Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records

Walker, Mike; Johnsen, Sigfus; Rasmussen, Sune Olander; Popp, Trevor; Steffensen, Jørgen-Peder; Gibbard, Phil; Hoek, Wim; Lowe, John; Andrews, John; Björck, Svante; Cwynar, Les C.; Hughen, Konrad; Kershaw, Peter; Kromer, Bernd; Litt, Thomas; Lowe, David J.; Nakagawa, Takeshi; Newnham, Rewi; Schwander, Jakob (2009). Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records. Journal of quaternary science JQS, 24(1), pp. 3-17. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 10.1002/jqs.1227

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The Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP (NGRIP) contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision. This climatic event is most clearly reflected in an abrupt shift in deuterium excess values, accompanied by more gradual changes in δ18O, dust concentration, a range of chemical species, and annual layer thickness. A timescale based on multi-parameter annual layer counting provides an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2 k (before AD 2000) for the base of the Holocene, with a maximum counting error of 99 yr. A proposal that an archived core from this unique sequence should constitute the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) has been ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences. Five auxiliary stratotypes for the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary have also been recognised.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Climate and Environmental Physics
08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute

UniBE Contributor:

Schwander, Jakob

Subjects:

500 Science > 530 Physics

ISSN:

0267-8179

Publisher:

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language:

English

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 15:23

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:26

Publisher DOI:

10.1002/jqs.1227

Web of Science ID:

000262615700002

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/37524

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/37524 (FactScience: 208800)

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