Holocene Epoch

Holocene Epoch Latest News

Rates of relative sea-level rise during the final stage of the last deglaciation, the early Holocene, are key to understanding future ice melt and sea-level change under a warming climate.

About Holocene Epoch

• It is the current period of geologic time. 
• The term was introduced by Gervais in 1869 and was accepted as part of valid geological nomenclature by the International Geological Congress in 1885. 
• Another term that is sometimes used is the Anthropocene Epoch, because its primary characteristic is the global changes caused by human activity.
• The Holocene Epoch began 12,000 to 11,500 years ago at the close of the Paleolithic Ice Age and continues through today.
• It is marked by a significant warming trend and relative climate stability compared to the previous glacial period.
• The sediments of the Holocene, both continental and marine, cover the largest area of the globe of any epoch in the geologic record, but the Holocene is unique because it coincides with the late and post-Stone Age history of humankind. 
• Among interglacial periods, the Holocene is unique as the period in which more complex human civilisations and agriculture developed.

Holocene Epoch FAQs

Q1. When did the Holocene Epoch begin?

Ans. 12,000 to 11,500 years ago

Q2. What major climatic change characterizes the Holocene Epoch?

Ans. It is marked by a significant warming trend and relative climate stability compared to the previous glacial period.

Q3. Which epoch is known as the Great ice age?

Ans. Pleistocene Epoch 

Source: NAT