experienced a stronger ISM from 9,690 to 7,560 BP, during the HCO. From 3,510 to 2,550 BP, during

609-608: A negative excursion in the δ O record lasting 400 years, is the most prominent climatic event occurring in the Holocene Epoch, and may have marked a resurgence of ice cover. It has been suggested that this event was caused by the final drainage of Lake Agassiz , which had been confined by the glaciers, disrupting the thermohaline circulation of the Atlantic . This disruption was the result of an ice dam over Hudson Bay collapsing sending cold lake Agassiz water into

696-490: A nut in a shell. The shape of this nut is not round, however, nor even oval or elliptical, but mushroom-shaped; like a mushroom with a short, fat stem, wide umbrella-shaped cap and a large cone-shaped root. A longitudinal section through such a mushroom illustrates the shape formed by the Luch. The Luch consists of two halves: an umbrella-shaped, northern half and a cone-shaped, southern half; the two coming near to one another, where

783-475: A role. Drangajökull, Iceland's northernmost glacier, melted shortly after 9,200 BP. In Northern Germany , the Middle Holocene saw a drastic increase in the amount of raised bogs, most likely related to sea level rise. Although human activity affected geomorphology and landscape evolution in Northern Germany throughout the Holocene, it only became a dominant influence in the last four centuries. In

870-525: A southern gulf and a northern lake across Norra Kvarken no earlier than in about 2,000 years. Isostatic rebound exposed a submarine joint valley landscape as Stockholm archipelago . Since deglaciation the rate of post-glacial rebound in the Kandalaksha Gulf has varied. Since the White Sea connected to the world's oceans uplift along the southern coast of the gulf has totaled 90 m. In

957-501: A variety of methods, with a view toward further verifying and refining the Blytt–Sernander sequence . This is a classification of climatic periods initially defined by plant remains in peat mosses . Though the method was once thought to be of little interest, based on C dating of peats that was inconsistent with the claimed chronozones, investigators have found a general correspondence across Eurasia and North America . The scheme

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1044-579: Is home to the extremely rare European pond turtle . The Brandenburg poet, Theodor Fontane , described the Rhinluch thus in his Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg : Just as the Havelland forms the centre of Old Brandenburg, so the Luch in turn is the centre of the Havelland. It is about fifty square miles in size; within these fifty square miles the two and twenty square miles of the Luchs are like

1131-670: Is the current geological epoch , beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period , which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat . The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene 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

1218-653: Is the regional name for the Last Glacial Period in the northern parts of Europe . In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation . It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) that spread out from the Scandinavian Mountains and extended as far as the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein , northern Poland and Northwest Russia . This glaciation is also known as

1305-853: The Canadian Arctic Archipelago could effect this by causing "relatively fresher" water from the Arctic and the North Pacific to flow east of Greenland disrupting the convection of North Atlantic Deep Water . According to this view any closing of the Bering Strait that blockades the entering of North Pacific water to the Arctic Ocean would have been detrimental for the inception of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Jan Mangerud posits that parts of

1392-559: The French Alps , geochemistry and lithium isotope signatures in lake sediments have suggested gradual soil formation from the Last Glacial Period to the Holocene climatic optimum , and this soil development was altered by the settlement of human societies. Early anthropogenic activities such as deforestation and agriculture reinforced soil erosion, which peaked in the Middle Ages at an unprecedented level, marking human forcing as

1479-625: The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) produced increased monsoon rainfall over North Africa. The lush vegetation of the Sahara brought an increase in pastoralism . The AHP ended around 5,500 BP, after which the Sahara began to dry and become the desert it is today. A stronger East African Monsoon during the Middle Holocene increased precipitation in East Africa and raised lake levels. Around 800 AD, or 1,150 BP,

1566-738: The Kalahari Desert , Holocene climate was overall very stable and environmental change was of low amplitude. Relatively cool conditions have prevailed since 4,000 BP. In the Middle East, the Holocene brought a warmer and wetter climate, in contrast to the preceding cold, dry Younger Dryas . The Early Holocene saw the advent and spread of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent — sheep , goat , cattle , and later pig were domesticated, as well as cereals, like wheat and barley , and legumes —which would later disperse into much of

1653-676: The Mesolithic , Neolithic , and Bronze Age , are usually used. However, the time periods referenced by these terms vary with the emergence of those technologies in different parts of the world. Some scholars have argued that a third epoch of the Quaternary, the Anthropocene , has now begun. This term has been used to denote the present time-interval in which many geologically significant conditions and processes have been profoundly altered by human activities. The 'Anthropocene' (a term coined by Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000)

1740-650: The North Atlantic ocean . Furthermore, studies show that the melting of Lake Agassiz led to sea-level rise which flooded the North American coastal landscape. The basal peat plant was then used to determine the resulting local sea-level rise of 0.20-0.56m in the Mississippi Delta . Subsequent research, however, suggested that the discharge was probably superimposed upon a longer episode of cooler climate lasting up to 600 years and observed that

1827-954: The Pleistocene is given a local name. In the Alpine region it is the Würm glaciation , in Great Britain the Devensian glaciation , in Ireland the Midlandian glaciation and in North America, the Wisconsin glaciation . The Fennoscandian Ice Sheet of the Weichselian glaciation most likely grew out of a mountain glaciation of small ice fields and ice caps in the Scandinavian Mountains . The initial glaciation of

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1914-581: The Tien Shan , sedimentological evidence from Swan Lake suggests the period between 8,500 and 6,900 BP was relatively warm, with steppe meadow vegetation being predominant. An increase in Cyperaceae from 6,900 to 2,600 BP indicates cooling and humidification of the Tian Shan climate that was interrupted by a warm period between 5,500 and 4,500 BP. After 2,600 BP, an alpine steppe climate prevailed across

2001-545: The groundwater recharge zone came above sea level. About 115,000 years ago average temperatures dropped markedly and warmth-loving woodland species were displaced. This significant turning point in average temperatures marked the end of the Eemian interglacial and start of the Weichselian glacial stage. It is divided into three sections, based on the temperature variation: the Weichselian Early Glacial,

2088-1018: The last glacial period . Local names for the last glacial period include the Wisconsinan in North America , the Weichselian in Europe, the Devensian in Britain, the Llanquihue in Chile and the Otiran in New Zealand. The Holocene can be subdivided into five time intervals, or chronozones , based on climatic fluctuations: Geologists working in different regions are studying sea levels, peat bogs, and ice-core samples, using

2175-535: The sixth mass extinction or Anthropocene extinction , is an ongoing extinction event of species during the present Holocene epoch (with the more recent time sometimes called Anthropocene) as a result of human activity . The included extinctions span numerous families of fungi , plants , and animals , including mammals , birds , reptiles , amphibians , fish and invertebrates . With widespread degradation of highly biodiverse habitats such as coral reefs and rainforests , as well as other areas,

2262-668: The Earth to warm. Likewise, climatic changes have induced substantial changes in human civilisation over the course of the Holocene. During the transition from the last glacial to the Holocene, the Huelmo–Mascardi Cold Reversal in the Southern Hemisphere began before the Younger Dryas, and the maximum warmth flowed south to north from 11,000 to 7,000 years ago. It appears that this was influenced by

2349-590: The Holocene Epoch. A 1,500-year cycle corresponding to the North Atlantic oceanic circulation may have had widespread global distribution in the Late Holocene. From 8,500 BP to 6,700 BP, North Atlantic climate oscillations were highly irregular and erratic because of perturbations from substantial ice discharge into the ocean from the collapsing Laurentide Ice Sheet. The Greenland ice core records indicate that climate changes became more regional and had

2436-474: The Holocene has shown significant variability despite ice core records from Greenland suggesting a more stable climate following the preceding ice age. Marine chemical fluxes during the Holocene were lower than during the Younger Dryas, but were still considerable enough to imply notable changes in the climate. The temporal and spatial extent of climate change during the Holocene is an area of considerable uncertainty, with radiative forcing recently proposed to be

2523-480: The Holocene, however, the domestication of plants and animals allowed humans to develop villages and towns in centralized locations. Archaeological data shows that between 10,000 and 7,000 BP rapid domestication of plants and animals took place in tropical and subtropical parts of Asia , Africa , and Central America . The development of farming allowed humans to transition away from hunter-gatherer nomadic cultures, which did not establish permanent settlements, to

2610-682: The International Union of Geological Sciences later formally confirmed, by a near unanimous vote, the rejection of the working group's Anthropocene Epoch proposal for inclusion in the Geologic Time Scale. The Holocene is a geologic epoch that follows directly after the Pleistocene . Continental motions due to plate tectonics are less than a kilometre over a span of only 10,000 years. However, ice melt caused world sea levels to rise about 35 m (115 ft) in

2697-807: The Last Glacial Maximum, the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet coalesced with the ice sheet that was growing in the Barents Sea 24 ka BP ( kiloannī or one thousand years Before Present ) and with the ice sheet of the British Isles at about thousand years later. At this point the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet formed part of a larger Eurasian ice sheet complex—a contiguous glacial ice mass which spanned an area from Ireland to Novaya Zemlya . The central parts of

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2784-437: The Late Holocene, the ISM became weaker, although this weakening was interrupted by an interval of unusually high ISM strength from 3,400 to 3,200 BP. Southwestern China experienced long-term warming during the Early Holocene up until ~7,000 BP. Northern China experienced an abrupt aridification event approximately 4,000 BP. From around 3,500 to 3,000 BP, northeastern China underwent a prolonged cooling, manifesting itself with

2871-476: The Late Holocene. Animal and plant life have not evolved much during the relatively short Holocene, but there have been major shifts in the richness and abundance of plants and animals. A number of large animals including mammoths and mastodons , saber-toothed cats like Smilodon and Homotherium , and giant sloths went extinct in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. These extinctions can be mostly attributed to people. In America, it coincided with

2958-458: The Middle Holocene was notable for its warmth, with rhythmic temperature fluctuations every 400-500 and 1,000 years. Before 7,500 BP, the Gulf of Thailand was exposed above sea level and was very arid. A marine transgression occurred from 7,500 to 6,200 BP amidst global warming. During the Middle Holocene, western North America was drier than present, with wetter winters and drier summers. After

3045-642: The Middle to Late Holocene, the coastline of the Levant and Persian Gulf receded, prompting a shift in human settlement patterns following this marine regression. Central Asia experienced glacial-like temperatures until about 8,000 BP, when the Laurentide Ice Sheet collapsed. In Xinjiang , long-term Holocene warming increased meltwater supply during summers, creating large lakes and oases at low altitudes and inducing enhanced moisture recycling. In

3132-658: The Norwegian coast were likely free from glacier ice during most of the Weichselian prior to the Last Glacial Maximum . Between 38 and 28 ka BP there was a relatively warm period in Fennoscandia called the Ålesund interstadial. The interstadial receives its name from the Ålesund municipality in Norway where its existence was first established based on the local fossil record of shells . The growth of

3219-651: The Sarek Mountains formed various ephemeral ice-dammed lakes that caused numerous glacial lake outburst floods down the rivers of northernmost Sweden. Isostatic adjustment bought by deglaciation is reflected in the shoreline changes of the Baltic Sea and other nearby bodies of water. In the Baltic Sea uplift has been greatest at the High Coast in the western Bothnian Sea . Within the High Coast

3306-459: The Scandinavian Mountains would have been enabled by moisture coming from the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains high altitude. Perhaps the best modern analogues to this early glaciation are the ice fields of Andean Patagonia . Since the proximity to the temperate North Atlantic typically precludes ice growth in Scandinavia, changes in the North Atlantic are thought to be required for glaciation to develop in Scandinavia. The freezing and glaciation of

3393-399: The Weichsel ice sheet had cold-based conditions during the times of maximum extent. This means that in areas like north-east Sweden and northern Finland pre-existing landforms and deposits escaped glacier erosion and are particularly well preserved at present. Also during times of maximum extent the ice sheet terminated to the east in a gently uphill terrain meaning that rivers drained into

3480-576: The Weichselian High Glacial (also Weichselian Pleniglacial ) and the Weichselian Late Glacial. During the Weichselian, there were frequent major variations in climate in the northern hemisphere, the so-called Dansgaard–Oeschger events . The Weichsel Early Glacial (115,000–60,000 BC) is in turn divided into four stages: In the Weichselian High Glacial (57,000 – c. 15,000 BC) the ice sheet advanced into North Germany. In this period, however, several interstadials have been documented. The short "Weichselian Late Glacial" (12,500 – c. 10,000 BC)

3567-487: The Weichselian Late Glacial following the retreat of the ice sheet are divided into four stages: the Germanic Glacial ( Germaniglazial ) (Germany becomes ice-free), the Danish Glacial ( Daniglazial ) (Denmark becomes ice-free), The Gotland Glacial ( Gotiglazial ) (Gotland becomes ice-free) and the Finnish Glacial ( Finiglazial ) (Finland and Norway become ice-free). Holocene The Holocene ( / ˈ h ɒ l . ə s iː n , - oʊ -, ˈ h oʊ . l ə -, - l oʊ -/ )

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3654-434: The Weichselian ice age ( German : Weichsel-Eiszeit ), Vistulian glaciation, Weichsel or, less commonly, the Weichsel glaciation, Weichselian cold period ( Weichsel-Kaltzeit ), Weichselian glacial ( Weichsel-Glazial ), Weichselian Stage or, rarely, the Weichselian complex ( Weichsel-Komplex ). In Northern Europe it was the youngest of the glacials of the Pleistocene ice age . The preceding warm period in this region

3741-471: The arrival of the Clovis people; this culture was known for " Clovis points " which were fashioned on spears for hunting animals. Shrubs, herbs, and mosses had also changed in relative abundance from the Pleistocene to Holocene, identified by permafrost core samples. Throughout the world, ecosystems in cooler climates that were previously regional have been isolated in higher altitude ecological "islands". The 8.2-ka event , an abrupt cold spell recorded as

3828-403: The bulk of Kola Peninsula and the White Sea were free from ice during the Younger Dryas. Before the Younger Dryas, deglaciation had not been uniform and small ice sheet re-advances had occurred forming a series of end-moraine systems, notably those in Götaland. During deglaciation, meltwater formed numerous eskers and sandurs . In north-central Småland and southern Östergötland part of

3915-429: The course of time, these became bogs through the natural silting up process. In addition, during the post-glacial period, there was a widespread formation of swamps ( Versumpfungsmooren ) on the sands of the urstromtal . Not until man appeared, however, did these moors become pastures and meadows as a result of land improvement measures. The easternmost outlier of the Rhinluch is the Kremmener Luch . The Rhinluch

4002-402: The disruption of Bronze Age civilisations in the region. Eastern and southern China, the monsoonal regions of China, were wetter than present in the Early and Middle Holocene. Lake Huguangyan's TOC, δ C wax , δ C org , δ N values suggest the period of peak moisture lasted from 9,200 to 1,800 BP and was attributable to a strong East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM). Late Holocene cooling events in

4089-473: The early part of the Holocene and another 30 m in the later part of the Holocene. In addition, many areas above about 40 degrees north latitude had been depressed by the weight of the Pleistocene glaciers and rose as much as 180 m (590 ft) due to post-glacial rebound over the late Pleistocene and Holocene, and are still rising today. The sea-level rise and temporary land depression allowed temporary marine incursions into areas that are now far from

4176-427: The end of the last strong phase. Ice core measurements imply that the sea surface temperature (SST) gradient east of New Zealand, across the subtropical front (STF), was around 2 degrees Celsius during the HCO. This temperature gradient is significantly less than modern times, which is around 6 degrees Celsius. A study utilizing five SST proxies from 37°S to 60°S latitude confirmed that the strong temperature gradient

4263-484: The end of the thermal maximum of the HCO around 4,500 BP, the East Greenland Current underwent strengthening. A massive megadrought occurred from 2,800 to 1,850 BP in the Great Basin . Eastern North America underwent abrupt warming and humidification around 10,500 BP and then declined from 9,300 to 9,100 BP. The region has undergone a long term wettening since 5,500 BP occasionally interrupted by intervals of high aridity. A major cool event lasting from 5,500 to 4,700 BP

4350-424: The extent of the area affected was unclear. The beginning of the Holocene corresponds with the beginning of the Mesolithic age in most of Europe . In regions such as the Middle East and Anatolia , the term Epipaleolithic is preferred in place of Mesolithic, as they refer to approximately the same time period. Cultures in this period include Hamburgian , Federmesser , and the Natufian culture , during which

4437-461: 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

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4524-421: The glacier front and large proglacial lakes built up. The Last Glacial Maximum extent was first reached 22 ka BP in the southern boundary of the ice sheet in Denmark, Germany and Western Poland (Sławskie Lake District and Leszczyńskie Lake District). In Eastern Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Pskov Oblast in Russia the ice sheet reached its maximum extent about 19 ka BP. In the remainder of northwestern Russia

4611-486: The ice sheet became increasingly concentrated in the Scandinavian Mountains (it had left Russia 10.6 ka BP and Finland 10.1 ka BP). Further retreat of the ice margin led the ice sheet to concentrate in two parts of the Scandinavian Mountains, one part in Southern Norway and another in Northern Sweden and Norway. These two centres were linked for a time. The linkage constituted a major drainage barrier that formed various large and ephemeral ice-dammed lakes . About 10.1 ka BP

4698-436: The ice sheet grew out; it was dissimilar in that the ice divide lagged behind as the ice mass concentrated in the west. It is not known if the ice sheet disintegrated into scattered remains before vanishing or if it shrank while maintaining its coherence as a single ice mass. It is possible that while some ice remained east of Sarek Mountains parts of the ice sheet survived temporarily in the high mountains. Remnants east of

4785-406: The ice sheet to its Last Glacial Maximum extent began after the Ålesund interstadial. By circa 26 ka BP, the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet reached the mid-Norwegian continental shelf break. The growth of the ice sheet was accompanied by an eastward migration of the ice divide from the Scandinavian Mountains eastwards into Sweden and the Baltic Sea. As the ice sheets in northern Europe grew prior to

4872-399: The interval from 9,500–5,000 years ago the uplift rate was of 9–13 mm/ yr . Prior to the Atlantic period the uplift rate had decreased to 5–5.5 mm/yr, to then rise briefly before arriving at the present uplift rate of 4 mm/yr. Emergence above sea level is thought to have resulted in the triggering of a series of landslides in western Sweden as pore pressure increased when

4959-455: The largest glacier advance occurred 17 ka BP. As the ice margin started to recede 22–17 ka BP Denmark (except Bornholm ), Germany, Poland and Belarus were ice-free 16 ka BP. The ice margin then retreated until the Younger Dryas when the ice sheet stabilized. By this time, most of Götaland , Gotland , all of the Baltic states and the southeastern coast of Finland had been added to the ice-free regions. In Russia, Lake Ladoga , Lake Onega ,

5046-443: 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

5133-406: The linkage had disappeared and so did the Southern Norway centre of the ice sheet about a thousand years later. The northern centre remained a few hundred years more so that by 9.7 ka BP the eastern Sarek Mountains hosted the last remnant of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. As the ice sheet retreated to the Scandinavian Mountains this was not a return to its former mountain centred glaciation from which

5220-441: The meltwater was routed through a series of canyons. It is speculated that during the Younger Dryas a small glacier readvance in Sweden created a natural lock system that brought freshwater taxa such as Mysis and Salvelinus to lakes like Sommen that were never connected to the Baltic Ice Lake . The survival of these cold-water taxa into the present-day means they are glacial relicts. When ice margin retreat resumed

5307-458: The mid-19th century. The LIA was the coldest interval of time of the past two millennia. Following the Industrial Revolution, warm decadal intervals became more common relative to before as a consequence of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, resulting in progressive global warming. In the late 20th century, anthropogenic forcing superseded variations in solar activity as the dominant driver of climate change, though solar activity has continued to play

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5394-537: The mid-Holocene (8.2 - 4.2 k cal BP). Climate change on seasonality and available moisture also allowed for favorable agricultural conditions which promoted human development for Maya and Tiwanaku regions. In the Korean Peninsula , climatic changes fostered a population boom during the Middle Chulmun period from 5,500 to 5,000 BP, but contributed to a subsequent bust during the Late and Final Chulmun periods, from 5,000 to 4,000 BP and from 4,000 to 3,500 BP respectively. The Holocene extinction , otherwise referred to as

5481-453: The most powerful factor affecting surface processes. The sedimentary record from Aitoliko Lagoon indicates that wet winters locally predominated from 210 to 160 BP, followed by dry winter dominance from 160 to 20 BP. North Africa, dominated by the Sahara Desert in the present, was instead a savanna dotted with large lakes during the Early and Middle Holocene, regionally known as the African Humid Period (AHP). The northward migration of

5568-459: The oldest inhabited places still existing on Earth were first settled, such as Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) in the Middle East . There is also evolving archeological evidence of proto-religion at locations such as Göbekli Tepe , as long ago as the 9th millennium BC . The preceding period of the Late Pleistocene had already brought advancements such as the bow and arrow , creating more efficient forms of hunting and replacing spear throwers . In

5655-539: The origin of cycles identified in the North Atlantic region. Climate cyclicity through the Holocene ( Bond events ) has been observed in or near marine settings and is strongly controlled by glacial input to the North Atlantic. Periodicities of ≈2500, ≈1500, and ≈1000 years are generally observed in the North Atlantic. At the same time spectral analyses of the continental record, which is remote from oceanic influence, reveal persistent periodicities of 1,000 and 500 years that may correspond to solar activity variations during

5742-444: The period exceeds any likely tectonic uplift of non-glacial origin. Post-glacial rebound in the Scandinavia region resulted in a shrinking Baltic Sea . The region continues to rise, still causing weak earthquakes across Northern Europe. An equivalent event in North America was the rebound of Hudson Bay , as it shrank from its larger, immediate post-glacial Tyrrell Sea phase, to its present boundaries. The climate throughout

5829-453: The present), as proposed by International Commission on Stratigraphy . 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. The word Holocene

5916-407: The region were dominantly influenced by solar forcing, with many individual cold snaps linked to solar minima such as the Oort, Wolf , Spörer , and Maunder Minima . A notable cooling event in southeastern China occurred 3,200 BP. Strengthening of the winter monsoon occurred around 5,500, 4,000, and 2,500 BP. Monsoonal regions of China became more arid in the Late Holocene. In the Sea of Japan,

6003-480: The region. Sand dune evolution in the Bayanbulak Basin shows that the region was very dry from the Holocene's beginning until around 6,500 BP, when a wet interval began. In the Tibetan Plateau, the moisture optimum spanned from around 7,500 to 5,500 BP. The Tarim Basin records the onset of significant aridification around 3,000-2,000 BP. After 11,800 BP, and especially between 10,800 and 9,200 BP, Ladakh experienced tremendous moisture increase most likely related to

6090-404: The relict shoreline at 286 m in Skuleberget is at present the highest known point on Earth to have been uplifted by postglacial isostatic rebound. North of the High Coast at Furuögrund off the coast of Skellefteå lies the area with the highest uplift rates at present with values of about 9 mm/yr. Ongoing post-glacial rebound is thought to result in splitting of the Gulf of Bothnia into

6177-401: The residual glacial ice remaining in the Northern Hemisphere until the later date. The first major phase of Holocene climate was the Preboreal . At the start of the Preboreal occurred the Preboreal Oscillation (PBO). The Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO) was a period of warming throughout the globe but was not globally synchronous and uniform. Following the HCO, the global climate entered

6264-400: The sea. For example, marine fossils from the Holocene epoch have been found in locations such as Vermont and Michigan . Other than higher-latitude temporary marine incursions associated with glacial depression, Holocene fossils are found primarily in lakebed, floodplain , and cave deposits. Holocene marine deposits along low-latitude coastlines are rare because the rise in sea levels during

6351-464: The short stalk of the mushroom runs. The umbrella-shaped half is called the Rhinluch, the cone-shaped one, the Havelland Luch ( Havelländische Luch ). The land between the two that links them has no special name. This relatively narrow connecting strip that corresponds to the stem of the mushroom arose when the sandy plateaux to the left and right of the Luch bottom ( Luchgrund ) were pushed into

6438-749: The strengthening of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM). From 9,200 to 6,900 BP, relative aridity persisted in Ladakh. A second major humid phase occurred in Ladakh from 6,900 to 4,800 BP, after which the region was again arid. From 900 to 1,200 AD, during the MWP, the ISM was again strong as evidenced by low δ O values from the Ganga Plain. The sediments of Lonar Lake in Maharashtra record dry conditions around 11,400 BP that transitioned into

6525-486: The swamps. These sand plateaux bear well known names; the eastern one belongs to the historically renown Ländchen Bellin , the western one is called Ländchen Friesack . These two Ländchen ["little lands"] are old seats of culture, and their capitals, Fehrbellin and Friesack , were already named when both swamps still resembled lakes that, during the summer time, dried out into an unhealthy, unsafe swampland. Weichselian glaciation The Weichselian glaciation

6612-400: The term 'recent' as an incorrect way of referring to the Holocene, preferring the term 'modern' instead to describe current processes. It also observes that the term 'Flandrian' may be used as a synonym for Holocene, although it is becoming outdated. The International Commission on Stratigraphy, however, considers the Holocene to be an epoch following the Pleistocene and specifically following

6699-577: The world. This ' Neolithic Revolution ', likely influenced by Holocene climatic changes, included an increase in sedentism and population, eventually resulting in the world's first large-scale state societies in Mesopotamia and Egypt . During the Middle Holocene, the Intertropical Convergence Zone , which governs the incursion of monsoon precipitation through the Arabian Peninsula, shifted southwards, resulting in increased aridity. In

6786-417: Was around 2.1 metres above present and occurred about 5,800 to 5,000 BP. Sea levels at Rocas Atoll were likewise higher than present for much of the Late Holocene. The Northwest Australian Summer Monsoon was in a strong phase from 8,500 to 6,400 BP, from 5,000 to 4,000 BP (possibly until 3,000 BP), and from 1,300 to 900 BP, with weak phases in between and the current weak phase beginning around 900 BP after

6873-524: Was coeval with a major humidification before being terminated by a major drought and warming at the end of that interval. During the Early Holocene, relative sea level rose in the Bahia region, causing a landward expansion of mangroves. During the Late Holocene, the mangroves declined as sea level dropped and freshwater supply increased. In the Santa Catarina region, the maximum sea level highstand

6960-603: Was confined to the area immediately south of the STF, and is correlated with reduced westerly winds near New Zealand. Since 7,100 BP, New Zealand experienced 53 cyclones similar in magnitude to Cyclone Bola . Evidence from the Galápagos Islands shows that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was significantly weaker during the Middle Holocene, but that the strength of ENSO became moderate to high over

7047-414: Was defined for Northern Europe , but the climate changes were claimed to occur more widely. The periods of the scheme include a few of the final pre-Holocene oscillations of the last glacial period and then classify climates of more recent prehistory . Paleontologists have not defined any faunal stages for the Holocene. If subdivision is necessary, periods of human technological development, such as

7134-467: Was experienced during the MWP. A warming of +1 degree Celsius occurs 5–40 times more frequently in modern years than during the MWP. The major forcing during the MWP was due to greater solar activity, which led to heterogeneity compared to the greenhouse gas forcing of modern years that leads to more homogeneous warming. This was followed by the Little Ice Age (LIA) from the 13th or 14th century to

7221-636: Was formed from two Ancient Greek words. Hólos ( ὅλος ) is the Greek word for "whole". "Cene" comes from the Greek word kainós ( καινός ), meaning "new". The concept is that this epoch is "entirely new". The suffix '-cene' is used for all the seven epochs of the Cenozoic Era. The International Commission on Stratigraphy has defined the Holocene as starting approximately 11,700 years before 2000 CE (11,650 cal years BP , or 9,700 BCE). The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) regards

7308-566: Was never a formally defined geological unit. The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) had a working group to determine whether it should be. In May 2019, members of the working group voted in favour of recognizing the Anthropocene as formal chrono-stratigraphic unit, with stratigraphic signals around the mid-twentieth century CE as its base. The exact criteria

7395-619: Was still to be determined, after which the recommendation also had to be approved by the working group's parent bodies (ultimately the International Union of Geological Sciences ). In March 2024, after 15 years of deliberation, the Anthropocene Epoch proposal of the working group was voted down by a wide margin by the SQS, owing largely to its shallow sedimentary record and extremely recent proposed start date. The ICS and

7482-578: Was the Eemian interglacial . The last cold period began about 115,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago. Its end corresponds with the end of the Pleistocene epoch and the start of the Holocene . The German geologist Konrad Keilhack  [ de ] (1858–1944) named it using the German name ( Weichsel ) of the Vistula ( Polish : Wisła ) in present-day Poland. In other regions Major Glacial 4 of

7569-618: Was the period of slow warming after the Weichselian High Glacial. It was however again interrupted by some colder episodes. Following the last of these cold periods, the Younger Dryas , the Weichselian Glacial ended with an abrupt climb in temperature around 9,660 ± 40 BC. This was the start of our present interglacial , the Holocene . In addition to the above subdivisions the depositions of

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