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The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary presents the results of a forty-year international program to establish a precise definition for the most important boundary in geologic time - the beginning of the modern age of glacial climates. This book, the final report of International Geological Correlation Project 41, describes the selection of a fixed reference point in the sequence of deep-water marine strata exposed at Vrica, Italy. This point, dated to 1.81 million years before the present, coincides with the onset of the first of four major glacial phases. The opening chapters of the book document the geology and palaeontology of the agreed physical reference point, and the successful proposal of this point as the boundary-stratotype of the Pleistocene Epoch. The book then describes the correlation of the boundary throughout the ocean basins and continents of the world in terms of detailed stratigraphic criteria such as planktonic biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and radiometric age determinations.
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The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary
WORLD AND REGIONAL GEOLOGY SERIES Series Editors: M. R. A. Thomson and J. A. Reinemund This series comprises monographs and reference books on studies of world and regional geology. Topics include comprehensive studies of key geological regions and the results of recent IGCP projects.
1
Geological Evolution of Antarctica - M. R. A. Thomson, J. A. Crame & J. W. Thomson (eds.)
2 Permo-Triassic Events in the Eastern Tethys - W. C. Sweet, Yang Zunyi, J. M. Dickins & Yin Hongfu (eds.) 3
The Jurassic of the Cricum-Pacific - G. E. G. Westermann (ed.)
4 Global Geological Record of Lake Basins, Vol. 1 E. Gierlowski-Kordesch & K. Kelts (eds.) 5 Earth's Glacial Record - M. Deynoux, J. M. G. Miller, E. W. Domack, N. Eyles, I. Fairchild & G. M. Young (eds.) 6
Tertiary Basins of Spain: The Stratigraphic Record of Crustal Kinematics - P. F. Friend and C. J. Dabrio (eds.)
7
The Quaternary History of Scandinavia - J. Donner
8
The Tectonic Evolution of Asia - A. Yin and M. Harrison (eds.) The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary - J. A. Van Couvering (ed.)
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The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary
Edited by JOHN A. VAN COUVERING American Museum of Natural History, New York
Final report of the International Geological Correlation Program-Project 41: Neogene/Quaternary Boundary
Coordinator: Ksenia V. Nikiforova, Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow Associate Editors: Emiliano Aguirre, National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid Mikhail N. Alekseev, Geological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, Moscow Giancarlo Pasini, Institute of Marine Geology of the Italian National Research Council, Bologna
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press 1997 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1997 First paperback edition 2004 Typeset in Times Roman A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data The Plei